The Biden administration continues to concentrate on cultural issues that do nothing to improve the lives of Americans suffering under the weight of historic inflation and a burgeoning recession.
As Fox News reported Friday, the administration is renaming five federal sites after claiming they used “hateful” terminology for Native American women.
In a press release, the Department of the Interior said that a panel created to examine site names, the Board on Geographical Names, voted on final replacement names for almost 650 geographical features but noted further that an additional review was recently completed for seven places that “are considered unincorporated populated places.” Of the seven, the five renamed sites are located in California, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas.
The changes came following a year-long process to remove the word “squaw” from the names of geographic sites across the country.
“Words matter, particularly in our work to ensure our nation’s public lands and waters are accessible and welcoming to people of all backgrounds,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement. “I am grateful to the members of the Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force and the Board on Geographic Names for their efforts to finalize the removal of this harmful word. Together, we are showing why representation matters and charting a path for an inclusive America.”
Two locations, one in Alaska and one in Wyoming, were removed from consideration, Fox News added, noting further that the list of new names will be published by the U.S. Geological Survey.
“In North Dakota, the new name Homesteaders Gap was selected as a nod to the community’s local history, although area residents were reportedly divided,” the report said. “Two other newly named places are the California Central Valley communities of Loybas Hill, which translates to ‘Young Lady,’ and Yokuts Valley. The others are Partridgeberry, Tennessee, and Lynn Creek, Texas.”
All said, however, the decision to rename places in the U.S. has precedent. Previously places that used what are now considered derogatory terms for black and Japanese people were changed in 1962 and 1974, respectively.
