SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The state Natural Resources Agency said last month that it will eliminate a discriminatory epithet for a Native American woman from almost three dozen place names and physical features on California property.
According to the Los Angeles Times, on November 15, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law in 2022 that forbids the use of the word “squaw” in place names going forward and directed the agency to rename any locations that have previously used the slur, including roadways, bridges, public buildings, and cemeteries.
For more than 30 locations across 15 counties, new names have been chosen after consulting with Native American tribes in California. By January 1, the California Advisory Committee on Geographic Names will put the authorized replacement names into effect.
As an illustration, the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation collaborated with local authorities to create two new street names in the city of West Sacramento to replace the insult. The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation’s Tribal Council suggested the name tebti, which means “streams that flow together” and is a blessing.
Tribal chairman Anthony Roberts stated that with ongoing consultation, tribes may spearhead efforts to remove such language from California’s public spaces.
In an email to The Associated Press, the natural resources agency stated that a complete list of new California names would be accessible on its website.
The bill was written by San Bernardino Democrat Assemblymember James C. Ramos, who was elected as California’s first Native American state legislator in 2018. He belongs to the Serrano/Cahuilla tribe and lives on the San Manuel Indian Reservation.
As part of national attempts to confront a history of colonialism and injustice against Native Americans and other people of color, a well-known ski resort in Northern California changed its name to Palisades Tahoe in 2021.
In 2021, Deb Haaland, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, also proposed renaming any location names or geographic features on public lands that utilize the phrase, including dozens in California.
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