Officials have approved removing the derogatory term “squaw” from more than 30 geographic features and place names on California lands, according to a statement released Friday by the state’s Natural Resources Agency.
The action stems from a bill that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law in 2022, and follows a similar decision by the U.S. Department of the Interior, which said “the term has historically been used as an ethnic slur , racially and sexistly offensive, particularly to indigenous women.
The California law, Assembly Bill 2022, banned the use of the word in future place names and ordered the resource agency to begin renaming all places that used the term, including streets, bridges, public buildings, forest firebreaks and cemeteries.
For the Natural Resources Agency Assistant Secretary for Tribal Affairs Geneva Thompson – the first public official to hold this title and a member of the Cherokee Nation – this is a significant step in healing centuries of harm the state has inflicted on Indigenous people.
“Recognizing the historical wrongs committed against Native Americans is extremely important, but we must take the next step toward healing,” Thompson said. “Even though there are differences between people, we can build communities that reflect, honor and celebrate those differences instead of alienating and perpetuating historical wrongs. »
The name change will take place at the beginning of 2025. It follows an order from US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to rename all geographic features or place names on federal lands that use the term, including dozens in California.
The California Geographic Names Advisory Committee, overseen by the California Natural Resources Agency, scoured California maps for any use of the word under state jurisdiction, and the agency joined to local governments and indigenous tribes to select new names.
In West Sacramento, a local public agency worked closely with the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation to rename two streets.
The new street name, “Tebti,” is a word and blessing that translates to “the streams that flow together” – a reference to the Sacramento and American Rivers, which meet in west Sacramento.
A local official presented the new name as a “gift to the community,” Thompson said.
“The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation has led efforts to change the demeaning imagery of Native American mascots, and we support replacing the derogatory names locally and on state lands,” said Tribal Chairman Anthony Roberts. of the Yocha Dehe Wintun nation, in a press release announcing the name change. “Through ongoing consultation, tribes can lead initiatives to eliminate such words from California public places. »
Some researchers believe the now-offensive term comes from the Algonquin language, spoken by many East Coast tribes, which originally meant “woman” but was later corrupted by European settlers.
“It’s a racial stereotype. Sometimes it can even be a way to harm an individual or a group of people,” Thompson said. “You see this play out in the history of the state of California. You see this term written in the diaries of military generals as a way of othering Native women to justify the violence that was committed against them.
AB 2022 was introduced by Assemblyman James Ramos (D-Highland), who became the state’s first Native American lawmaker in 2018.
The word “denigrates Native American women and dehumanizes them,” Ramos said in a statement announcing the name change.
“I believe dehumanization has contributed to the crisis of murdered and missing indigenous peoples that affects all of our people, but affects women and girls in disproportionate numbers,” he said. “None of my colleagues in the Legislature voted against the bill because many recognize that this word is not a place name that belongs in California.”
