A derogatory term for Native women will be removed from place names across California

The derogatory term “squaw” will be removed from over 30 geographic features in California by 2025, according to an announcement Friday by the state’s natural resources agency.

The California Natural Resources Agency will remove the word, which is a derogatory term used to describe Native American women, from streets, bridges, buildings, cemeteries and even a forest fire fuel break.

“The names we give to places in California reflect our shared history and culture. These place names should never insult communities or perpetuate discrimination. Today’s action to remove this harmful term from several locations across our state helps right a historic wrong against California Native American communities and represents an important step toward a more inclusive and positive future,” said Wade Crowfoot, the secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency, in a press release.

In the past two years, the word has been removed from geographic locations and features on federal lands across the country. In 2022, the Interior Department announced plans to remove the word from more than 660 geographic features and sought public comment on name replacements.

The decision to change public names of sites has a long precedent: In 1962, the Interior Department ordered the renaming of places with derogatory terms for Black people.

In California, the decision to remove the word stems from a bill passed in 2022. The measure required the word to be removed from all geographic place names in California, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law.

Now, all of the places identified by the state commission must be renamed by Jan. 1, 2025. If local governments in California fail to choose a new name by then, a commission will step in with a recommendation.

Some places in California have already changed their names

Some of the places being renamed include a cemetery in Fresno, a bridge in Humboldt County and a street in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson. In 2021, a popular ski resort in Lake Tahoe that was home to the 1960 Winter Olympics changed its name.

Other places in California have already undergone a name change after federal action by the Interior Department. In West Sacramento, city officials worked with a tribe in the area to formally the replace the word in two street names to “Tebti,” which translates to “the streams that flow together.” The name was recommended by the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, and is a reference to the Sacramento and American rivers, which join together in West Sacramento.

“With continued consultation, tribes can lead initiatives to eliminate such words from California’s public places,” said Anthony Roberts, tribal chairman of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, in a statement announcing the name changes, KCRA reported.

Why is it an offensive term?

The Interior Department formally declared “squaw” an offensive and derogatory term in 2021.

“The term has historically been used as an offensive ethnic, racial, and sexist slur, particularly for Indigenous women,” the Interior Department said in a news release about the change.

Haaland and a newly formed task force, dubbed the Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force, also moved to replace the word with “sq_ _ _” in official communications.

The term is believed to have originated from the Native American Algonquin language, which was spoken by many tribes in the East Coast. The word, which simply meant “women” in Algonquin, was skewed over centuries of use by colonists and white people.