Sault Ste. Marie Indian Friendship Centre undergoes name change

A popular meeting place for Indigenous Peoples in the Sault has quietly changed its name in an effort to be more inclusive and better reflect the population it serves. 

This past November, Sault Ste. Marie Indian Friendship Centre (SSMIFC) membership voted in favour of dropping ‘Indian’ from its name and will be known as the Sault Ste. Marie Indigenous Friendship Centre going forward — marking the first time the local friendship centre has changed its name since its incorporation in 1972.  

“With the ever-growing population of East Indian people coming to our city and settling here, we had to make a distinction because we were getting calls,” said SSMIFC executive director Cathie Syrette during a telephone interview with SooToday Wednesday. “I just felt like it was time to push that envelope of a name change.” 

Syrette says the name change is also in line with moves to drop decidedly more outdated terms such as ‘Indian’ and ‘Aboriginal’ and replace them with ‘Indigenous’ as a blanket term for tribal nations across Canada.  

The Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centre, for example, opted to cut ‘Indian’ from its name in 2014. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also released a statement in June 2017, pledging to drop National Aboriginal Day in favour of National Indigenous Peoples Day.  

“The word ‘Indigenous’ encompasses more of an inclusion piece — namely, it covers our First Nation people, our status people, our non-status people, our Métis people and our Inuit people,” Syrette said. 

The friendship centre was almost renamed Bawating Indigenous Friendship Centre in what was a very close vote by its membership late last year.  

“It was split almost in half, with one or two votes overriding the others,” Syrette said, adding that the friendship centre on East Street still retains its SSMIFC acronym despite changing its name.  

Changing the friendship centre's corporation name and its accompanying signage will be the next steps in the organization's rebranding process. 

The Sault Ste. Marie Indigenous Friendship Centre also plans on revamping its logo for the first time in years. Syrette says the organization will post more information on the logo redesign on the SSMIFC website and Facebook page when it becomes available. 

“We’re looking for something more modern, if you will, but yet capturing the culture,” Syrette said. 

Sault Ste. Marie Indigenous Friendship Centre will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2023.