Officials have approved the removal of the derogatory word “squaw” from more than 30 place and place names in California, according to an announcement Friday by the Natural Resources Agency.
This action stems from the bill Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it into law in 2022, and it follows a similar move by the US Department of the Interior, which said “the term has historically been used as an offensive racial, ethnic, and sexist slur, particularly against indigenous women.”
A California law, Assembly Bill 2022, prohibits the use of the name in future place names and ordered the utilities agency to begin renaming all places that use the name, including roads, bridges, public buildings, forest firebreaks and cemeteries.
Deputy Secretary for National Affairs at the Natural Resources Agency Geneva Thompson – the first official to hold the title and a member of the Cherokee Nation – is a meaningful step to heal the centuries-old damage done by the state to Native peoples.
“Acknowledging those historical wrongs done to Native Americans is very important, but we need to take the next step toward healing,” Thompson said. “Although there are differences between people, we can build societies that reflect and respect and celebrate those differences instead of dividing and perpetuating the mistakes of history.”
The rebranding will take place in early 2025. It comes on the heels of order from US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland renaming any geographic features or place names in states that use this name, including many in California.
The California Advisory Committee on Geographic Names, overseen by the California Natural Resources Agency, examined California maps for any use of the subregional name, and the agency worked with local governments and Native American tribes to select new names.
In West Sacramento, a local government agency worked closely with the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation to rename two roads.
The new street name, “Tebti,” is a word and blessing that translates to “stream that flows together” – a reference to the Sacramento and American rivers, which join in West Sacramento.
Another local official came up with the new name “as a gift to the community,” Thompson said.
“The Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation has led the effort to change the derogatory image of Aboriginal people, and we support the change of derogatory names locally and internationally,” said Anthony Roberts, chairman of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, in a statement announcing the name changes. “Through continued consultation, tribes can lead the way to eliminate such names from California's public spaces.”
Some scholars believe that the now offensive word comes from the Algonquin language, which was spoken by many tribes on the East Coast, and originally meant “woman,” but was later corrupted by European colonists.
“It is a racial belief. Sometimes it can be a way to hurt someone or a group of people,” said Thompson. “You see that playing out in the history of the state of California. You see this word written in the newspapers of the military generals as a way for some Aboriginal women to justify the violence done to them.”
AB 2022 was introduced by Assemblyman James Ramos (D-Highland), who became the first Native American lawmaker in 2018.
The term “belittles and demeans Native American women,” Ramos said in a statement announcing the name changes.
“I believe that the degradation of human dignity has contributed to the problem of indigenous people being killed and missing which affects all our people but attacks women and girls in disproportionate numbers,” he said. “None of my colleagues in the Legislature voted for the bill because many people realized that this name is not the name of a place in California.”
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