These iconic Idaho landmarks now have new names after U.S. removes derogatory slur
Sehewoki’I Newenee’an Katete is the new name for a peak near Emmett, after the U.S. Department of the Interior announced Thursday it has removed slurs from 72 geographic features across 21 Idaho counties.
The Interior Department’s Board on Geographic Names this week changed the titles of nearly 650 U.S. geographic features — such as streams, flats and valleys — that included the word “squaw.” The term historically has been used as an offensive ethnic, racial and sexist slur, particularly for Indigenous women.
One in 10 of the features renamed are in Idaho, including dozens near Boise, formerly home to the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes.
“I feel a deep obligation to use my platform to ensure that our public lands and waters are accessible and welcoming,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a news release. “That starts with removing racist and derogatory names that have graced federal locations for far too long.”
Haaland is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna Tribe and a former congresswoman from New Mexico. After becoming the first Native American cabinet secretary, Haaland last year directed the Board on Geographic Names to strike the derogatory term for Indigenous women from federal usage.
Federal officials received more than 1,000 recommendations for name changes, and nearly 70 tribal governments participated in the process, the news release said.
The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes submitted the name Sehewoki’I Newenee’an Katete for the butte near Emmett, according to Interior Department Deputy Press Secretary Giovanni Rocco. The phrase translates to “Sehewoki’I People’s Butte,” Rocco told the Idaho Statesman by email.
The Idaho Geographical Names Advisory Council, which typically weighs in when an Idaho geographic name is changed, did not participate, the Idaho Statesman previously reported.
The list of new names, along with a map of locations, is on the U.S. Geological Survey’s website.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior. Map: NATHANIEL LEVINE
This story was originally published September 8, 2022 at 12:17 PM.
