Whychus Creek, renamed in 2006, was previously one of several locations in Oregon named after a slur used against Indigenous women. House Bill 3532 aims to speed the process of removing offensive titles from remaining sites. (Julia Shumway/Oregon Capital Chronicle)
Oregon lawmakers aim to speed up the process for renaming dozens of creeks, lakes, mountains and other sites that still hold offensive names.
The Oregon Senate will soon take up House Bill 3532, which would have the Oregon Geographic Names Board — a group advised by the Oregon Historical Society — make a list of places with offensive geographic names within three years of the bill’s passage and determine new names in consultation with local governments and tribes.
Currently, anyone can send a suggestion to the board to rename a location. But it’s a lengthy process, Oregon Historical Society Kerry Tymchuk told the Oregon Capital Chronicle. After receiving a renaming suggestion, the board must tour the area, study its history and connect with tribes, local elected officials and landowners for their feedback, he said. Name changes ultimately require federal approval, too.
The Oregon Historical Society has already identified 107 locations across Oregon with offensive names that remain unchanged. Many of them include derogatory terms used to demean Black individuals, immigrants and Native American women — such as Squaw Creek in Douglas County, Chinaman Hat in Josephine County and Cannibal Mountain in Lincoln County.
The Oregon House already advanced the bill in a 45-3 vote. The Senate may approve the bill in the coming days or weeks before reaching the governor’s desk.
As Trump admin prioritizes ‘American Greatness,’ Oregon bill honors Indigenous history
Oregon is no outlier for having locations with derogatory names. In recent years, lawmakers in Texas, Maine and California have also tried passing legislation to rename places with offensive titles.
These state-level efforts gained momentum after the Biden administration in 2021 created a commission to remove offensive names from federal lands and declared the word “squaw” derogatory. It replaced 650 locations with that term with names honoring Native American history and culture.
But under the Trump administration, some U.S. lawmakers have doubts as to whether the federal government would approve name changes. In February, a Democratic Maine lawmaker withdrew a bill similar to Oregon’s, citing conflicting federal and local views, the Maine Morning Star reported.
The Maine lawmaker’s decision was based on President Donald Trump’s first day in office, when he issued an executive order overriding the U.S. Board of Geographic Names’ authority and called to rename the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” and revert the name of North America’s tallest peak, Denali, to Mount McKinley.
Denali means “the great one” in the Koyukon language, an Alaskan Native group that lives north of the peak. The federal government’s official name for it until 2015 was Mount McKinley — named after the country’s 25th President William McKinley who was from Ohio and had never visited or had ties to Alaska.
Oregon has taken steps to rename some of its geographic features with offensive titles. Most recently, the Oregon Geographic Names Board in September successfully led an effort to replace the names of two creeks that had racist terms used against Black individuals, the Oregonian reported.
Oregon’s House Bill 3532 builds on 2001 legislation led by then-Sen. Kate Brown to remove the word “squaw” from location names. Despite that legislation, the term is still used for dozens of Oregon locations. Brown, Oregon’s governor from 2015 to 2023, testified in support of the bill, saying the state has a lot more work to do to remove offensive, racist and derogatory names.
Bill championed by Indigenous Oregon lawmakers
Indigenous women, like Rep. Tawna Sanchez, a Portland Democrat of Shoshone-Bannock, Ute, and Carrizo descent and the bill’s lead sponsor, said derogatory terms shouldn’t still exist on Oregon’s map.
“Renaming offensive locations in Oregon reflects our shared commitment to mutual respect, historical truth and creating a welcoming environment for all Oregonians,” Sanchez said. “My hope is that no one has to drive in any wonderful part of the state of Oregon and feel like they don’t belong there.”
Sanchez told the Capital Chronicle that the federal government would still have to approve the renaming of places with offensive titles.
The bill includes an amendment to uplift local control, she said, but for a name change to be approved, it would have to go through the Oregon Geographic Names Board. Then, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names makes the final call.
“Our hope is the federal government will act on the recommendation from the (Oregon board) that was made through a comprehensive process that reflects the will of Oregonians. Any result other than that would be pure politics,” Sanchez said.
The three Republicans who voted against the bill— Reps. Jami Cate of Lebanon, Virgle Osborne of Roseburg and Alek Skarlatos of Winston — did not explain their votes in the House and did not respond to Capital Chronicle.
Rep. Annessa Hartman, D-Gladstone, a cosponsor and member of the Snipe Clan of the Cayuga Nation, part of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, told her House colleagues that from a young age she’s known about the derogatory terms used against her and her community.
“It was up to us to just ignore them and just ignore the pain and the suffering that those words had caused to my people and our family,” she said on the House floor. “To see those still plastered across maps, rivers and street signs and now having my own children — I don’t want to continue that legacy of having them to just accept that that term is being used.”
This article was first published by Oregon Capital Chronicle, part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oregon Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Julia Shumway for questions: [email protected].
This post was originally authored and published by Mia Maldonado from Washington State Standard via RSS Feed. Join today to get your news feed on Nationwide Report®.
