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The English word squaw is an
ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
and
sexual slur A sexual slur is a term of disparagement used to refer to members of a given gender, sex, or sexual orientation in a derogatory or pejorative manner. The motivation for using a sexual slur is often sexism and/or bias against a sexual orientation ...
, historically used for Indigenous North American women. Contemporary use of the term, especially by non-Natives, is considered
derogatory A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a ...
,
misogynist Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced fo ...
, and
racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
.King, C. Richard,
De/Scribing Squ*w: Indigenous Women and Imperial Idioms in the United States
in the ''American Indian Culture and Research Journal'', v27 n2 p1-16 2003. Accessed Oct. 9, 2015
While ''squaw'' (or a close variant) is found in several
Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...
and
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
Algonquian languages The Algonquian languages ( or ; also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Indigenous languages of the Americas, indigenous American languages that include most languages in the Algic languages, Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language f ...
, primarily spoken in the northeastern United States and in eastern and central Canada, these languages only make up a small minority of the Indigenous languages of North America. The word "squaw" is not used among Native American,
First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...
,
Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...
, or
Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...
peoples. Even in Algonquian, the words used are not the English-language word.


Status

The term ''squaw'' is considered offensive by Indigenous peoples in America and
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
due to its use for hundreds of years in a derogatory context that demeans Native American women. This has ranged from condescending images (e.g., picture postcards depicting "Indian squaw and
papoose Papoose (from the Algonquian ''papoose'', meaning "child") is an American English word whose present meaning is "a Native American child" (regardless of tribe) or, even more generally, any child, usually used as a term of endearment, often in t ...
") to
racialized In sociology, racialization or ethnicization is a political process of ascribing ethnic or racial identities to a relationship, social practice, or group that did not identify itself as such. Racialization or ethnicization often arises out of th ...
epithets. Alma Garcia has written, "It treats non-white women as if they were second-class citizens or exotic objects." Newer editions of dictionaries such as ''
American Heritage American Heritage may refer to: * ''American Heritage'' (magazine) * ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' * American Heritage Rivers * American Heritage School (disambiguation) See also *National Register of Historic Place ...
'', ''
Merriam-Webster Merriam-Webster, Inc. is an American company that publishes reference books and is especially known for its dictionaries. It is the oldest dictionary publisher in the United States. In 1831, George and Charles Merriam founded the company as ...
'' online dictionaries, and the ''
Shorter Oxford English Dictionary The ''Shorter Oxford English Dictionary'' (''SOED'') is an English language dictionary published by the Oxford University Press. The SOED is a two-volume abridgement of the twenty-volume ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED''). Print editions ...
'' now list ''squaw'' as "offensive", "often offensive", and "usually disparaging".''
American Heritage Dictionary American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
'
"squaw"
Retrieved April 13, 2019.
''
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary ''Webster's Dictionary'' is any of the English language dictionaries edited in the early 19th century by American lexicographer Noah Webster (1758–1843), as well as numerous related or unrelated dictionaries that have adopted the Webster's n ...
.'' "Squaw". Retrieved March 1, 2007.
''
Shorter Oxford English Dictionary The ''Shorter Oxford English Dictionary'' (''SOED'') is an English language dictionary published by the Oxford University Press. The SOED is a two-volume abridgement of the twenty-volume ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED''). Print editions ...
''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, England. Entry: "Squaw".
While some have studied the elements of Algonquian words that might be related to the word, the consensus among Native women, and Native people in general, is that—no matter the linguistic origins—the word is too offensive, and that any "reclamation" efforts would only apply to the small percentage of Native women from the Algonquian-language groups, and not to the vast majority of Native women who feel degraded by the term. Indigenous women who have addressed the history and depth of this word state that this degrading usage is now too long, and too painful, for it to ever take on a positive meaning among Indigenous women or Indigenous communities as a whole. Feminist and
anti-racist Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...
groups have also worked to educate and encourage the disuse of the term in normal discourse. When asked why "it never used to bother Indian women to be called squaw," and "why now?" an
American Indian Movement The American Indian Movement (AIM) is a Native American grassroots movement which was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July 1968, initially centered in urban areas in order to address systemic issues of poverty, discrimination, and police ...
group responded in 2006: In 2015, Jodi Lynn Maracle (
Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans *Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people *Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been t ...
) and Agnes Williams (
Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...
) petitioned the
Buffalo Common Council The Buffalo Common Council is the legislative branch of the city of Buffalo, New York government. It is a representative assembly, with one elected member from each of nine districts: Niagara, Delaware, Masten, Ellicott, Lovejoy, Fillmore, Nort ...
to change the name of Squaw Island to ''
Deyowenoguhdoh Unity Island is an approximately island separating the Niagara River and the Black Rock Canal, located within the city limits of Buffalo, New York. The historic island is home to two public parks and a water treatment facility. It is connected t ...
''.
Seneca Nation The Seneca Nation of Indians is a federally recognized Seneca tribe based in western New York. They are one of three federally recognized Seneca entities in the United States, the others being the Tonawanda Band of Seneca (also in western New Y ...
President Maurice John Sr., and Chief G. Ava Hill of the
Six Nations of the Grand River Six Nations (or Six Nations of the Grand River, french: Réserve des Six Nations, see, Ye:i’ Níónöëdzage:h) is demographically the largest First Nations reserve in Canada. As of the end of 2017, it has a total of 27,276 members, 12,848 of w ...
wrote letters petitioning for the name change as well, with Chief Hill writing,
The continued use and acceptance of the word 'Squaw' only perpetuates the idea that indigenous women and culture can be deemed as impure, sexually perverse, barbaric and dirty ... Please do eliminate the slur 'Squaw' from your community.
The Buffalo Common Council then voted unanimously to change the name to
Unity Island Unity Island is an approximately island separating the Niagara River and the Black Rock Canal, located within the city limits of Buffalo, New York. The historic island is home to two public parks and a water treatment facility. It is connected t ...
. In November 2021, the
United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...
, headed by Secretary of the Interior
Deb Haaland Debra Anne Haaland (; born December 2, 1960) is an American politician serving as the 54th United States Secretary of the Interior, United States secretary of the interior. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she s ...
, declared ''squaw'' to be a derogatory and racist term and began formally removing the term from use on the federal level.


