Airdrie high school, named after Alberta residential school founder, receives calls for renaming

Airdrie residents are once again calling for a rename of George McDougall High School, named after a Methodist missionary who founded the Morley Indian Residential School on the Stoney Nakoda Nation.

Airdrie resident Karrie Arthurs says their son and daughter attend the school and “They definitely agree that it should be changed.”

“Its dissapointing for sure, and a little bit shameful,” Arthurs said.

George McDougall High School is named after Canadian Methodist missionary George McDougall – one of the founders of the Mcdougall Orphanage, which later evolved into the Morley Indian Residential School in 1926.

In 1947 Indian Affairs issued guidelines for the strapping of students because students at the Morley school were beaten on the head.

Airdrie High School opened in 1962 while Morley Residential School closed in 1969. Calls for the renaming began in 2020.

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A spokesperson with Rocky View Schools (RVS) Tara De Weerd tells CityNews a report was commissioned in the summer of 2021 by an independent firm to learn about George McDougall and his ties to residential schools.
The school also met with a representative from Stoney Nakoda First Nation.

De Weerd said the rep from Stoney Nakoda Nation shared that the name, as well as the church and the land it sits on, is divisive among members of the Nation with people on both sides of the issue. But the board didn’t receive a request from the Nation about changing the name.

“The Board commissioned a report in the summer of 2021 by an independent research firm to provide information about George McDougall, who he was, and his involvement with Indigenous peoples of the region including possible connections to residential schools,” De Weerd said in her statement.

Airdrie resident Kim Cheel is part of a group called “Change George Mac High School’s Name” which made a presentation to the board. It was comprised of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

“The fact that we had a school that perpetuated this awful treatment toward Indigenous people, and also that he had nothing to do with Airdrie, so why are we continuing to celebrate a man who has no ties to our community,” Cheel said.

Stoney Nakoda Nation was not available for comment. However, Reverend Tony Snow, a member of the nation told CityNews in part, “I am encouraged by the discussion that potential renaming has made in highlighting the historical record.”

Mcdougall was also responsible for the theft of the Manitou Asinîy, also known as the Creator’s Stone or Manitou Stone.

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It is a 145-kilogram iron meteorite that landed in the Iron Creek area, close to the Alberta-Saskatchewan boundary, billions of years ago. The stone held spiritual significance to Indigenous people across the Prairies and was thought to protect buffalo herds.

The stone was moved to Toronto in the late 1800s and later went to the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton.

Consultations between the museum and Indigenous groups about the fate of the stone started in 2002.

The Alberta government returned the stone on Truth and Reconciliation Day in Edmonton this year.

RVS says in 2022 a decision was made not to rename the school, but discussions could continue in the future.

-With files from Sarah Chew