A California city council proposed a controversial idea to rename the state’s Squaw Valley region due to its name being an offensive term for a Native American woman.
The Orange Cove City Council put the idea together on Wednesday after claiming that the word “squaw” was used as a derogatory term that means “both a part of the female genitalia and a woman of ill repute.”
Changing Names
“[It] perpetuates a sexualized, exploitative, and humiliating narrative that continues to focus the desires and disgust of early Euro-Americans on the bodies of Native American women,” the officials said in the resolution states.
However, many have criticized the decision of renaming the city and argued officials were simply “screwing up history” and “caving to political correctness.”
“I am getting so sick of all these name changes and statues taken down just because someone thinks the names are inappropriate because of race or tribe name! Come on, people, you are screwing up history!” a Twitter post of one resident from Fresno said.
“The name squaw valley has been around forever; the people trying to change this name need some serious help, stop being a bunch of cry babies over everything,” another resident that disagreed with the proposal said.
Additionally, the mayor of the town also expressed his opposition to the proposed name change. “Citizens bring in whatever they want to bring in, and they put it on the agenda to be discussed. I will not vote in favor of it. I can tell you right now; I guarantee you I will not support that,” he said.
The mayor noted that his colleagues would most likely join him in opposing the proposal as well. “I can guarantee you they won’t, they will not support it,” he said, the New York Post reported.
In December, Roman Rain Tree, a resident from the town, was the first person to put a request to change the name of the region to “Nim Valley.” Later, at least 338 signatures have shown their support for a petition for a name change to the town.
