TDSB to remove ‘chief’ from job titles out of respect for Indigenous communities

The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) will stop using the word ‘chief’ in job titles, citing respect for Indigenous communities.

Dr. Duke Redbird, the TDSB’s curator of Indigenous arts and culture.”The word chief has been used in a pejorative way to identify any Indigenous person,” he said, adding calling someone chief is often deployed as a form of micro-aggression.

The board said the decision was inspired by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) final report, though the change is also part of a larger initiative to rename titles within the board.

As a result, 12 TDSB staff formerly designated as chiefs will now be called managers. For example, the board’s chief of social work will now be the manager of social work.