SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – A racist term for a Native American woman will be removed from nearly three dozen geographic features and place names on California lands, the U.S. Natural Resources Agency announced last month. been
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill in 2022 that bans the use of the word “squaw” in future place names and ordered the agency to rename all places that used the insult, including streets, bridges, public buildings and cemeteries, the Los Angeles Times reported on November 15.
New names have been selected in consultation with California Native American tribes for more than 30 locations in 15 counties. The California Geographic Names Advisory Committee will work to implement approved replacement names by January 1.
One example is in the city of West Sacramento, where local officials worked with the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation to develop two new street names to replace the slur. The name recommended by the Tribal Council of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation is “tebti,” which is a word and blessing that translates to streams that flow together.
“Through continued consultation, tribes can lead initiatives to remove these words from public places in California,” said Anthony Roberts, tribal chairman.
A full list of new California names will be available your websitethe natural resources agency told The Associated Press in an email.
Assemblyman James C. Ramos, a San Bernardino Democrat who became California’s first Native American state legislator in 2018, authored the bill. He is a resident of the San Manuel Indian Reservation and a member of the Serrano/Cahuilla tribe.
In 2021, a popular Northern California ski resort changed its name to Palisades Tahoe as part of national efforts to address a history of colonialism and oppression against Native Americans and other people of color.
U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland also moved in 2021 to rename any geographic feature or location name on federal lands that use the term, including dozens in California.