Smarter than Me!

Packerjohn

Packerjohn

Packerjohn
Location
Canada
Yesterday I came home via a street named "Bishop Grandin." Today, I see that the WOKS have changed the name to "Abinojii Mikanah." If you can pronounce this new name you sure are a lot smarter than I am.

I wonder if we are following the Russians. Czar Peter built St. Petersburg. The name was changed to Petrograd. Then it became Leningrad. Last I heard it is again Petersburg. The Russian seem confused as what to name it. Rather confusing for me too and I don't even live there!
 

Packerjohn said:
Yesterday I came home via a street named "Bishop Grandin." Today, I see that the WOKS have changed the name to "Abinojii Mikanah." If you can pronounce this new name you sure are a lot smarter than I am.

I wonder if we are following the Russians. Czar Peter built St. Petersburg. The name was changed to Petrograd. Then it became Leningrad. Last I heard it is again Petersburg. The Russian seem confused as what to name it. Rather confusing for me too and I don't even live there!
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what are Woks ? :unsure:...no I would have a hard time pronouncing that new name too..šŸ˜²
 
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Just out of curiosity, I googled it:

How do you pronounce Abinojii Mikanah?


Abinojii Mikanah is pronounced a-bi-no-jii mi-ka-nah The word can easily be broken down into pronounceable syllables. Apr 5, 2023

Abinojii means ā€œchildrenā€ and Mikinah means ā€œstreetā€ in the Anishinaabemowin/Ojibwa language.

Hopefully someone comes up with a nickname for that street, like Martin Luther King Blvd. became the MLK. ;)
 

I think the new name, which means "children's road" (or street/trail) in Ojibway and Cree*, is delightful. I can imagine people telling their own children about the name and the reason behind it.

Thanks Carolyn, for the pronunciation. It isn't really all that difficult to master, is it?

*That's what I read when I looked up the meaning
 
Packerjohn said:
Yesterday I came home via a street named "Bishop Grandin." Today, I see that the WOKS have changed the name to "Abinojii Mikanah." If you can pronounce this new name you sure are a lot smarter than I am.

I wonder if we are following the Russians. Czar Peter built St. Petersburg. The name was changed to Petrograd. Then it became Leningrad. Last I heard it is again Petersburg. The Russian seem confused as what to name it. Rather confusing for me too and I don't even live there!
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Not far from here sir Francis Drake put ashore in1579. A celebrated landing that resulted in a high school and major thoroughfare being named after him. Oops! Seems he once transported slaves! The school is renamed and his statue torn down. The plan was to rename the thoroughfare until someone realized what a pain that would be for hundreds of homes and businesses. Latest development, the city and university of Berkeley has been found to have been named after a slave owner! Aieeee!! Rename Now!

Ironically as the Civil war progressed there was a fear on the part of many former, and about to be former, slaves that when the war ended they might be returned to Africa. Today Africans are flying to Mexico where they are being smuggled across the border by the cartels.
 
I guess in you were born speaking Ojibway, "Bishop Grandin" might be difficult to say.
BTW, what is the good Bishop Grandin noted for?



Vital-Justin Grandin - Wikipedia​

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vital-Justin_Grandin
Vital-Justin Grandin (8 February 1829 ā€“ 3 June 1902) was a Roman Catholic priest and bishop known as a key architect of the Canadian Indian residential school system, which has been labeled an instrument of cultural genocide.
Considering the systematic abuse of children, and even the type of abuse we aren't allowed to say here, "Children's Way" in Ojibway is much better.
 
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fuzzybuddy said:
I guess in you were born speaking Ojibway, "Bishop Grandin" might be difficult to say.
BTW, what is the good Bishop Grandin noted for?



Vital-Justin Grandin - Wikipedia​

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vital-Justin_Grandin
Vital-Justin Grandin (8 February 1829 ā€“ 3 June 1902) was a Roman Catholic priest and bishop known as a key architect of the Canadian Indian residential school system, which has been labeled an instrument of cultural genocide.
Considering the systematic abuse of children, and even the type of abuse we aren't allowed to say here, "Children's Way" in Ojibway is much better.
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That clarifies the reason for renaming the highway.

Hawaii is one of the United States, but only Hawaiians can pronounce the names of the streets. To your average tourist, the street names all look alike, sound alike, have a maximum of 4 letters and a minimum of 8 syllables. Tourists used to get special 4 page brochures just on street names. (i don't know if they still do)
 
They're changing names of schools and streets and venues everywhere I live these days. I wonder what they'll call our capitol when they decide Washington was nothing but a bigot with an army? o_O I'm kidding because I like Washington but deep down they will have to tackle this one eventually. I'd love to see what ridiculous excuse they come up with. It's all so inane.
 
Thr trouble with this so called retribution is where does it end? How far back does it go? The Egyptians had slaves. So did the Romans. Black Africans sold other Africans into slavery. And who decides? And what character flaws disqualify someone from having something named after him or her. Thereā€™s the Robert Byrd building in Washington, named after SenatorByrd, who just happened to have been in the KKK. So where does it end and who the heck will ever be perfect enough?
 
Our local football team is no longer the Redskins. They are the Washington Commanders. (I wonder what they are supposed to be commanding?)
 

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