The Naming, Renaming, Commemoration, and Removal Handbook provides a resource and discussion guide for anyone thinking about a naming, renaming, commemoration, or removal (NRCR) project.

This Handbook outlines a series of Principles that community groups need to work through in the context of their project, an 8-step process to approach the work, and additional resources and learnings from people who have been there and have completed projects like this before. The Handbook presents questions that you will need to answer as you move through your project. It does not tell you what those answers are. How you answer the questions and design your project depends on your context and what your community needs.

People begin NRCR projects for many different reasons. No two NRCR projects will be exactly the same, and the context of your project will inform who needs to be involved, who makes the decisions, what the parameters are, and how long it will take. This Handbook presents a process that will help you navigate those differences but also grapple with the questions and elements that are common among NRCR projects. This work is complex and takes time and it can also be very rewarding. It is important to approach your project thoughtfully as it influences profoundly what we remember—or don’t—and how we see ourselves—or don’t—in our communities.

If you see yourself in any of the example statements below, this Handbook should be useful to you, and you may need other kinds of resources as well:

• I am wondering about the appropriateness of a name on a building in my neighbourhood.

• I want to honour a person or group who made a difference in my community.

• I want to make sure we remember an important event or experience for generations to come.

• There are many names for a site and we would like to know what name to use.

• The name of a geographic feature doesn’t seem meaningful.

• There is a statue I walk by every day that does not align with the values I think my community has.

• There is a new development coming together and there will be many new places and

spaces to name.

• I work for a non-profit and a donor or sponsor’s name is being considered for a building.

• I do not think the names in my community reflect the people and cultures that live here.

• I have a different kind of NRCR project in mind.

Calgary-based organizations and groups interested in pursuing plans for naming, renaming, commemoration, and removal, needed a guide and a process for engaging with stakeholders.

As Calgarians consider the process of naming and renaming in Calgary and choosing what is commemorated and how commemoration happens and changes, the City and Heritage Calgary identified a process is required to ensure we make intentional, inclusive, and enduring decisions.

Heritage Calgary was well-suited to undertake this work as an arm’s length Civic Partner with a mandate to advise City Council on all matters relating to Calgary’s heritage resources and promote public awareness of our shared heritage. We believe we owe it to Calgarians to strive to present them with whole stories and encourage them to tell their own stories.

Heritage Calgary recognizes and respects that heritage is a source of immense personal meaning for differing communities. The process in creating the handbook was an opportunity to expand the understanding and awareness of Calgary’s diverse heritage, and ensured that historical commemoration reflects that diversity.

In February 2021, Heritage Calgary applied to the Council Innovation Fund (CIF) with a proposal to develop a framework to address naming, renaming, and commemorations in Calgary at the request of a member of City Council. The proposal was approved by the Priorities and Finance Committee on February 16, 2021, and then by City Council on March 1, 2021. A competitive procurement process was undertaken and in May 2021 Heritage Calgary began executing on the outlined scope of work by engaging a consultant team of Hatlie Group (project lead, process design, community engagement, writing, and compilation), MD Consulting (project management, best practices, and cross-jurisdictional research), and CIPR Communications (communications strategy, handbook design, and communications tactical management). Together with the consultant team, Heritage Calgary developed a timeline for research and community engagement but committed to a process that was community-driven and designed to be flexible to respond to what was heard.

The Naming, Renaming, and Commemoration (NRC) Project included parallel community engagement and research processes leading to the development of the Naming, Renaming, Commemoration, and Removal (NRCR) Handbook to aid community groups engaging in NRCR projects in Calgary. By providing Principles and an 8 Step Process, the Handbook guides users through an NRCR process to:

• Understand a project’s relationship to the place on which it is located.

• Engage with community in a meaningful way.

• Seek a thorough understanding of the historical and contemporary context through research. In this time and place, those conditions mean approaching NRCR work in the spirit of reconciliation and seeking to understand what that means for each NRCR project, its context, and the legacy it may leave.

