The Washington State Committee on Geographic Names sent a letter this week to the U.S. Department of the Interior supporting its plan to rename 18 geographic features in the state that currently have derogatory names referring to Indigenous women. The Committee also raised concerns about a short timeline that may limit public and tribal involvement in the renaming process. While the Committee strongly supports removing and replacing derogatory placenames, its letter recommends a thoughtful and thorough process.

 

In late February, the Department of the Interior opened a 60-day public comment period regarding its proposal, which closes April 25. Recognizing the importance of this moment, the Committee has convened two special meetings to consider its response. At the first meeting, on March 7, the Committee resolved to file a letter of comment with the Department of the Interior. The Committee briefed the Board of Natural Resources at its April 5 meeting, then took additional comments and finalized the letter in a second special meeting on April 7.

 

“Each of these derogatory placenames represents the life or lives of Indigenous women, a population which is significantly under-represented in historical commemorations. In the process of removing a derogatory name, we must not erase these women from our landscape,” the Committee wrote. “We believe that a diligent effort must be made to identify the specific women or women’s activities for which these places were named, and to reflect that history in the renaming process.”

 

The 18 features, each bearing a derogatory term for Native American women, are spread across 14 counties statewide: Chelan, Clallam, Clark, Columbia, Garfield, Jefferson, Kittitas, Klickitat, Lincoln, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Pierce, Skamania, and Stevens.

 

“Replacing names referring to Indigenous women with names such as ‘White,’ ‘Columbia,’ ‘Bonneville,’ and ‘Franklin Delano Roosevelt,’ as proposed in Interior’s draft replacement names list, is not an appropriate solution,” the Committee wrote.

 

The Committee has worked for decades to remove derogatory placenames thoughout Washington.

 

The next regular meeting of the Washington state Committee on Geographic Names is scheduled for 10 a.m., April 26. 

 

The committee, which meets twice annually, assists the Board of Natural Resources in approving official names for Washington state’s geographic features. It is made up of a representative of Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, a representative of the State Librarian, the director of the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, a representative of Washington state tribes, and three members of the public.

 

###

 

Communications Manager

360-902-1000