In recent years, there's been a bit of a controversy as to what to call the Queen Charlotte Islands in BC. The name of Haida Gwaii which reflects the islands' Haida heritage has grown more popular in recent years, and using two different names for the islands could result in some confusion. To Gwaii or not to Gwaii?
But today British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell announced that the name of the islands has been officially changed to Haida Gwaii. This change will be applied to maps and other official documents.
The name of Queen Charlotte Islands was originally bestowed upon the islands by Captain George Dixon in 1787, named after one of his ships (the Queen Charlotte), which in turn was named after the wife of King George III. The original Haida name was Xhaaidlagha Gwaayaai ("islands on the boundry between the worlds"), while Haida Gwaii means "islands of the people."
No comments:
Post a Comment