Remembering Ryerson

Looking back on how the Vic One Education Stream has adjusted to the name change, and how it will move forward

As of September 2019, the Vic One Egerton Ryerson Stream has been renamed the Education Stream. The name change occurred due to Ryerson’s involvement with the residential school system, but his legacy has not been forgotten by this year’s cohort. 

Egerton Ryerson was a prominent figure in the realm of 19th century Canadian education: he proposed that the education system should be free, compulsory, and secular—and he established Toronto’s first teacher’s college. However, he also believed that Indigenous children had to be educated differently from European ones, and developed a system of boarding schools which separated Indigenous children from their families and exposed many of them to emotional, sexual, and physical violence. 

It is estimated that 150,000 Indigenous children were relocated into this system, the aim of which was cultural genocide. They were forced to assimilate into the dominant Euro-Christian Canadian society and were sanctioned if they deviated from its norms. Although the last residential school closed in 1996, the effects of the system are still prevalent through the intergenerational trauma that has been passed down since then. 

Prior to the beginning of the 2019-2020 academic year, Egerton Ryerson’s name was attached to both a Vic One stream and a house in Lower Burwash because of his history with Victoria College—he was its first Principal and also served as a President. However, given his involvement with the residential school system, the Victoria University Students’ Administrative Council (VUSAC) wrote a proposal in February 2019 urging the Victoria University Senate and the Board of Regents to rename the Vic One Ryerson Stream and the Ryerson House in Lower Burwash by September 2019. 

This proposal was created in consultation with various organizations, including the Indigenous Studies Students’ Union (ISSU), OISE’s Indigenous Education Network (IEN), the Centre for Indigenous Studies, and First Nations House—all of which favoured a name change. The proposal states that “[Egerton Ryerson] has no place being celebrated in this age of truth and reconciliation. Our university should not put a key contributor to Canada’s Residential School System on a pedestal any longer.” 

While the Vic One stream has been renamed the Education Stream, Ryerson’s name is still attached to the house in Lower Burwash. Moreover, VUSAC’s proposal indicates that, through its consultations with Indigenous groups, a recurring suggestion was that the stream be renamed to honour Dr. Cindy Blackstock, a prominent Indigenous rights activist and a UofT alumna. 

Jonathan Hamilton-Diabo, Special Advisor to the President of Victoria University on Indigenous issues, a member of the Kahnawá:ke community and a professor in the Education Stream, wrote to The Strand that, from his understanding, it is felt that “Education” best encapsulates the academic aims of the stream, but that “the VUSAC report was welcomed as a contribution to the discussion.” Furthermore, he explained that “a number of factors were considered in the renaming of the Ryerson Stream. One matter was to address the confusion that this program was associated with Ryerson University.” As for whether the renaming process was an adequate step towards reconciliation, Hamilton-Diabo stated that it would be difficult to measure the impact it had, but he recognizes that it has led to awareness, concerns, and discussions about Ryerson’s legacy. 

Jacqueline Beaudoin, a current student in the Education Stream, expressed their aversion to what the term “reconciliation” has come to signify. “Reconciliation is a word that powerful people use to give us [the] impression that they’re doing something to fix the irreparable damage of the past, while they continue to invest in projects that destroy Indigenous land, steal Indigenous resources, and commit continuous acts of genocide against Indigenous people.” 

While Beaudoin stated that they believe the name change is better than doing nothing to reprimand Ryerson, efforts to improve relations with Indigenous groups cannot stop there. Beaudoin points to how Vic One has not adopted the practice of giving land acknowledgements before the program’s weekly plenaries, the Ryerson house in Lower Burwash has not been renamed, and highlights instances where the stream is still referred to as the Ryerson Stream (such as in a pamphlet about the Victoria College Education and Society minor program that they received just last month). 

Sebastian Smith and Julia Pape, two other students currently enrolled in the Education Stream, echoed similar sentiments. They both expressed the importance of ensuring that renaming the stream is not an attempt to erase Ryerson’s legacy. Smith stated that “[renaming the stream was] a good step, but we need to be careful not to let ourselves get complacent,” and he hopes that “nobody views the name change as a one-and-done deal.” Additionally, Pape said that “in discussing Egerton Ryerson, future teachers can learn the true past of the Canadian education system and take [the] appropriate steps [to undo] the legacy of residential schools that still exists within that system.” 

Imani King and Jessica Kok, who are also part of this year’s Education Stream cohort, wrote to The Strand that although they have discussed topics such as the residential school system and decolonizing education in their classes, Egerton Ryerson’s teaching principles have not been brought up. They believe that his history should be discussed so that students understand his involvement with residential schools and, in turn, why his name was removed from the stream. 

Beaudoin further explained that Ryerson was only mentioned at the Vic One Education Stream Orientation during Orientation Week in September 2019 when the name change was briefly discussed. As far as they can recall, the name change has not been brought up in a classroom setting since then. 

“Renaming the stream is a step towards reconciliation because, to those who are in power, reconciliation is an act of wiping our hands clean from blood that is still being spilled. What’s the point of changing the name of a program if we aren’t going to talk about it in the actual program?” 

Hamilton-Diabo expressed the importance of bringing Indigenous perspectives into courses, and he hopes that Indigenous students consider enrolling in the Education Stream. He stated that while Ryerson’s involvement with the residential school system can be a topic of discussion, there are also many others that should be brought to light. 

“I had the opportunity to ensure that Indigenous pedagogy was included. Students were able to engage with Knowledge Keepers during Indigenous Education Week; learn about the impacts of residential schools and the various barriers that exist for many students today […] due to my own background, I was able to share experiences that I gained in my work in Indigenous education to enhance the learning in the class.” 

Reflecting on reconciliation efforts outside of the Vic One program, Hamilton-Diabo stated that he is happy to know that the larger UofT community is becoming more engaged in Indigenous issues, but he wants to be clear that reconciliation “is not a short-term project and that there is much learning (meaning Truth) that need[s] to happen.” Furthermore, he informed The Strand that the Victoria University Board of Regents has requested that the President commission a report on Ryerson’s legacy. “The conversation is very much alive on campus as these complex issues are considered.” 

In regards to how this year’s Education Stream cohort has experienced the effects of renaming, Beaudoin stated that the students have become more aware of the repercussions that colonialism continues to have on Indigenous people, and they believe that they might not be having these discussions if the stream name had not been changed. However, they firmly believe that “as settlers, we need to dedicate more time and resources into making continuous changes, [and] not spend [it] patting ourselves on the back for those small beneficial adjustments of the past.”