Squaw Valley to be renamed "S-Word Valley"

[summit]

That's right... you can no longer "SKI SQUAW"

Today on PC gone wild... some Native Americans are demanding that the word "Squaw" be removed from everywhere and everything.

Is there no end to this crap? I had no clue that some peopel were offended by the word "squaw". It doesn't even seem like an offensive term. So we have to change the names of 800 places because someone has thin skin?

So what is the new name for Squaw Valley?

http://www.breitbart.com/news/na/070....ls25v06m.html

Native Americans seek to outlaw the 'S-word'

Feb 25 7:06 PM US/Eastern

Ruby Bernal wasn't self-conscious about her American Indian heritage until her adolescence, when a band of teenage boys called her "squaw" during a drive-by heckling.

"It's like saying the 'N-word' to a black person," says Bernal, a member of the Shoshone-Bannock, one of five tribes with reservations in Idaho.

"To me, it's a slap in the face. It belittles me and it belittles all Indian women."

Bernal is among Native Americans across the West fighting to excise "squaw" from the names of region's waterways, peaks and river valleys.

The 55 tribes of the Pacific Northwest say the "S-word," once commonly used when referring to an American Indian woman, is demeaning and never uttered on reservations.

They claim the term evokes the painful chapter in American history when Indian lands were confiscated and native peoples were subjugated by whites.

Yet the word litters the national map, with more than 800 place names including the word "squaw" and some resistance from local officials who object to what they say is a push to be politically correct.

Now one of the Northwest's most influential American Indian tribes is campaigning to wipe the word off the names of 11 creeks, bluffs and canyons in Idaho.

The gambling-rich Coeur d'Alene Tribe of northern Idaho argues the term is unsuitable for some of the area's most stunning landmarks and is asking the Idaho Geographic Names Advisory Council to recommend changing it.

Tribal leaders want "squaw" to be replaced by Coeur d'Alene terms such as "chimeash," which refers to a young woman of good character.

The ultimate decision will be in the hands of the US Board on Geographic Names and it will take months for the renaming to happen - if it does.

A key criterion used by the national board is whether the proposed changes have the backing of local governments. So far none of the Idaho counties have endorsed the proposed changes.

Coeur d'Alene officials are proposing to strip "squaw" from four sites in Shoshone County. Local governments say there are many more pressing issues on their agendas than retooling place names.

"We're not prejudiced, I don't think, but what's the big deal?" said Lin Hintze, a member of the Custer County Commission in central Idaho, home to one of several "squaw peaks" in the state.

"We have better things to do than make a big stink about a name."

A string of states, including Montana and Oregon - with the most "squaw" locations in the nation - have taken steps to remove the reference from their landscapes.

The push to remove "squaw" echoes the years-long effort by Indian activists to change what they say are the culturally insensitive titles and mascots borne by popular professional and college sports teams.

Landmarks in the West were dubbed "squaw" in the mid-19th century at the height of settlement driven by the discovery of gold.

The tension today between Indian advocates and diehard traditionalists has its roots in that era of westward expansion, which signaled the end of Indian autonomy, the forced adoption by tribes of Western European culture and a period in which native women were considered just one more commodity.

"Using the 'S-word' to refer to Indian women is just another reminder of this country's history of oppression of its native people," said Rozina George, a Lemhi Shoshone.

But Jeff Ford, former member of the Idaho names council, contends the push by tribes to excise "squaw" diminishes a landmark's historical significance.

"Just leave the names alone, for crying out loud," he said. "It's not meant to be demeaning and that term's been there forever. There must have been a reason for people of European descent to call places that. It probably wasn't a nice reason but we can't keep whitewashing history. A geographic name should reflect the story that brought it about."

While the US Board on Geographic Names has called the "N-word" and the term "Jap" taboo for place names and mandated changes, it has said "squaw" would be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

The Shoshone-Bannock's Bernal, for one, believes history is against tribes when it comes to having their agenda promoted.

"I think the broader society isn't responsive to our concerns because they never have been," she said.

"The native peoples have always been at the bottom of things and some people in this country are determined to keep us down there."

[jon gaper]

fuck the squaw

[AsheanMT]

Here in Missoula we have a Squaw Peak and a few years back the injuns said they were offended so the name was taken away and replaced with a number. Everyone still calls it Squaw anyway and the peak itself continues to be belligerently drunk and unemployed.

[spook]

it must be traumatic when something so simple is beyond your comprehension.

[backpack]

I dunno, if a group of people feel that strongly that a word is offensive to them as a group, it seems like some things could be renamed. It isn't like they're pulling this out of their asses at random, it's a pretty long-standing issue.

Maybe not so great for Squaw Valley's marketing department, but if you really don't think names are a big deal, why not change them?

[basom]

slut valley?
sexslave valley?

couple good alternatives that still capture the essence of the meaning of the word without the cultural implications.

[Blurred]

If they're mad about us taking this land, we should give it back too.

[AsheanMT]

The word itself means young woman, not slut or any other derogatory comment like that. The people who are making a stink about the word don't even know their own linguistic history. Just another example of pussy PC censorship.

[skimasterflex]

They should buy all 800 places with casino profits and rename them "nigga this" and "honkey that" instead of complaining more.

