California removes slur from state location names

California officials have approved the removal of the derogatory term “squaw” from over 30 geographic features and place names on state lands, following a bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2022 and a similar move by the U.S. Department of the Interior. The renaming process will begin in early 2025, with the California Natural Resources Agency working with local governments and Native tribes to select new names, such as in West Sacramento where two streets were renamed in partnership with the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation. Assemblymember James Ramos, the state’s first Native American lawmaker, emphasized that the term “denigrates Native American women” and has contributed to the Murdered and Missing Indigenous People crisis.

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