Public input sought on Davin School name change

A decision about the future of Regina’s Davin School will be made by the end of this school year.

A motion was passed at Tuesday’s Regina Public Schools board meeting to begin an online consultation process in November that will ask if the Davin School name is appropriate and if it should be changed. The Crescents area school, built in 1929, was named after Nicholas Flood Davin, the author of an 1879 federal government report recommending the widespread establishment of residential schools for Indigenous children. But he also set up The Leader, a predecessor of the Leader-Post.

Terry Lazarou, spokesman for Regina Public Schools, said it’s Davin’s duality that has caused discussion over the appropriateness of the school’s name over the past year. “Nicholas Flood Davin has a history that is controversial in a lot of senses and some believe that a school should not be named after him,” Lazarou said.

In Ontario, a teachers’ union is calling for John A. Macdonald’s name to be removed from schools in that province because of his role in the establishment of residential schools for Indigenous children.

“Nationally, and internationally, there has been considerable discussion about the appropriateness of certain individuals having monuments, having schools named after them,” Lazarou said, pointing out that the school division’s discussions predate the current movement toward replacing controversial statues and names.

He said the issue of renaming Davin School was raised in light of the work done by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The online consultation will be open to the public, and the division’s goals are to inform people about Davin’s complicated history and receive feedback on the school’s name. If the division decides to change the name, there will also be an opportunity for community members to suggest alternatives.