No name change for the Edmonton Eskimos after consultation with northern communities

EDMONTON -- The Edmonton Eskimos organization has announced that after a year-long research and engagement program with Canadian Inuit leaders, the team will not be changing its name.

The consultations included meetings with leaders in Iqaluit, Inuvik, Yellowknife and Ottawa, as well as a telephone survey among a group of Inuit across Canada.

According to the club, there was no consensus to support a name change throughout the research phase.

"Since launching the Northern Community Engagement Program, we have been warmly welcomed in the communities that we have visited. The consistent message was 'come back and come more often'. We are the CFL’s most northern team and we want to continue to build our relationship with the Inuit community," said Janice Agrios, Chair of the Board of Directors. "This is a very important initiative for us."

"The research program provided the Club with many insights," Agrios said. "A key learning for us was the desire of northern communities to increase the Club’s engagement with them. As a result, we have invested the time and resources to create a Northern Community Engagement Program and will continue to engage with Inuit leaders and community members to strengthen the ties between the Club and the Inuit community."

The club has held school visits in Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk and participated in the Inuvik Sunrise Festival. They also hosted Youth Service Awards winners, and have received requests from seven communities to have local programming.