Squaw
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The English word squaw is an
ethnic An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...
and
sexual slur Sexual slang is a set of linguistic terms and phrases used to refer to sexual organs, processes, and activities; they are generally considered colloquial rather than formal or medical, and some may be seen as impolite or improper. Related to sex ...
, historically used for Indigenous North American women. Contemporary use of the term, especially by non-Natives, is considered
derogatory A pejorative word, phrase, slur, or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility ...
,
misogynist Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practised ...
, 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 (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
.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 October 9, 2015
While ''squaw'' (or a close variant) is found in several
Eastern Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *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 192 ...
and Central
Algonquian languages The Algonquian languages ( ; also Algonkian) are a family of Indigenous languages of the Americas and most of the languages in the Algic language family are included in the group. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from ...
, 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 are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...
,
Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...
, or
Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...
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 Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
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 Narragansett ''papoos'', 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 ...
") to
racialized Racialization or ethnicization is a sociological concept used to describe the intent and processes by which ethnic or racial identities are systematically constructed within a society. Constructs for racialization are centered on erroneous gene ...
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'', ''
Merriam-Webster Merriam-Webster, Incorporated is an list of companies of the United States by state, American company that publishes reference work, reference books and is mostly known for Webster's Dictionary, its dictionaries. It is the oldest dictionary pub ...
'' 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, p ...
'
"squaw"
Retrieved April 13, 2019.
''
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary Merriam-Webster, Incorporated is an American company that publishes reference books and is mostly known for its dictionaries. It is the oldest dictionary publisher in the United States. In 1831, George and Charles Merriam founded the compan ...
.'' "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 delibera ...
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 an Native Americans in the United States, American Indian grassroots movement which was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July 1968, initially centered in urban areas in order to address systemic issues ...
group responded in 2006: In 2015, Jodi Lynn Maracle ( Mohawk) and Agnes Williams ( Seneca) 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, North ...
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 to ...
''.
Seneca Nation The Seneca ( ; ) are a group of Indigenous Iroquoian-speaking people who historically lived south of Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes in North America. Their nation was the farthest to the west within the Six Nations or Iroquois Leag ...
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) 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 whom live on the reserve. The six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy ...
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 to ...
. In November 2021, the
United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation ...
, ("DOI") headed by Secretary of the Interior
Deb Haaland Debra Anne Haaland (; born December 2, 1960) is an American politician who served as the 54th United States secretary of the interior from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the U.S. representative for New M ...
, declared ''squaw'' to be a derogatory and racist term and began formally removing the term from use on the federal level. On September 8, 2022 the DOI officially replaced all place names containing the word and published a list of the new names.


