The Department of the Interior is now seeking public comment surrounding the word “squaw”
February 24, 2022 6:36 am
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — The Department of the Interior is now collecting name replacements for more than 660 geographic features that use the word squaw.
Leaders called it a historically “offensive ethnic, racial, and sexist slur, particularly for Indigenous women,” in a new report by NPR.
They say it originated from the Algonquian word for “woman” but has been twisted by white people for centuries.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland adds, “Words matter, particularly in our work to make our nation’s public lands and waters accessible and welcoming to people of all backgrounds. Consideration of these replacements is a big step forward in our efforts to remove derogatory terms whose expiration dates are long overdue.”
Here in Nebraska we have several bodies of water that include the word squaw in addition to a mountain peak and a lodge.
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