2634: Regina, a.k.a. Pile-of-Bones Mar 4, 2022
The capital of Saskatchewan, Canada is called 'Regina', named after Queen Victoria, but the name used to be very different. The original name of the settlement in the 19th century was 'Pile-of-Bones', only renamed from 1882 when it was made the capital of the then-territory. This name is from the Cree 'oskana kâ-asatêki' meaning "the place where bones are piled", because this is where the local tribe would leave bison bones on the flat, arid grounds. In fact, the land is so notably barren, and only useful for laying out bones, that at the time of its settlement it was a clear conflict of interest from the Lieutenant Governor who owned a large plot of that land that became the regional capital.