History

Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...
and
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
Algonquian
morpheme A morpheme is the smallest meaningful Constituent (linguistics), constituent of a linguistic expression. The field of linguistics, linguistic study dedicated to morphemes is called morphology (linguistics), morphology. In English, morphemes are ...
s (smallest units of meaning) meaning "woman" (mostly found as components in longer words) include:
Massachusett The Massachusett were a Native American tribe from the region in and around present-day Greater Boston in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name comes from the Massachusett language term for "At the Great Hill," referring to the Blue Hills ...
'' squàw'' ("woman"),
Abenaki The Abenaki (Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was predom ...
''-skwa'' ("female, wife"), Mohegan-Pequot ''sqá'',
Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...
''iskwew'' / ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ (iskeyw, "woman"),
Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...
''ikwe'' ("woman"). Variants in other related languages are: ''esqua'', ''sqeh'', ''skwe'', ''que'', ''kwa'', ''exkwew'', ''xkwe''. These are all derived from Proto-Algonquian *eθkwe·wa ("(young) woman").Deborah Pelletier, ''Terminology Guide: Research on Aboriginal Heritage'', Library and Archives, Canada, 2012.
PDF archived at internet archive


on docplayer). Accessed September 24, 2016.
Cutler 1994; Goddard 1996, 1997. Possibly as early as 1621. According to linguist Ives Goddard, the notion that the word originally referred to a woman’s vagina is inaccurate. In the first published report of Indigenous American languages in English, '' A Key into the Language of America'', written in 1643,
Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...
Minister
Roger Williams Roger Williams (21 September 1603between 27 January and 15 March 1683) was an English-born New England Puritan minister, theologian, and author who founded Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantation ...
wrote his impressions of the
Narragansett language Narragansett is an Algonquian language formerly spoken in most of what is today Rhode Island by the Narragansett people. It was closely related to the other Algonquian languages of southern New England like Massachusett and Mohegan-Pequot. Th ...
. Williams noted
morphemes A morpheme is the smallest meaningful constituent of a linguistic expression. The field of linguistic study dedicated to morphemes is called morphology. In English, morphemes are often but not necessarily words. Morphemes that stand alone a ...
that he considered to be related to "squaw" and provided the definitions he felt fit them, as a learner, including: ''squaw'' ("woman"), ''squawsuck'' ("women"), ''keegsquaw'' ("virgin or maid"), ''segousquaw'' ("widower"), and ''squausnit'' ("woman's god"). In most colonial texts ''squaw'' was used as a general word for Indigenous women. The Massachusett Bible was printed in the Massachusett language in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1663. It used the word squa in Mark 10:6 as a translation for "female". It used the plural form squaog in 1 Timothy 5:2 and 5:14 for "younger women". A will written in the Massachusett language by a native preacher from Martha's Vineyard uses the word squa to refer to his unmarried daughters. In the Massachusett language, squa was an ancient and thoroughly decent word. One of the earliest appearances of the term in English in print is "the squa sachim, or queen" in the colonial booklet ''
Mourt's Relation The booklet ''Mourt's Relation'' (full title: ''A Relation or Journal of the Beginning and Proceedings of the English Plantation Settled at Plimoth in New England'') was written between November 1620 and November 1621, and describes in detail wh ...
'' (1622), one of the first chronicles of the
Plymouth Colony Plymouth Colony (sometimes Plimouth) was, from 1620 to 1691, the British America, first permanent English colony in New England and the second permanent English colony in North America, after the Jamestown Colony. It was first settled by the pa ...
written by European colonists, including the story of the Pilgrims' first
Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...
. The sachem or sachim is the elected chief of a Massachusett tribe, and the booklet used Pidgin Massachusett to call the chief's wife the "squa sachim". Records accompanying sketches by
Alfred Jacob Miller Alfred Jacob Miller (January 2, 1810 – June 26, 1874) was an American artist best known for his paintings of trappers and Native Americans in the fur trade of the western United States. He also painted numerous portraits and genre paintings in ...
