21/01/2023
It is a time for healing as our coalition member and Yokuts Valley Resident articulates in an excellent editorial he authored:
https://www.fresnobee.com/article271428642.html
It is a time for healing as our coalition member and Yokuts Valley Resident articulates in an excellent editorial he authored:
BOTH VIEWS ARE PRESENTED, BEGINNING WITH THE "PRO"
PRO: Yokuts Valley was named properly. Opponents need to get over it and start healing
BY BAYARD TAYLOR
UPDATED JANUARY 20, 2023 11:47 AM
Supporters of the movement to change the name of Squaw Valley gather in front of the Hall of Records, before the meeting of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 16, 2021. JOHN WALKER Fresno Bee file Editor’s note: This is part of a point-counterpoint on the renaming of Squaw Valley to Yokuts Valley.
On Jan. 12th, the U.S. Board of Geographical Names gave the 93675 zip code a new name: Yokuts Valley. This marks the culmination of a two-year process that began with local Indigenous activists. It has been supported by local residents, accelerated by the first Indigenous Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, bolstered by the unanimous and bipartisan decisions of the California Assembly and Senate, and followed the unanimous recommendation of the California Advisory Council on Geographical Names. The name change occurred because the word “squaw” is widely recognized by Indigenous (and non-Indigenous!) people as an offensive, derogatory, misogynist slur (on par with the n-word or the j-word). It needed to be replaced.
Nathan Magsig, Fresno County Supervisor for District 5, was none too happy about it. By 1 p.m. he issued a “clarification” to readers of the Facebook group “Squaw Valley: The Original 93675” that, in actuality, muddied the waters. After reporting that the USBGN’s decision about Yokuts Valley, Magsig stoked white grievance and anger with falsehoods: ▪ Magsig claimed that the USBGN “decided to ignore the comments and resolutions by my office and the residents of Sq— Valley.” Not true! The USBGN carefully considered everything that Magsig had submitted (at the board’s request) — and weighed them with considerations from all interested parties. Carefully considering is not “ignoring.”
Magsig claimed the USBGN “does not have the authority to name recognized locations” that are not on federal land. Not true! In September of this year the USBGN renamed over 650 places, not just federally owned lands, that previously had had “squaw” in their names. Furthermore, the USBGN worked closely with the California Advisory Council on Geographical Names, which had plenty of local input. The implication that the USBGN’s decision was arbitrary and without local input is manifestly false. Magsig claimed that he expected the California Legislature also to “ignore” his office’s comments and resolutions. Not true! While the Legislature does have the authority to change place names, in the case of Sq— Valley, this is not a future decision. AB 2022 already became law (past tense) in November. And the CACGN has already selected “Yokuts Valley” as the replacement name. It is ironic that Magsig complained about being “ignored,” while for two years he blocked requests from the local Indigenous community (and others) to get a hearing on this issue; he has dismissed the statements of Indigenous leaders that the word “squaw” is a derogatory and racist slur; and he has refused to acknowledge the fact that genocide cleared the way for white settlement of this region.
Magsig has not been “ignored.” His efforts to stop the name change through the channels available to him have failed. As a professional politician, he is supposed to know how politics work. If he didn’t fill out the right forms, or didn’t pay sufficient attention to the process he is complaining about, that’s his responsibility. To cast aspersions at the USBGN, the CACGN, the Legislature, and anybody else is blame-casting, unprofessional and unproductive. The objections to the name change to Yokuts Valley play to unacknowledged white bigotry and racism against Indigenous people. The objections are part of a “cultural war” that centers white grievance against “liberals who are taking over” America. The objections stem from a view of government itself as evil (which, admittedly, sometimes it can be, but not in this case). And the objections are willful ignorance by whites to deny the trauma their ancestors caused in the catastrophic California genocide. (See “An American Genocide,” by Benjamin Madley.) The objections reveal a sentiment among whites that whites are the victims of “white genocide;” that whites are being persecuted by our government; and that whites are facing “forced assimilation.” This historical and moral blindness is awful to behold. The Yokuts Valley decision has been made. What we as a community need to do now is quit bickering about the name change, accept that change happens and get on with the healing. Bayard Taylor is a resident of Yokuts Valley This story was originally published January 20, 2023 11:32 AM.