[AsheanMT]

Reminds me of that little PC stint in the 90's when we weren't supposed to say "black" cause it was racist so instead we were told to say African American. Bunch of bullshit. People are way too afraid of words.

[spook]

yes, i understand that you're typically ignorant and insensitive. you don't have to keep talking. seriously.

[spindrift]

I disagree with Spook. You guys keep talking. Really. Don't let any urge to pretend to be a human being stop you. I wanna keep finding out who the undereducated and under IQ'd crew is. Stupid insecure bigots...

[spook]

i don't disagree with you, spindrift. i just wanted to make sure they understand that repetition is not necessary to communicate their mentality. after all, this is the united states of america. theirs is not atypical thought.

[summit]

The word itself means young woman, not slut or any other derogatory comment like that. The people who are making a stink about the word don't even know their own linguistic history. Just another example of pussy PC censorship.

Yep

What is the origin of the English word squaw?

'Squaw' is one of a number of words in English that were borrowed from Eastern Algonquian languages, sometimes via French, during the early contact period. The source in this case is conventionally Massachusett squas (Webster's New World Dictionary, 2nd Edition). The term meant 'young woman' in Massachusett and is attested as early as 1624. In fact, related words derived from Proto-Algonquian *et^kwe:wa (t^ represents a theta - a th sound) 'woman' occur throughout the Algonquian language family. Mostly they're fairly similar to the proto-form and each other (cf. Cree iskwe:w), though in a few languages the descendant form is so modified by accumulated sound changes that only someone familiar with the changes involved would recognize it, e.g., Arapahoe híthei. Bright's useful summary of this cites Cutler 1994 and Goddard 1996, 1997 for the etymology of the term.

it appears the negative connotation came from activists in the 1970s...

[AsheanMT]

I disagree with Spook. You guys keep talking. Really. Don't let any urge to pretend to be a human being stop you. I wanna keep finding out who the undereducated and under IQ'd crew is. Stupid insecure bigots...

FYI. Lack of education and/or IQ placement is not a requisite for bigotry.

[AsheanMT]

i don't disagree with you, spindrift. i just wanted to make sure they understand that repetition is not necessary to communicate their mentality. after all, this is the united states of america. theirs is not atypical thought.

I find your handle offensive as well as your judgement of others. Please change both.

[spook]

your wit matches your sensitivity and logic meathead. i always enjoy a good bootstrap argument applied to the victim. i'm sure your ancestors would be proud. soon some idiot will start talking about casinos. oh wait, too late.

my name is my name ashean. i'm glad you're offended by my observation of your typical ignorance and lack of sensitivity. maybe you're getting closer to satori. it doesn't hurt if you just let go.

[MeatPuppet]

it is traumatic when something so simple is beyond my comprehension.

^^^There, I fixed it for you. You were having pronoun trouble.

If those raising a stink about this were sincere in their stated desire to preserve/protect their heritage and culture, they would be educating people about what the term actually means. Rather than allowing a misuse of the word, to be the definition they accept. What a bunch of self-serving asshats.

FWIW, my ancestors walked the Trail of Tears when the Cherokees were relocated. So I don't approach this subject as a complete spectator.

[cloudpeak]

Here in Missoula we have a Squaw Peak and a few years back the injuns said they were offended so the name was taken away and replaced with a number. Everyone still calls it Squaw anyway and the peak itself continues to be belligerently drunk and unemployed.

Some people seem opposed to changing the name Squaw because they genuinely don't believe it's a bigoted term. For those people, the change seems like a silly overreaction. While the word has been used in bigoted ways over the years, it appears that it might have a much more innocent linguistic basis. It's quite probable that it orignially just meant "young woman" or wife.

On the other hand, you don't seem interested in discussing the issue. Instead, your post reeks of bigotry with your references to "injuns" and "belligerently drunk and unemployed."

[AsheanMT]

it must be traumatic when something so simple is beyond your comprehension.

You do realize that "Spook" is a racial slur referring to black people don't you? Its right up there with the infamous "N" word. Tsk. Tsk. Who are you to talk?

[grapedrink]

i'm officially a fan of asheanmt

[spook]

ashean, please, i'm quite sure that you also realize that spook has several other meanings that have nothing to do with race. that's who i am.

[AsheanMT]

Some people seem opposed to changing the name Squaw because they genuinely don't believe it's a bigoted term. For those people, the change seems like a silly overreaction. While the word has been used in bigoted ways over the years, it appears that it might have a much more innocent linguistic basis. It's quite probable that it orignially just meant "young woman" or wife.

On the other hand, you don't seem interested in discussing the issue. Instead, your post reeks of bigotry with your references to "injuns" and "belligerently drunk and unemployed."

What can I say. I come from the Chris Rock school of comedy and those statements are funny ONLY because white bread mothafuckas feel as though they should be offended by them.

[AsheanMT]

ashean, please, i'm quite sure that you also realize that spook has several other meanings that have nothing to do with race. that's who i am.

Nigga please

[MeatPuppet]

your wit matches your sensitivity and logic meathead. i always enjoy a good bootstrap argument applied to the victim.

...I'm not even going to bother...

i'm sure your ancestors would be proud.

My ancestors wouldn't have cared what name others gave to a mountain. Their descendants would do well to take a lesson from them.