The NRC Project was carried out under the leadership of Heritage Calgary and in conversation with the project’s Indigenous Sharing Circle and many stakeholders and community members working in culture and community building in Calgary. The Team set out from the beginning to ensure that Indigenous voices were strong in the project’s design and activities. This included establishing an Indigenous Sharing Circle to provide guidance and support to the project work, and also ensuring our interviews and small group discussions included a multiplicity of perspectives from Indigenous community members from artists to activists to the City of Calgary’s Indigenous Relations Office (IRO) and others who had involvement with NRCR projects.

This Handbook begins by outlining the core NRCR Principles and questions that your group will need to address in your project. It then outlines an 8 Step process for advancing your NRCR project. Each step begins by identifying a Checklist of the activities needed for that step and presents Discussion Questions to guide your group through the process. Key Terms are defined throughout, and Tips from the Field—from those who have been there before—are also included.

You will find a full glossary, supplementary resources, selected references, and acknowledgments at the back. Heritage Calgary’s website is home to additional tools and resources and the companion report, the Naming, Renaming, and Commemoration Project Final Report, for those who would like to know more about the extensive community engagement and research project that led to this Handbook.

Review the whole Handbook before you start. It will be helpful to be familiar with the NRCR Principles as you move through the process. You are likely to find the steps are not always sequential, and you may find yourself moving back and forth as you stay responsive to what you are hearing and learning.

Calgary Foundation’s Indigenous Ally Toolkit is a resource for individuals and organizations that provides a brief overview of Indigenous history, the importance of land acknowledgments and protocol, and how to build relationships and be an ally.

Calgary Foundation. Indigenous Ally Toolkit. 2019. Accessed January 2022. https://calgaryfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/Ally-Toolkit-web.pdf

Change can be difficult. There are a number of strategies that organizations and communities can use to support positive change. For example, “Of/By/For All envision a world in which all people are empowered to share their talents to strengthen their communities. Communities in which people feel safe, welcome, and connected to the strangers who cross their paths every day.”

Of/By/For All. Free Resources. Accessed January 2022. https://www.ofbyforall.org/resources

Research is the act of investigating, exploring, and gathering facts on a specific topic in order to inform decision-making. Research can include: Primary Sources, firsthand accounts written or created in the time period of the specified topic; Secondary Sources, resources that analyze, quote, and use primary sources as evidence or example to provide secondhand information and interpretation; and Oral Histories, narratives of past events based on personal experiences, memories, and stories from individuals directly, typically collected in a planned and recorded interview.

Calgary Public Library. The Alberta Research Portal. Accessed January 2022. https://calgarylibrary.ca/read-learn-and-explore/digital-library/alberta-research-portal/

Smithsonian Institution Archives. How to Do Oral History. Accessed January 2022. https://siarchives.si.edu/history/how-do-oral-history

Community engagement is the practice of going into your communities to ask questions, share, and learn together. Identifying your communities is the first step, as community goes beyond just a geographical location. Then decide the best way to involve community in the conversation based on their needs; different communities will require different approaches. Be clear about expectations for participation and what outcome you’re working to achieve.

Tamarack Institute. Community Engagement Planning Canvas. Accessed January 2022. https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/library/community-engagement-planning-canvas

A communications strategy is a plan for communicating with various audiences to achieve a goal. Creating a communications strategy allows your team to understand what to say, who to talk to, where to share information, when to talk to them, and how to respond to questions in a way that is consistent throughout your organization and clear to your audience.

Canada Helps. Creating a Communications Plan. Accessed January 2022. https://www.canadahelps.org/media/C-Helps-webinar_CommsPlan_KF_ENG_Feb10.pdf

CCVO’s' “The Everyday Advocacy Guide for Nonprofits” is a practical guide for nonprofits wishing to engage in advocacy. This Guide is intended to help inform a range of nonprofit stakeholders, including executive directors, staff, board members, and volunteers, about the context, rules, and strategies that can be used to support nonprofit contributions to public policy dialogue and development.

Your organization will need to decide its own course of action when it comes to sponsorship naming, based on your organization’s goals, mission, vision, and values, and how they align with a donor or corporation’s values. The steps and Principles in the NRCR Handbook can help with determining that alignment.

As an example, please see Calgary Public Library’s Board Policies on naming rights for sponsors, naming in recognition, and honorific naming.

Calgary Public Library. Donations and Related Matters. Accessed January 2022. https://calgarylibrary.ca/about-the-library/library-board/board-policies/donations-and-related-matters/