Read more at: https://www.fresnobee.com/article271428642.html =cpy
CON: Federal government’s renaming of Squaw Valley was done without local residents’ views
BY NATHAN MAGSIG
UPDATED JANUARY 20, 2023 11:49 AM
Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig, who represents District 5 and the Squaw Valley area, talks about his resolution on deciding on the renaming of the town by the majority of its residents in response to the U.S. Board of Geographic Names, during a meeting of the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022.
This is part of a point-counterpoint on the renaming of Squaw Valley to Yokuts Valley. The opposing view can be found here. In the 1950s, two Squaw Valley communities (near Lake Tahoe and in Fresno County) fought for the right to be recognized as the original. Through the efforts of Congressman B.F. Sisk and residents of Squaw Valley in Fresno County, the U.S. Department of the Interior recognized Fresno County to be the home of the original Squaw Valley name. One Native American woman, born in the 1850s, stated to the local paper that Squaw Valley received its name long before settlers came to that region. Does the history of our land matter when making decisions? Should the will of the local community be considered? The current secretary of the Department of Interior, a federally appointed, nonelected position, decreed that all names of geographical regions, landmarks, and even populated communities that she deemed offensive would be erased from all maps and documents permitted by the federal government. Included in the decree was the decision to replace the word “squaw.” The residents of Squaw Valley were never notified by a representative of the DOI by letter, email, or in person on what changes were planned for their community. The DOI did not hold community or town hall meetings with the residents of Squaw Valley to hear their perspectives or even solicit alternative names.
In order to give the residents a voice, Fresno County held a community meeting, then sent out a poll and the residents returned 635 ballots out of a total of 1,432 mailed. Of them, 87% were opposed to any name change. They also indicated a preference for the names Bear Mountain, Dunlap or Bear Valley if a name change had to happen without their input. The results of the poll and all of this information was sent to the DOI and Board of Geographical Names (BGN). Months later, the residents learned that Squaw Valley was changed to Yokuts Valley. The DOI never informed the residents of the name change, but they learned about it from third parties only: their elected county supervisor and the media. Through the action of one unelected government official and her office, Squaw Valley was renamed Yokuts Valley. The word “squaw” was deemed offensive to the secretary and we’re to assume that “yokuts” is not offensive to anyone. So, who chose the name “Yokuts Valley”? By the DOI’s own admission, no one from Squaw Valley was part of the renaming process. The DOI reached out to the Fresno branch of Women’s International League of Peace and Freedom, residents for Renaming SquawValley/change.org petition (with many signatures from outside of Squaw Valley), ACLU Northern CA, and the California Advisory Committee of Geographic Names. They all supported renaming Squaw Valley. I guarantee 99% of Californians, let alone the Squaw Valley community, never heard of these groups nor could ascertain what they do. The DOI only listed the County of Fresno and four individuals, who submitted opposition letters, as those who were opposed. There was no mention of the 635 ballots sent by the residents of Squaw Valley or their preferences for alternative names. It appears the DOI made a concrete decision at the beginning of the process and any outreach to Squaw Valley community would be a waste of federal time and resources. I’m amazed how quickly government moves when it has an agenda. It has been 18 months since the DOI announced the term “squaw” offensive and its intention to strike the term from all places across the United States. Despite limited to no public outreach (none in Fresno County), hundreds of lakes, mountains and basins across the nation were identified and have been renamed. A name change is just the beginning. When making unilateral decisions without the voices and input from its taxpayers, the government not only divides us, but also chips away at our democracy. Nathan Magsig is the Fresno County supervisor representing District 5, which includes Yokuts Valley. This story was originally published January 20, 2023 11:29 AM.
Read more at: https://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/readers-opinion/article271431662.html =cpy
Commentary on the renaming of what was formerly called Squaw Valley. | Commentary
