The past doesn’t change. However, we can examine it through new perspectives and gain deeper insights.

History isn’t a fixed straight line – it’s a radiant story we tell that expands as we ask better questions and find more dynamic answers. Much of what we do when we make RRC Polytech a reflection of the people that learn and work here are demonstrations of anti-racism even without being explicitly labelled as such.

To understand how far RRC Polytech has come, we should continually revisit and re-evaluate our history. The one constant we rely on is the fact that the College has adapted to meet the needs of Manitobans joining the workforce since day one.

RRC Polytech’s roots trace back to 1938 with the founding of the Henry Ave. and St. Boniface Vocational Education Centres, which were created to train workers for job vacancies that opened during World War II.[1] In 1942, the Manitoba Technical Institute (MTI) opened at 1181 Portage Ave. and became the official name for the institution as a whole.[2] After the St. Boniface centre closed in 1944, MTI retrained returning servicepeople in 1945 to help them reintegrate into civilian life. By 1948, MTI was Manitoba’s first post-secondary vocational institution that was independent of wartime needs.[3]

Notre Dame Campus opened in 1963 as the Manitoba Institute of Technology (MIT). Buildings DEF were added in 1969 and called the Manitoba Institute of Applied Arts (MIAA) to expand the College’s range of offerings as technology became more widespread and demand for technical skills rose.[4]

The names that were taken up until now intentionally included “technology” and “institute” to reflect the practical applications of the work that students would prepare for in the workforce, but as MIT/MIAA’s purview expanded, a new descriptor was needed to accurately capture the extent of the institute’s offerings.

That same year, the Manitoba Government announced that vocational schools in Winnipeg, Brandon, and The Pas would transition into community colleges – an indicator that held a higher prestige than simply “college” or “vocational school,” and would position the institutions closer to “university.” A province-wide vote was launched through newspaper ballots which invited Manitobans to choose a name for MIT/MIAA.

The three options presented were:

• La Vérendrye Community College – commemorating the French explorer’s 1738 journey to the Red and Assiniboine Rivers;
• Peguis Community College – commemorating the Saulteaux chief who aided early Selkirk settlers, and;
• Red River Community College – referring to the river that has long been a resource for Indigenous Peoples, named by the Anishinaabeg and Ininiwak for its red clay riverbed.

Despite Red River Community College receiving the most votes, the decision was met with resistance at the time. Some students felt excluded from the process and that the value associated with the MIT name would be lost – a name that positioned the institution closer to the esteemed Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). A student-led boycott collected over 600 signatures and one student at the time told the Winnipeg Free Press, “When I think of Red River, I think of the muddy Red… what Fort Garry dumps their sewage into.”[5]

In response, College leadership allowed students to choose which name appeared on their diplomas, which eased the tension of the transition.[6] This moment illustrates how institutional identity and collective memory are formed not just by decisions that were made, but by the conversations and conflicts surrounding them.

RRC Polytech’s identity further developed in 1990, when the College hosted a regional Multicultural Workshop in partnership with the Association of Canadian Colleges. Post-secondary institutions examined how they served Indigenous and multicultural communities to see how they could address gaps in representation and where more equitable practices could be implemented.[7]

That same year, in response to a challenge from Vice-Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Ovide Mercredi, the College established the President’s Task Force on Services to Multicultural and Aboriginal Communities. The Task Force developed a two-fold mandate: to recommend improvements to services for Indigenous and multicultural learners and to create a formal race and ethnic relations policy for the College.[8]

The timing of Mercredi’s challenge captured the spirit of Manitoba in the late 80s and early 90s regarding the rights and recognition of Indigenous Peoples in Manitoba. This time itself was a period of fast change as well as a culmination of long-coming change. The last Residential School in Manitoba closed in 1988 and the increasing presence of Indigenous students in public schools in Manitoba encouraged the Manitoba Government to request that all schools incorporate Indigenous Perspectives into all curricula in 1995. In 1998, Manitoba was the first province to create a provincial nominee program for immigrants, reflecting the rise of immigration in the province – or, rather, a motivation to encourage immigration.

In 1993, Don Robertson was appointed as the College’s first Dean of Aboriginal Education and Institutional Diversity – a role that set the foundation for culturally relevant programming.[9] The Aboriginal Resource Centre, now the Indigenous Support Centre, opened in 1998 to offer holistic support grounded in Indigenous knowledge and practices.