document mid-19th century usage of the term in the United States. Miller wrote notes in 1858-1860 for each picture, many of which included Indigenous women. These were published in the 1951 catalog of a Miller exhibition. For ''Indian Girl reposing'', Miller wrote, "Before they are 16 years of age, these girls may be said to have their heyday, and even then if they become the wives or mates of Trappers, are comparatively happy, for they generally indulge them to their hearts' content; should they become however the squaws of Indians, their lives are subjected to the caprices of a tyrant too often, whose ill treatment is the rule and kindness their exception. Nothing so strikingly distinguishes civilized from savage life as the treatment of women. It is in every particular in favor of the former." For ''"Bourgeois" Walker, & his Squaw'', Miller describes his depiction of the fur trader made in 1858 thusly:
"The sketch exhibits a certain etiquette. The Squaw's station in travelling is at a considerable distance in the rear of her liege lord, and never at the side of him.
alker Alker is an earth-based stabilized building material produced by the addition of gypsum, lime, and water to earth with the appropriate granulometric structure and with a cohesive property. Unbaked and produced on-site either as adobe blocks or by ...
had the kindness to present the writer a dozen pair of moccasins worked by this squaw - richly embroidered on the instep with colored porcupine quills."
Edgar Allan Poe uses the word in his 1838 novel, ''
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket ''The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket'' (1838) is the only complete novel written by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. The work relates the tale of the young Arthur Gordon Pym, who stows away aboard a whaling ship called the ''Grampus' ...
''. The 1887 Canadian novel ''An Algonquin Maiden'' uses the term squaw four times; twice as "squaw-snake" to refer to a female snake, and twice to refer to a woman from an Algonquin tribe. Colville /
Okanagan The Okanagan ( ), also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part ...
author
Mourning Dove The mourning dove (''Zenaida macroura'') is a member of the dove family, Columbidae. The bird is also known as the American mourning dove, the rain dove, and colloquially as the turtle dove, and was once known as the Carolina pigeon and Caroli ...
, in her 1927 novel, ''Cogewea, the Half-Blood'' had one of her characters say,
If I was to marry a white man and he would dare call me a 'squaw'—as an epithet with the sarcasm that we know so well—I believe that I would feel like killing him.Mourning Dove. 1927 (1981 edition).
Cogewea, the Half-Blood
', p. 112. University of Nebraska Press. .
E. B. White Elwyn Brooks White (July 11, 1899 – October 1, 1985) was an American writer. He was the author of several highly popular books for children, including ''Stuart Little'' (1945), ''Charlotte's Web'' (1952), and '' The Trumpet of the Swan'' ...
's 1961 story "The Years of Wonder", derived from his 1923 journal of a shipboard trip to Alaska, included, "Mr. Hubbard ... saw that Siberia was represented by a couple of dozen furry Eskimos and one squaw man; they came aboard from a skin boat as soon as the ''Buford'' dropped her hook."
Science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
author
Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...
, in his novel ''
Pebble in the Sky ''Pebble in the Sky'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Isaac Asimov, published in 1950. This work is his first novel — parts of the ''Foundation'' series had appeared from 1942 onwards in magazines, but ''Foundation'' was not pu ...
'' (1950), wrote that science-fictional natives of other planets would use slurs against natives of Earth, such as, "Earthie-squaw".Asimov, Isaac. 1971. ''Pebble in the Sky''. Fawcett, Greenwich, Conn.
LaDonna Harris LaDonna Vita Tabbytite Harris (born February 26, 1931) is a Comanche Native American social activist and politician from Oklahoma.Fluharty, SterlingHarris, LaDonna Vita Tabbytite profile 'mOklahoma Historical Society Encyclopedia of Oklahoma His ...
, a
Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...
social activist who spoke about empowering Native American schoolchildren in the 1960s at
Ponca City Ponca City ( iow, Chína Uhánⁿdhe) is a city in Kay County in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The city was named after the Ponca tribe. Ponca City had a population of 25,387 at the time of the 2010 census- and a population of 24,424 in the 2020 ...
,
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
, recounted:
We tried to find out what the children found painful about school ausing a very high dropout rate (...) The children said that they felt humiliated almost every day by teachers calling them "squaws" and using all those other old horrible terms.Harris, LaDonna. 2000. ''LaDonna Harris, A Comanche Life'', edited by H. Henrietta Stockel, p. 59, University of Nebraska Press.
As a word referring to a woman, it was sometimes used to denigrate men, as in "squaw man," meaning either "a man who does woman's work" or "a white man married to an Indian woman and living with her people".Hodge, Frederick Webb. 1910
''Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico.''
Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Bureau of Ethnology Bulletin 30. Retrieved Nov. 16, 2007. This was a popular literary stereotype, as in '' The Squaw Man''


