Mary March museum changing name out of respect for Beothuk woman, director says

A Newfoundland and Labrador museum that has long displayed the colonial version of a Beothuk woman's name is looking to better represent the historical figure and her people.

The Mary March Provincial Museum in Grand Falls-Windsor, which details the life of Demasduit and the history of Indigenous settlement in Newfoundland, has held onto the anglicized version of her name since it opened.

That will change by April, said Kate Wolforth, director of museums for The Rooms.

Museum administrators have put forward two options for its renaming: the Demasduit Regional Museum and the Demasduit Regional Interpretation Centre.

"They sound very similar," she said. "Everyone agreed that Demasduit needed to remain part of the history museum."

Mary March was the more prevalent name for Demasduit among settlers at the time the museum opened in honour of the Beothuk, and the one used by her European captors.

"Obviously it's more respectful to use her proper name," Wolforth said. 

Demasduit was kidnapped from Red Indian Lake in central Newfoundland by settlers. She lived out the remainder of her life with them, and she remains one of the most well-known members of the Beothuk people.

"We know when she was kidnapped, we know when she passed away, we know what she did when she was living with Europeans in captivity," Wolforth said.

"She actually did a lot to create the knowledge that we hold now about her people. So she contributed a great deal."

The museum also contains artifacts from the Mi'kmaq of central Newfoundland.

"I never did like the English name they had on there," said Chief Mi'sel Joe, head of Miawpukek Nation.

"You're not really doing justice to her the way you should be … we know that's her name for sure, and that's what it should be called."

Joe was involved in an attempt to rename nearby Red Indian Lake earlier this year — another small step toward respect and reconciliation, he said.