1 year ago
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Image source, Getty Images
US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland launched a task unit to rename locations that usage derogatory terms
By Madeline Halpert
BBC News, New York
The US authorities has announced sanction changes for 5 places whose designations included a racist word for Native American women.
The sites are successful the states of California, North Dakota, Tennessee and Texas.
The determination came aft a year-long process to region the radical slur from national use, the authorities said.
The sites are the past of astir 650 locations selected by the Department of the Interior to beryllium renamed.
"Words matter, peculiarly successful our enactment to guarantee our nation's nationalist lands and waters are accessible and welcoming to radical of each backgrounds," said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, who is the archetypal Native American furniture caput successful US history.
The slur had historically been utilized arsenic "an violative ethnic, radical and sexist slur, peculiarly for Indigenous women", the section said.
Nearly a twelvemonth ago, Ms Haaland created a task unit to regenerate derogatory names of the nation's geographic features.
She said the sheet would service arsenic a "big measurement guardant successful our efforts to region derogatory presumption whose expiration dates are agelong overdue".
In September, the Department of the Interior - which oversees nationalist lands and is the national bureau that astir intimately oversees Native affairs - announced a last ballot to alteration the names of hundreds of locations, but near 7 places that it said needed to beryllium further reviewed.
Five of the 7 locations were included successful Thursday's vote. They were renamed successful consultation with tribes and section communities.
- In California, 1 tract was renamed Loybas Hill, which was projected by the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians and means "young lady"
- Another California tract was renamed Yokuts Valley, which translates to "people"
- A North Dakota tract was renamed Homesteaders Gap, which was selected by the assemblage due to the fact that it was applicable to section history
- In Tennessee, a tract was fixed the sanction Partridgeberry, a works for which the assemblage was named before
- A determination successful Texas was renamed Lynn Creek successful honour of Isaac Lynn, a antheral who lived connected the creek nearby
Of the remaining 2 sites, 1 successful Wyoming was removed from information due to the fact that it is present privately owned land, portion different determination successful Alaska was removed due to the fact that it is simply a humanities country that nary longer serves an unincorporated community, the authorities said.
The determination comes arsenic respective backstage companies and sports teams successful caller years person besides decided to rename teams oregon region terminology and imagery considered racist toward Native Americans.
English (US)