Sexual references

An early comment in which ''squaw'' appears to have a sexual meaning is from the Canadian writer
E. Pauline Johnson Emily Pauline Johnson (10 March 1861 – 7 March 1913), also known by her Mohawk language, Mohawk stage name ''Tekahionwake'' (pronounced ''dageh-eeon-wageh'', ), was a Canadians, Canadian poet, author, and performer who was popular in the lat ...
, who was of
Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans *Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people *Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been t ...
heritage, but spent little time in that culture as an adult. She wrote about the title character in ''An Algonquin Maiden'' by G. Mercer Adam and A. Ethelwyn Wetherald:
Poor little Wanda! not only is she non-descript and ill-starred, but as usual the authors take away her love, her life, and last and most terrible of all, reputation; for they permit a crowd of men-friends of the hero to call her a "squaw" and neither hero nor authors deny that she is a squaw. It is almost too sad when so much prejudice exists against the Indians, that any one should write up an Indian heroine with such glaring accusations against her virtue, and no contradictory statements from either writer, hero or circumstance.Johnson, Pauline. 1892.
A Strong Race Opinion on the Indian Girl in Modern Fiction
. Reprinted in Keller, Betty. 1987. ''Pauline: A Biography of Pauline Johnson'', p. 119. Formac. .
Statements that ''squaw'' came from a word meaning "female genitals" gained currency in the 1970s, but have since been found to be inaccurate.


