Xwa! XawElh ma munk nawitka ukuk! ("squaw") (fwd)

[phil cash cash]

fyi, here is a follow-up to my previous discussion, one that is a good
example of the kind of tribal action that has taken place on this issue.

phil cash cash
cayuse/nez perce

~~~~
                                 Friday, September 10, 1999
                                 The Seattle Times

                                 State bows to tribe, changes name of
                                 hill

                                 by The Associated Press

                                 SPOKANE - Squaw Tit is no more. State
officials yesterday
                                 voted to change the name of the hill near
Yakima to Pushtay, after
                                 objections that the old name was
derogatory.

                                 The state Board on Geographic Names also
rejected a proposal
                                 to standardize the spelling of the Indian
name Sacajawea on
                                 natural features and voted on numerous
other proposals around
                                 the state.

                                 The proposal to change the name of Squaw
Tit came from the
                                 Yakama Indian Nation, Wanapum Indians and
the Army, since
                                 the hill in on the Army's Yakima Training
Center.

                                 Squaw Tit is a 1,845-foot-high mound in the
arid landscape near
                                 Yakima. Central Washington's early
cattlemen are believed to
                                 have been the first to call the hill Squaw
Tit.

                                 Some linguists have suggested that squaw is
a French corruption
                                 of an Iroquoian vulgarity. The word appears
on more than 1,000
                                 geographic features nationwide, primarily
in the West and
                                 Midwest, according to the U.S. Geological
Survey.

                                 The hill's new name means "small mound" in
the Sahaptin
                                 language.

                                 The board rejected a proposal to
standardize the spelling of
                                 Sacajawea, the Shoshone woman who helped
explorers Lewis
                                 and Clark. Some board members said they had
no jurisdiction
                                 over nonnatural features, such as schools
or parks, and didn't
                                 think it was their job to pick a standard
spelling.

                                 The board rejected a proposal to name an
area in the Olympic
                                 Mountains as Bretherton Pass, in honor of a
naturalist and
                                 explorer who was part of an expedition to
the region in 1890. The
                                 National Park Service opposes naming
features in wilderness
                                 areas because that could make them more
popular.

                                 "Putting a more official name in a
wilderness area is bad for the
                                 wilderness area," said board member Grant
Smith.

                                 The board noted there is already a
Bretherton Mountain nearby to
                                 honor the man.

                                 The board voted to take up the issue of
renaming Hangman
                                 Creek in Spokane County as Latah Creek at
its next meeting.

                                 In 1858, Yakama Chief Qualchan was hanged
near the creek by
                                 the Army as punishment for an attack. It
was discovered later that
                                 Qualchan was not involved in the attack.

                                 "It is never appropriate to immortalize
actions considered
                                 reprehensible," Ruth Dixon of Spokane told
the board.