A letter written by a primary school girl to Dronten local council in 2022 has led to a name change for a road known as Eskimolaan, or Eskimo lane.

“Dear local council, I would like to file a complaint. Eskimos think “eskimo” is a term of abuse. They call themselves Inuit (pronounced In-u-it). I would like it if you could change the name of this street,” the girl wrote to the council, after a classmate’s presentation about the subject in school.

The council recently announced it would change the name “following a letter pointing out alleged racism by a member of the public who is urgently calling for the change”.

The decision to rename the street to IJsbaanlaan (ice rink lane) led far right leader Geert Wilders to call the council “Knettergek” (batshit crazy) but others have praised the girl’s initiative.

Publisher Martin de Vries, whose business is situated on Eskimolaan, said the compensation of €500 the council is giving him to meet the costs for a change of address is much too low but that he is not against the change.

“People may think it’s all being blown up but you could also say the council is right to take this sort of thing seriously. (..) How would we feel if there was a “Kaaskoppenlaan” (cheese head lane) in Suriname or Indonesia? And that’s quite innocuous,” De Vries told the AD. He also said the girl’s letter was a “good lesson in citizenship.”

The change to IJsbaanlaan will be made in 2025.