Efforts to rename placenames and terms

In November 2021, the
U.S. Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...
declared ''squaw'' to be a derogatory term and began formally removing the term from use on the federal level, with Secretary of the Interior
Deb Haaland Debra Anne Haaland (; born December 2, 1960) is an American politician serving as the 54th United States Secretary of the Interior, United States secretary of the interior. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she s ...
(
Laguna Pueblo The Laguna Pueblo ( Western Keres: Kawaika ʰɑwɑjkʰɑ is a federally recognized tribe of Native American Pueblo people in west-central New Mexico, near the city of Albuquerque, in the United States. Part of the Laguna territory is inclu ...
) announcing the creation of a committee and process to review and replace derogatory names of geographic features. In a press release, Secretary Haaland announced, This follows decades of work by Indigenous activists, both locally and in more general educational efforts, to rename the locations across North America that have contained the word, as well as to eliminate the word from the lexicon in general. The work follows previous actions by the Board on Geographic Names which recognized place names containing words that were widely recognized as being pejorative or derogatory for Black and Japanese people. * In 1988 the E.B. Campbell Dam on the
Saskatchewan River The Saskatchewan River (Cree: ''kisiskāciwani-sīpiy'', "swift flowing river") is a major river in Canada. It stretches about from where it is formed by the joining together of the North Saskatchewan and South Saskatchewan Rivers to Lake Winn ...
was officially renamed; formerly it had been the Squaw Rapids Dam. * Ioway Creek (formerly Squaw Creek), a 41-mile-long tributary of the S. Skunk River in central Iowa, known for its flooding and flash flooding of several highly developed portions of the eastern and southeastern portions of the Iowa State University campus in the city of Ames, was officially renamed by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names on February 11, 2021. * The
Montana Legislature The Montana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Montana. It is composed of the 100-member Montana House of Representatives and the 50-member Montana Senate. The Montana Constitution dictates that the legislature me ...
created an advisory group in 1999 to replace the word ''squaw'' in local place names and required any replacement of a sign to bear the new name. * The Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission and the
Maine Legislature The Maine Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. It is a bicameral body composed of the lower house Maine House of Representatives and the upper house Maine Senate. The Legislature convenes at the State House in Aug ...
collaborated in 2000 to pass a law eliminating the words ''squaw'' and ''squa'' from all of the state's waterways, islands, and mountains. Some of those sites have been renamed with the word ''
moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...
''; others, in a nod to Wabanaki language-recovery efforts, are now being given new place-appropriate names in the
Penobscot The Penobscot (Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewi'') are an Indigenous people in North America from the Northeastern Woodlands region. They are organized as a federally recognized tribe in Maine and as a First Nations band government in the Atlantic pr ...
and
Passamaquoddy The Passamaquoddy ( Maliseet-Passamaquoddy: ''Peskotomuhkati'') are a Native American/First Nations people who live in northeastern North America. Their traditional homeland, Peskotomuhkatik'','' straddles the Canadian province of New Brunswick ...
languages. Twenty years after the law's passage, the owner of
Big Squaw Mountain Resort Big Squaw Mountain Resort is a ski area in Greenville, Maine, Greenville, Maine. Opened in 1963, the ski area is located on the north side of Big Moose Mountain (named "Big Squaw Mountain" until 2000), overlooking Moosehead Lake. The resort fea ...
near
Greenville, Maine : Greenville is a town in Piscataquis County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,437 at the 2020 census. The town is centered on the lower end of Moosehead Lake, the largest body of fresh water in the state. Greenville is the historic ...
refused to consider changing the resort's name, even though its namesake was changed to
Big Moose Mountain Big Moose Mountain, previously named Big Squaw Mountain, is a mountain located in Piscataquis County, Maine, Piscataquis County, Maine. Big Moose Mountain is flanked to the southeast by Little Moose (Little Squaw) Mountain. The name of the mounta ...
following the passage of the statewide law. * The
American Ornithologists' Union The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society. Its m ...
changed the official
American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lan ...
name of the ''
long-tailed duck The long-tailed duck (''Clangula hyemalis''), formerly known as oldsquaw, is a medium-sized sea duck that breeds in the tundra and taiga regions of the arctic and winters along the northern coastlines of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It is th ...
