Toronto's new island gets a name: 'Ookwemin Minising'

The Port Lands is pictured in this still from a City of Toronto video. (City of Toronto)

Toronto’s new island in the Port Lands will be “the place of black cherry trees.”

That is the meaning of the island’s new name, Ookwemin Minising, in Anishinaabemowin/Ojibwemowin. It pays homage to the black cherry trees that once grew abundantly in the area 200 years ago.

The city unveiled on Friday the official name of the island, which has been recently referred to as Villiers Island.

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“Guided by the insight and wisdom of the Indigenous Advisory Circle convened to suggest a name, Ookwemin Minising honours the natural history of the land, a vision of environmental restoration and highlights a path to First Nations, Inuit and Métis community engagement and collaboration,” Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow who was at the announcement on Friday.

“The decision to hand over that naming power to Indigenous communities was both a symbolic and concrete step in turning words into actions that contribute to truth, justice and reconciliation.”

During the announcement, city officials and Indigenous leaders planted a black cherry tree to mark the occasion.

“We had all these really great names picked out, but then we were reminded that we were supposed to be thinking of pre-history, pre-settlement, pre-industrialization, and all those things. And that was who revealed herself, himself, to us. So, it’s Ookwemin, and Minising is ‘island,’” Elder Shelley Charles said during the unveiling of the name.

The island emerged amid the ongoing $1.35 billion Port Lands Flood Protection project, which renaturalizes the mouth of the Don River to connect it to Lake Ontario. The project aims to help protect the southeastern areas of downtown Toronto from flooding.

According to the city, the new island will have a mixed-use community that could house 16,000 residents and 3,000 jobs. It will also be surrounded by green spaces.

The city also announced the name of a park on the island: Biidaasige Park. In Anishinaabemowin/Ojibwemowin, it means “sunlight shining towards us.”

“The name recognizes water awareness as central to the Port Lands Flood Protection project and creation of the renaturalized Don River, valley and park,” the city said, adding that it honours the Indigenous water walker movement.

The names will be considered at the upcoming Executive Meeting later this month.