Many names in Canada are derived from Indigenous languages as these peoples inhabited the land now known as Canada long before Europeans and other migrants arrived. As the regions were settled by these migrants, the indigenous place names were either adapted to their language or replaced entirely.
Now, place-name authorities of the Geographical Names Board of Canada are working with Indigenous organisations to restore traditional place names to reflect the culture of the first inhabitants of the land more accurately. These names are being made official by authorities across the country with names being adopted in many languages. A nice example of this is the hamlet “Repulse Bay,” now known as Naujaat, in the original Inuktitut language. The UN has also declared 2022-32 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, to acknowledge the importance and value of Indigenous languages. You can learn more about work on Indigenous place names in Canada with a map showcasing the origins of place-names across the area in this web-map.
