Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland is looking to rid places of racially derogatory names.
Context: The Interior Department will form a process to review and replace derogatory terms used in place names.
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland is looking to rid places of racially derogatory names.
Context: The Interior Department will form a process to review and replace derogatory terms used in place names.
Haaland is the first Native American cabinet secretary and said the newly formed federal advisory committee will review and make recommendations.
The Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force will consult with the public and tribal leaders on potential changes.
Why this is important: This is not new. In 1962 then-Secretary Udall ordered the elimination of the use of the N-word and in 1974 the Bord of Geographic names identified Japenese as derogatory and eliminated that.
One example used was the word “squaw.” The term appears on more than 650 federal land units.
What they are saying:
BREAKING: @SecDebHaaland just signed two orders to remove racist and derogatory place names from our public lands. Currently there are more than 600 federal land units that use the slur “squaw”. Learn more: https://t.co/uf4daTdIO1 pic.twitter.com/aLSnhw4DxG
— Native American Rights Fund (@NDNrights) November 19, 2021
U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is ordering a federal panel to find replacement names for geographic features on federal lands that bear derogatory terms such as "squaw." She says place names should not "perpetuate the legacies of oppression."https://t.co/cCEe75atls
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) November 19, 2021
.@SecDebHaaland has ordered a review of place names on federal land containing racially derogatory terms and declared "squaw" to be one such term; the Interior Dep't made similar determinations for the n-word and an anti-Japanese slur in the 60s and 70shttps://t.co/D1e1xb6vg6
— Zack Budryk (@BudrykZack) November 19, 2021
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