Frank Oliver shaped Alberta, stole land and banned immigrants. Should we still celebrate his name?

Growing up in Edmonton, Brent Oliver remembered his family's sense of pride that Frank Oliver was an ancestor. 

"My mom had told me we had this famous relative," he said. "He was an important figure in the history of Alberta." 

It wasn't until he took a job at the Alberta legislature and heard a coworker refer to Oliver as a "notorious racist" that he sensed there might be more to the story. 

As a child, Jodi Calahoo-Stonehouse heard her own family lore about Oliver.

When her family would drive into Edmonton from their rural town west of the city, they would pass through the Oliver neighbourhood where signs and buildings display his name. 

"He wasn't spoken of kindly," she said. "My mom would say he was our Indian agent." 

An Indian Agent was a role that existed until the 1960s. They acted as representatives for the Canadian government on Indigenous reserves. 

Calahoo-Stonehouse said at the time she didn't fully understand the meaning of that title, but she recognized the heavy tone of her voice around that name.

Who was Frank Oliver? 

In Alberta, Frank Oliver's legacy as a pioneering political leader has been upheld on plaques and in government buildings, but there is now a growing scrutiny of his discriminatory policies and criminal past.

Oliver was an influential voice in western Canada at the beginning of the 20th century. He founded the newspaper the Edmonton Bulletin and he was one of the first politicians to represent the Northwest Territories region. He later became the federal minister of the interior and superintendent-general of Indian Affairs.

As minister of the interior he was instrumental in shaping Canada's Immigration Act of 1906 and subsequent policies which restricted immigration based on ethnic origin. 

He also wrote an order-in-council to bar Black immigrants fleeing persecution in the American south from entering Canada. In the end, that order was not passed into legislation. 

For Calahoo-Stonehouse, the policies and legacy of Oliver's influence are still felt today. 

Oliver was the Indian agent for the Michel First Nation, a Mohawk nation in northern Alberta. In his role, he enforced regulations that prevented Calahoo-Stonehouse's chapans (a Cree term for either a great-grandparent or child) from leaving their reserve without Oliver's signed permission. 

"There are stories ... of my family illegally hopping the train to go into Edmonton," she said, "I can't imagine running to catch a train, because it was illegal to go into town and buy groceries for your kids." 

After Oliver took charge of federal Indian Affairs in 1905, he arranged a deal to buy parcels of land from the Michel First Nation for nine dollars per acre. 

The money was never paid and the sale was declared illegal by the Canadian government, but Oliver still managed to have the deed of that land transferred to him. It was never returned.

I don't want my kids to grow up with the same whitewashed stories that I had.- Brent Oliver

Oliver also lobbied to have Papaschase First Nation removed from their reserve land on what is now the southern part of Edmonton, along with the Sharphead First Nation people removed from their reserve land in central Alberta. 

None of those Indigenous nations have had their reserve land returned, and despite multiple legal battles those nations are not recognized under the Indian Act today. 

For Calahoo-Stonehouse, the most painful aspect is not having that same territory for her family to gather on. 

"My children growing up not knowing their relatives, that's the difficult part," she said. 

• 'Things have to change': Indigenous leader, activist call for Edmonton to drop Oliver name
• Conversation around Oliver name change is a teachable moment, Indigenous educators say

When Brent Oliver learned more about the harms caused by Frank Oliver, he said it changed his perspective on what lessons were passed down to him. 

"As a dad, I don't want my kids to grow up with the same whitewashed stories that I had," he said. 

A name change

In one Edmonton neighbourhood, the name Oliver is around every corner. There's a pool, a park, a school, a business square, and a community centre all bearing Frank Oliver's name.

"The Oliver name is on so many things, it just doesn't need to be celebrated," Brent Oliver said.

Now, that's slowly changing.

In September, the Edmonton Public School board voted to drop the Oliver School name.

This past year the neighbourhood community league launched the "Uncover Oliver" project to begin the discussion for changing the name. The community league launched an application to consult with an Indigenous group about the process this week. 

• Time to rename Oliver neighbourhood, Oliver community league tells city
• Dan Knott School, Oliver School to get new names, public trustees decide in unanimous vote

For both Oliver and Calahoo-Stonehouse a change means a chance for them to pass on a more truthful version of history.

"I'm here to break the cycle," Oliver said, "so that my kids can talk more honestly with their kids." 

Calahoo-Stonehouse added, "And so that our kids can talk to each other, and know each other."