'', (''Clangula hyemalis'') from ''oldsquaw'' to the long-standing
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
name, because of wildlife biologists' concerns about cooperation with Native Americans involved in conservation efforts, as well as for standardization. *
Piestewa Peak Piestewa Peak ( ; ood, Vainom Do'ag, formerly Squaw Peak), at is the second highest point in the Phoenix Mountains, after Camelback Mountain, and the third highest in the city of Phoenix, Arizona. It is located in the Piestewa Peak Recreation ...
in
Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
,
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, replaced the name Squaw Peak in 2003; the new name honors
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
casualty PFC
Lori Piestewa Lori Ann Piestewa ( ; December 14, 1979 – March 23, 2003) was a United States Army soldier killed during the Iraq War. A member of the Quartermaster Corps, she died in the same Iraqi attack in which fellow soldiers Shoshana Johnson and Piestewa' ...
(
Hopi The Hopi are a Native American ethnic group who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, there are 19,338 Hopi in the country. The Hopi Tribe is a sovereign nation within the Unite ...
), the first Native American woman to die in combat for the U.S. * Members of
Coeur d'Alene Tribe The Coeur d'Alene (also ''Skitswish''; natively ''Schi̲tsu'umsh'') are a Native American nation and one of five federally recognized tribes in the state of Idaho. The Coeur d'Alene have sovereign control of their Coeur d'Alene Reservation, w ...
in
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
called for the removal of the word ''squaw'' from the names of 13 locations in that state in October 2006. Many tribal members reportedly believe the "woman's genitals" etymology. * The British Columbian portion of a tributary of the
Tatshenshini River The Tatshenshini River (; Tlingit ''Tʼachanshahéeni'', Southern Tutchone ''Shäwshe Chù'') is a river in the Canadian boreal forest, in the southwestern Yukon and the northwestern corner of British Columbia. It originates in British Columbia, ...
was officially renamed
Dollis Creek Dollis Creek (formerly Squaw Creek) is a creek that spans the border between British Columbia and the Yukon. The creek is 8 miles in length and flows from the Atlin Country region of British Columbia north across the BC-Yukon boundary into the Tatsh ...
by the
BC Geographical Names The BC Geographical Names (formerly BC Geographical Names Information System or BCGNIS) is a geographic name web service and database for the Canadian province of British Columbia run by the Base Mapping and Geomatic Services Branch of the Integra ...
Office on January 15, 2008. The name Squaw Creek had been previously rescinded on December 8, 2000. *
Frog Woman Rock Frog Woman Rock (Pomo: ''Bi-tsin’ ma-ca Ka-be'') is a distinctive volcanic monolith located in Mendocino County, California, Mendocino County, California, in the Russian River (California), Russian River canyon through the California Coast Rang ...
was the name chosen to honor the cultural heritage of the Pomo peoples of the region between Hopland and Cloverdale in the Russian River canyon. The State Office of Historic Preservation updated the name of the
California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...
, formerly called Squaw Rock, in 2011. * In 2015,
Unity Island Unity Island is an approximately island separating the Niagara River and the Black Rock Canal, located within the city limits of Buffalo, New York. The historic island is home to two public parks and a water treatment facility. It is connected t ...
(''Deyowenoguhdoh'' in the
Seneca language Seneca (; in Seneca, or ) is the language of the Seneca people, one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois League; it is an Iroquoian language, spoken at the time of contact in the western portion of New York. While the name ''Seneca'', attested as ...
) was officially adopted as the name for the island formerly called Squaw Island. The
Buffalo Common Council The Buffalo Common Council is the legislative branch of the city of Buffalo, New York government. It is a representative assembly, with one elected member from each of nine districts: Niagara, Delaware, Masten, Ellicott, Lovejoy, Fillmore, Nort ...
voted in the name change came after being petitioned by members of the
Seneca Nation of New York The Seneca Nation of Indians is a federally recognized Seneca tribe based in western New York. They are one of three federally recognized Seneca entities in the United States, the others being the Tonawanda Band of Seneca (also in western New Y ...
. * An application was made to the Nova Scotia Geographic Information Service in late 2016 to rename Squaw Island, Cape Negro, Cape Negro Island and Negro Harbour in Shelburne County. * In 2017, The
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...
renamed the Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge in Missouri to Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge in 2017. * The city of Provo,
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
, announced in October 2017 that it would be working alongside a local citizens' initiative to consider renaming Squaw Peak, though final authority for placenames rests with state and federal officials. * Squaw Ridge in
Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...
was formally renamed Hungalelti Ridge in September 2018, after a proposal by the
Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California The Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California are a federally recognized tribe of Washoe Indians, living in California and Nevada. They are several communities south and east of Lake Tahoe united under a tribal council. The tribe owns over in diff ...
. *
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
's Killsquaw Lake — the site of a 19th century massacre of a group of
Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...
women — was renamed ''Kikiskitotawânawak Iskêwak'' on November 20, 2018. The new name means "we honour the women" in
Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...
. The renaming effort was led by Indigenous lawyer Kellie Wuttunee in consultation with Cree elders and community leaders. "To properly respect and honour First Nations women, we can no longer have degrading geographic names in Saskatchewan. ... Even if unintentional, the previous name was harmful. By changing the name, we are giving a voice to the ones who are silenced," said Wuttunee, who has worked on missing and murdered Indigenous women cases. "Names are powerful. They inform our identity." * After similar rumours over the years, on August 20, 2020 it was reported that Squaw's Tit near Canmore,
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
would be renamed to avoid racist and misogynistic naming. Talks with the Stoney Nakoda community to find a culturally appropriate name and a request to support the initiative were brought to the Municipal District of Bighorn in September 2020. on September 29, 2020 the peak was officially renamed to Anûkathâ Îpa, meaning 'Bald Eagle Peak' in the Stoney Nakoda language. * In 2020, Squaw Valley Academy changed its name to
Lake Tahoe Preparatory School Lake Tahoe Preparatory School (formerly known as Squaw Valley Academy) is a college-prep boarding school in Olympic Valley, California, .King, C. Richard,De/Scribing Squ*w: Indigenous Women and Imperial Idioms in the United States in the ''Ameri ...
. *
Palisades Tahoe Palisades Tahoe is a ski resort in the western United States, located in Olympic Valley, California, northwest of Tahoe City in the Sierra Nevada range. From its founding in 1949, the resort was known as Squaw Valley, but it changed its name in ...
was the new name of Squaw Valley Ski Resort as of September 13, 2021. The decision was announced after consulting with the local Washoe Tribe and extensive research into the etymology and history of the term ''squaw''.
Serenity Mountain Retreat
was the new name of the Squaw Mountain Ranch nudist resort as of December 2021. * Orange Cove is an agricultural community located along the eastern foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, incorporated in 1948 and has a population of 9,078. On January 27, 2021 the City Council deferred a proposal seeking to change the name of the Squaw Valley area of Fresno County to "Nim Valley", to allow the city to seek more community input. * Yokuts Valley, California, became the official name of the basin formerly named "Squaw Valley". It had been part of long process of community debate from 2020 into early 2023. * The
United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...
announced in 2022 that it would rename 660 mountains, rivers, and other locations "to remove derogatory terms whose expiration dates are long overdue," including the word "squaw." In September 2022, a list of approved names was published by the United States Geological Survey replacing 643 placenames containing "squaw". * On September 23, 2022, Governor
Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California fr ...
of California signed a law directing state and local authorities to remove "squaw" from almost 100 geographic features and place names throughout the state.
California State Parks The California Department of Parks and Recreation, more commonly known as California State Parks, manages the California state parks system. The system administers 279 separate park units on 1.4 million acres (570,000 hectares), with over 280 ...
and the
California Department of Transportation The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the cabinet-level California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). Caltrans is headquartered in Sacrame ...
announced reviews of markers and place names to be renamed or rescinded. * In January 2023, Squaw Gap in North Dakota became Homesteaders Gap. * Squaw Cap in New Brunswick was renamed Evergreen in January 2024, along with the nearby mountain of the same name. The term persists in the officially sanctioned names of several places in the U.S., as well as certain businesses, such as Squaw Lake (Minnesota), Squaw Grove Township (DeKalb County, Illinois), Squaw Township (Iowa), Squaw Canyon Oil Field, Squaw Creek Southern Railroad, and
Squaw Peak Inn Squaw Peak Inn is a historic structure located at 4425 E. Horseshoe Road in the east end of Piestewa Peak Mountain, formerly known as Squaw Peak Mountain. The inn, which has served as the lodging for various celebrities, was listed in the National ...
.


