An island in New Brunswick's St. John River got a politically correct makeover on Wednesday when the provincial government agreed to rename the piece of land ‘Eqpahak’ to replace its old name, Savage Island.

The island is located about seven kilometres northwest of Fredericton.

Eqpahak is a Maliseet word that translates to the ‘place where the tide stops coming in.’

"This place has been an important geographic feature to the aboriginal people for more than 3,000 years," Albert said in a statement Wednesday.

"This is why we thought that it was crucial to change the name of Savage Island to ‘Eqpahak’ as it reflects Maliseet culture."

The New Brunswick government said this is the first time that the province has changed an official name because the name was inappropriate or discriminatory.

The name change was requested last April by New Brunswick resident Percy Sacobie, a Maliseet man, and supported by Fredericton City Council, six Maliseet chiefs and a provincial steering committee.

“I feel the term ‘savage’ is not a term that's appropriate to relate to my ancestors or myself,” Sacobie told the CBC.

However, some New Brunswickers don't understand the reasoning behind the name change, as Savage is also a popular surname in the area, and some believe the island's name was derived from those settling families.