In 1995, the Language Training Centre moved from the Massey Building to the Union Station, and the centre expanded its English for Specific Purposes to a wider range of programs like nursing, apprenticeships, and entrepreneurship.[10]

The College’s first Pow Wow was organized in 2000 to celebrate Indigenous excellence in a traditional way; and this year, we celebrated the 25^th annual Graduation Pow Wow, marking a quarter-century of honouring Indigenous tradition.

These milestones mark more than just institutional progress – they are tangible steps toward decolonizing an education model originally designed during the industrial era to funnel workers into factories and support wartime production needs.

This education model, which valued efficiency and conformity, stands in contrast to Indigenous ways of knowing – where education is lifelong, land-based, and deeply relational. The Schools of Indigenous Education and International Education show that education must be delivered with context and culturally-informed staff – not through a one-size-fits-all model. Expanding our approach to meet not just academic needs but also cultural, emotional, mental health, and social needs is an essential act of anti-racism.

And so, the conversation around the College’s name becomes a question of: how can we represent everything we offer and the people that benefit from our services accurately?

In 1997, the Board of Governors removed “Community” from Red River College and extended the name to Red River College of Applied Arts, Science and Technology to encompass all fields of study offered at the College. Conversationally, though, the institution was widely referred to as “Red River College” or “RRC.”

In his 2012 book, Changing People’s Lives: An Illustrated History of Red River College, Dave Williamson, Dean of Applied Arts and Business, 1983 – 2006, writes: “Ironically, Community was being dropped in 1997 for the same reason it was adopted in 1969 – to suggest that Red River was something more – that it wasn’t just a trade school by the airport.”[11]

The term “college” was, again, considered less prestigious than “university.” Instead of being seen as a real option for post-secondary education, it was often thought of as something in between high school and university.

Regardless of how the College is named, learning has always occurred here. The conversation has always been about how to best represent the services we provide to people and the people that benefit from our services. And that has consistently changed as the institution has become more conscious of the needs of the people it serves.

Fast forward to 2021, when the College took on its current name: Red River College Polytechnic (RRC Polytech), in a press release, the College stated:

“Embracing this new identity recognizes RRC Polytech’s evolution into a unique kind of post-secondary institution that blends deep, theoretical learning with applied, hands-on experience, and highlights the important role our graduates will play in growing Manitoba’s economy as our province recovers from the pandemic and looks to the future.”

Along with the name change, the five-year Strategic Plan 2022 – 2026 dubbed: In Front of What’s Ahead introduced the College’s vision and mission and three priorities that elevate relationships and delivering education to people. The new name and strategy better capture the actual impact we have on the economy, innovation, and communities not just in Manitoba, but across the world – because this change is driven by the people who want it.

The Red and Assiniboine Rivers have been places of gathering, trade, governance, and teaching since time immemorial. Today, RRC Polytech continues that legacy by offering modern pathways for people to pursue careers that bring meaning to their lives and offers them the knowledge and skills to make change in their communities.

We honour that responsibility in both name and action. The names of our spaces – Manitou a bi Bii daziigae in Anishinaabemowin, Where Creator Sits and Brings the Light, and Mitakuye Oyasin Okciyape in Dakota, All My Relations Helping Each Other – were gifted to us by Indigenous Grandparents, who are members of our community as Elders-in-Residence and members of the Knowledge Keepers Council. These names reflect an affirmation in our relationship to place, language, and community. As we move forward on our people-focused path, we are branching the spokes of our history in a larger, more comprehensive wheel.

Today, we have International Education; the School of Indigenous Education with Elders-in-Residence; Indigenous Strategy, Research and Business Development; Truth and Reconciliation and Community Engagement with the Knowledge Keepers Council; the Anti-Racism Action Committee and its subcommittees; Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility; and so much more. These initiatives and areas are all driven by people who want to make the College a better place to work and learn.

As we look back, we recognize that the story of RRC Polytech is shaped by the people who continue to move it forward – students, educators, community leaders, and Knowledge Keepers. Our history is not static – it is a living, breathing process of becoming. By looking back, we are getting in front of what’s ahead.

• [1] Dave Williamson, Changing Peoples’ Lives: An Illustrated History of Red River College (Red River College, 2012), 5.
• [2] Williamson, 7.
• [3] Williamson, 9.
• [4] Williamson, 32.
• [5] Williamson, 40.
• [6] Williamson, 41.
• [7] Williamson, 119.
• [8] Williamson, 141.
• [9] Williamson, 143.
• [10] Williamson, 146.
• [11] Williamson, 156.