Heather Wright/The Independent

The federal riding which serves Lambton County will continue to be called Sarnia-Lambton-Bkejwanong.

That’s after MP Marilyn Gladu wrote to the Procedure and House Affairs Committee removing her request to drop Bkejwanong from the riding name.

Gladu says the issue dates back several years when Charles Sampson was Chief of Bkejwanong. When it was suggested the First Nations’ name be added to the riding title, Sampson told Gladu it would be fine.

A year later, Dan Miskokomen was elected to the position and railed against the idea, according to the MP.

“He freaked out about the name being included. He said we had not asked permission to use their name, and that he was going to sue Elections Canada and sue the government, and gave Paul Rennie, who was the returning officer at the time, quite a hard time about it,” Gladu says.

She agreed to remove the name, but before the government body was ready to talk about the name change, another Chief was elected on Walpole Island, this time it was Leela Thomas.

Thomas, Gladu says, initially agreed to remove the Indigenous name. But when the new names were announced and Bkejwanong was absent, there was an issue again.

“I think she had time to consult with the people around her, or she changed her mind or whatever…I saw her article in The Hill Times saying she wanted to keep the name Bkejwanong.”

Gladu called Thomas and said she was glad to leave the First Nations name in the riding name, if that’s what the Chief wanted.

Tuesday, the MP released a letter written to the Procedure and House Affairs Committee asking for Bkejwanong to remain.

“It’s been implied that I didn’t consult, and believe me, I consulted and I consulted again, and I consulted him, and I’ll continue to consult,” says the MP. “But not everyone has the same view.

She added, “there are people that can verify that I was not imagining things when the previous chief decided that they were very angry about us using that name. I just want to make sure that they’re happy with what we’re doing.

“I want to move forward in a truth and reconciliation manner, and so I would say whatever they want to have, I’m happy.”