Officers have accepted the removing of the derogatory time period “squaw” from greater than 30 geographic options and place names on California lands, in response to an announcement Friday by the state Pure Sources Company.
The motion stems from a invoice that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into legislation in 2022, and follows an analogous transfer by the U.S. Division of the Inside, which stated “the term has historically been used as an offensive ethnic, racial, and sexist slur, particularly for Indigenous women.”
The California legislation, Meeting Invoice 2022, banned use of the phrase in future location names and ordered the sources company to start renaming all locations that used the time period, together with streets, bridges, public buildings, forest hearth gas breaks and cemeteries.
For Deputy Secretary for Tribal Affairs on the Pure Useful resource Company Geneva Thompson — the primary official to carry the title and a member of the Cherokee Nation — it’s a significant step to heal centuries of hurt the state has inflicted on Indigenous folks.
“Acknowledging those historical wrongs that were committed against Native Americans is extremely important, but we need to take the next step toward healing,” Thompson stated. “While there are differences among folks, we can build communities that reflect and honor and celebrate those differences instead of alienating and perpetuating historical wrongs.”
The renaming will happen in early 2025. It comes on the heels of an order from U.S. Secretary of the Inside Deb Haaland to rename any geographic options or location names on federal lands that use the time period, together with dozens in California.
The California Advisory Committee on Geographic Names, which the California Pure Sources Company oversees, scoured maps of California for any makes use of of the phrase beneath state jurisdiction, and the company partnered with native governments and Native tribes to pick new names.
In West Sacramento, a neighborhood public company labored intently with the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation to rename two streets.
The brand new title for the streets, “Tebti,” is a phrase and blessing that interprets to “the streams that flow together” — a reference to the Sacramento and American rivers, which take part West Sacramento.
One native official framed the brand new title as a “gift to the community,” Thompson stated.
“The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation has led the effort to change demeaning mascot imagery of Native people, and we support replacing derogatory names locally and across state lands,” stated Anthony Roberts, tribal chairman of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, in an announcement asserting the title modifications. “With continued consultation, tribes can lead initiatives to eliminate such words from California’s public places.”
Some students consider the now-offensive time period originated from the Algonquin language, which was spoken by many tribes on the East Coast, and initially meant “woman,” however was later corrupted by European colonists.
“It’s a racial stereotype. At times, it can even be a way of exerting harm against an individual or a group of people,” stated Thompson. “You see that play out in the history of the state of California. You see this term written in military generals’ journals as a way of othering Native women to justify violence that was committed against them.”
AB 2022 was dropped at the ground by Assemblymember James Ramos (D-Highland), who grew to become the state’s first Native American lawmaker in 2018.
The phrase “denigrates Native American women and dehumanizes them,” Ramos stated in an announcement asserting the title modifications.
“I believe that dehumanization has contributed to the Murdered and Missing Indigenous People crisis that affects all of our people but that strikes women and girls in disproportionate numbers,” he stated. “Not one of my colleagues in the legislature voted against the bill because so many recognize this word is not a place name that belongs in California.”