History

Eastern Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *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 192 ...
and Central Algonquian
morpheme A morpheme is any of the smallest meaningful constituents within a linguistic expression and particularly within a word. Many words are themselves standalone morphemes, while other words contain multiple morphemes; in linguistic terminology, this ...
s (smallest units of meaning) meaning "woman" (mostly found as components in longer words) include:
Massachusett The Massachusett are 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 Indigenous people 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 pred ...
''-skwa'' ("female, wife"),
Mohegan-Pequot Mohegan-Pequot (also known as Mohegan-Pequot-Montauk, Secatogue, and Shinnecock-Poosepatuck; dialects in New England included Mohegan, Pequot, and Niantic; and on Long Island, Montaukett and Shinnecock) is an Algonquian language formerly spoke ...
''sqá'',
Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...
''iskwew'' / ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ (iskeyw, "woman"),
Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...
''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 ''A Key into the Language of America'' or ''An help to the Language of the Natives in that part of America called New England'' is a book written by Roger Williams in 1643 describing the Native American languages in New England in the 17th centu ...
'', written in 1643,
Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
Minister
Roger Williams Roger Williams (March 1683) was an English-born New England minister, theologian, author, and founder of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Pl ...
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 any of the smallest meaningful constituents within a linguistic expression and particularly within a word. Many words are themselves standalone morphemes, while other words contain multiple morphemes; in linguistic terminology, this ...
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 wha ...
'' (1622), one of the first chronicles of the
Plymouth Colony Plymouth Colony (sometimes spelled Plimouth) was the first permanent English colony in New England from 1620 and the third permanent English colony in America, after Newfoundland and the Jamestown Colony. It was settled by the passengers on t ...
written by European colonists, including the story of the Pilgrims' first
Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...
. 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 i ...
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. alkerhad 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'', written and published in 1838, is the only complete novel by the American writer Edgar Allan Poe. The novel is set between 1827 and 1828 and relates the tale of the young Arthur Gordon Pym, wh ...
''. 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 called the Okanagan Valley and sometimes 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 of ...
author
Mourning Dove The mourning dove (''Zenaida macroura'') is a member of the dove Family (biology), family, Columbidae. The bird is also known as the American mourning dove, the rain dove, the chueybird, colloquially as the turtle dove, and it was once known a ...
, 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 (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
author
Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ;  – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...
, in his novel '' Pebble in the Sky'' (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 15, 1931) is a Comanche Native American social activist and politician from Oklahoma. She is the founder and president of Americans for Indian Opportunity. Harris was a vice presidential candidate ...
, a
Comanche The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the List of federally recognized tri ...
social activist who spoke about empowering Native American schoolchildren in the 1960s at Ponca City,
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
, 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 November 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, who was of Mohawk 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 an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relating t ...
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 who served as the 54th United States secretary of the interior from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the U.S. representative for New M ...
(
Laguna Pueblo The Pueblo of Laguna, New Mexico ( 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 ...
) 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: , "swift flowing river") is a major river in Canada. It stretches about from where it is formed by the joining of the North Saskatchewan River and South Saskatchewan River just east of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan ...
was officially renamed; formerly it had been the Squaw Rapids Dam. * Ioway Creek (formerly Squaw Creek), a 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 Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to t ...
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 State Legislature is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral body composed of the lower house Maine House of Representatives and the upper house Maine Senate. ...
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 (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...
''; 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 p ...
and
Passamaquoddy The Passamaquoddy (Maliseet-Passamaquoddy language, Passamaquoddy: ''Peskotomuhkati'', Plural: ''Peskotomuhkatiyik'') are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American/First Nations in Canada, First Nations people who live in northea ...
languages. Twenty years after the law's passage, the owner of Big Squaw Mountain Resort near
Greenville, Maine : Greenville is a New England town, town in Piscataquis County, Maine, Piscataquis County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,437 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town is centered on the lower end of Moosehead Lake, the ...
refused to consider changing the resort's name, even though its namesake was changed to Big Moose Mountain 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 ...
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 lang ...
name of the ''
long-tailed duck The long-tailed duck (''Clangula hyemalis'') or coween, 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 the only member of ...
'', (''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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
name, because of wildlife biologists' concerns about cooperation with Native Americans involved in conservation efforts, as well as for standardization. *
Piestewa Peak Piestewa Peak ( ; , 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 Area within the ...
in
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
, replaced the name Squaw Peak in 2003; the new name honors
Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
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 Native Americans who primarily live in northeastern Arizona. The majority are enrolled in the Hopi Tribe of Arizona and live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona; however, some Hopi people are enrolled in the Colorado ...
), the first Native American woman to die in combat for the U.S. * Members of
Coeur d'Alene Tribe The Coeur d'Alene Tribe ( ; also Skitswish; ) are a Native American tribe 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, which includes a significa ...
in
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...
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 language, 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 Br ...
was officially renamed Dollis Creek 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 Integr ...
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, in the Russian River canyon through the California Coast Ranges. The California Historical Landmark, adjacent to U.S. ...
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 the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...
, 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 to ...
(''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 part of New York. While the name ''Seneca'', attested ...
) 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, North ...
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 ...
. * 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 renamed the Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge in Missouri to Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge in 2017. * 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 primari ...
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. There are several Washoe communities south and east of Lake Tahoe united under a tribal council. The Washoe people own ...
. *
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...
's Killsquaw Lake—the site of a 19th-century massacre of a group of
Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...
women—was renamed ''Kikiskitotawânawak Iskêwak'' on November 20, 2018. The new name means "we honour the women" in
Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...
. 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 Canmore is a List of towns in Alberta, town in Alberta, Canada, located approximately west of Calgary near the southeast boundary of Banff National Park. It is located in the Bow Valley within Alberta's Rockies, Alberta's Rocky Mountains. The to ...
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. * Palisades Tahoe 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 The Washoe or Wašišiw ("people from here", transliterated in older literature as ''Wa She Shu'') are a Great Basin tribe of Native Americans of the United States, Native Americans, living near Lake Tahoe at the border between California and N ...
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 an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation ...
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 serving since 2019 as the 40th governor of California. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served from 2011 to 201 ...
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 California State Parks is the state park system for the U.S. state of California. The system is administered by the California Department of Parks and Recreation, a department under the California Natural Resources Agency. The California State ...
and the
California Department of Transportation The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an Executive (government), executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the Government of California#State agencies, cabinet-level California State Tran ...
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.


See also

*
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples File:2007 Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples voting map.svg , , , The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP or DOTROIP) is a legally non-binding United Nations resolution passed by the United Nations in 2007 ...
*
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 ...
*
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, ''nigger'' is a racial slur directed at black people. Starting in the 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been increasingly replaced by the euphemistic contraction , notably in cases where ''nigger'' is Use–menti ...
*
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), October 6, 2006. Retrieved February 28, 2007.


Further reading

* Laurent, Chief Joseph. 1884.
New Familiar Abenakis and English Dialogues.
' Quebec, Leger Brousseau. Retrieved November 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 North America Ethnic and racial stereotypes in the United States Ethnic and religious slurs Linguistic controversies Pejorative terms for women English words Sexual slang