See also

*
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP or DOTROIP) is a legally non-binding resolution passed by the United Nations in 2007. It delineates and defines the individual and collective rights of Indigenous peoples, including th ...
*
Indigenous feminism Indigenous feminism is an intersectional theory and practice of feminism that focuses on decolonization, indigenous sovereignty, and human rights for Indigenous women and their families. The focus is to empower Indigenous women in the context o ...
*
Native American feminism Native American feminism or Native feminism is, at its root, understanding how gender plays an important role in indigenous communities both historically and in modern-day. As well, Native American feminism deconstructs the racial and broader st ...
*
Nigger In the English language, the word ''nigger'' is an ethnic slur used against black people, especially African Americans. Starting in the late 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been progressively replaced by the euphemism , notably in cases ...
*
Stereotypes of Native Americans Stereotypes of Indigenous peoples of Canada and the United States of America include many ethnic stereotypes found worldwide which include historical misrepresentations and the oversimplification of hundreds of Indigenous cultures. Negative stere ...


References


References

* Carrier, Paul. June 27, 2000. "'Squaw' renaming may have exception." Portland Press Herald.' * Cutler, Charles L. 1994. ''O Brave New Words! Native American Loanwords in Current English.'' University of Oklahoma Press. * Green, Rayna. 1975. "The Pocahontas Perplex: The Image of Indian Women in American Culture." ''Massachusetts Review'' 16:698–714. * Hagengruber, James. 2006.
Tribe wants 'squaw' off map
. ''SpokesmanReview.Com'' (Idaho), Oct. 6, 2006. Retrieved Feb. 28, 2007.


Further reading

* Laurent, Chief Joseph. 1884.
New Familiar Abenakis and English Dialogues.
' Quebec, Leger Brousseau. Retrieved Nov. 16, 2007. * Masta, Henry Lorne. 1932. ''Abenaki Indian Legends, Grammar and Place Names.'' Odanak, P.Q., Canada. * Mihesuah, Devon Abbott. 2003.
Indigenous American Women: Decolonization, Empowerment, Activism
'. University of Nebraska Press.


External links


Around Ethnic Slurs: Squaw
at Teach Respect Not Racism – Western North Carolina Citizens For An End To Institutional Bigotry

at Blue Corn Comics, collection of articles and correspondence on topic {{Indigenous rights footer * Native American women Anti-indigenous racism in the Americas Ethnic and racial stereotypes in the United States Ethnic and religious slurs Linguistic controversies Pejorative terms for women English words Sexual slang