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In this @CapRadioNews story I look at how the idea of changing the name of a ski resort is just one of many problematic names in the Sierra. Think Lake Tahoe, Mount Tallac... https://www.capradio.org/articles/2020/07/21/its-not-just-a-ski-resort-from-tahoe-to-carson-indigenous-people-say-sierra-names-misrepresent-them/
The use of the word squaw demeans Native American women.
"Settlers on their way west passed through the valley & saw that it was only populated by women and children ... so they named it Squaw Valley. That's mostly legend.â - Tahoe Historian Dave Antonucci
"Settlers on their way west passed through the valley & saw that it was only populated by women and children ... so they named it Squaw Valley. That's mostly legend.â - Tahoe Historian Dave Antonucci
@squawalpine is considering altering the name because of its anti-indigenous ties.
âIt's a multi-million dollar effort ... and, you know, it's not a reason not to do it.â - Ron Cohen, president of the resort.
IG photo: irina.bromberg
âIt's a multi-million dollar effort ... and, you know, it's not a reason not to do it.â - Ron Cohen, president of the resort.
IG photo: irina.bromberg
But a greater issue is that squaw isn't a Washoe word. There are over 800 uses of it in the US & more than 100 in CA, including a peak near @squawalpine.
âIt doesn't come from here & Washoe County, nor does it come from the Western United States." Herman Fillmore w/the tribe
âIt doesn't come from here & Washoe County, nor does it come from the Western United States." Herman Fillmore w/the tribe
There's also something bigger at play. Lake Tahoe is a mispronounced Washoe word & it's redundant.
"We don't often talk about it as derogatory or anything like that, we more just laugh at the kind of nonsense that it creates when combining two languages," Fillmore adds.
"We don't often talk about it as derogatory or anything like that, we more just laugh at the kind of nonsense that it creates when combining two languages," Fillmore adds.
Lake Tahoe wasnât always Lake Tahoe. In the 1850s it was named Lake Bigler after CA Gov John Bigler. Antonucci says his name was stripped from the lake because he entertained confederate sympathies.
A similar qualm is over Mount Tallac, which Fillmore says when translated means mountain, mountain. Other sources say Mount Tallac means âGreat Mountain,â which is derived from the Washoe word Talah-act.
Also, the name of Carson City near Tahoe evokes anti-Indigenous sentiment, says Fillmore.
âCarson City itself is named after an infamous Indian killer. Thatâs also a place that's very, very derogatory and very insensitive when you talk about indigenous people in the U.S."
âCarson City itself is named after an infamous Indian killer. Thatâs also a place that's very, very derogatory and very insensitive when you talk about indigenous people in the U.S."
Then there's this.
All this matters, Fillmore says, because Lake Tahoe and the area around it is the center of the Washoe world.
"One of the biggest things we have to talk about when we talk about Lake Tahoe is the actual removal of Washoe people from that place,â he added.
All this matters, Fillmore says, because Lake Tahoe and the area around it is the center of the Washoe world.
"One of the biggest things we have to talk about when we talk about Lake Tahoe is the actual removal of Washoe people from that place,â he added.
For Fillmore this is about returning an accurate sense of place and how that's been altered for Washoe people.
âWe would definitely like to see a lot more of our land returned. We would like to see Washoe people to be put at the forefront of a lot of these conversations.
âWe would definitely like to see a lot more of our land returned. We would like to see Washoe people to be put at the forefront of a lot of these conversations.
Also, check out @SRodd_CPR's reporting on renaming Jeff Davis Peak in Alpine County to âSentinel Rock." https://www.capradio.org/articles/2020/06/24/some-controversial-monuments-come-down-overnight-but-others-like-a-mountain-peak-take-years-to-rename/
For more details check out my @CapRadioNews story:
Itâs Not Just A Ski Resort. From Tahoe To Carson, Indigenous People Say Sierra Names Misrepresent Them https://www.capradio.org/articles/2020/07/21/its-not-just-a-ski-resort-from-tahoe-to-carson-indigenous-people-say-sierra-names-misrepresent-them/
Itâs Not Just A Ski Resort. From Tahoe To Carson, Indigenous People Say Sierra Names Misrepresent Them https://www.capradio.org/articles/2020/07/21/its-not-just-a-ski-resort-from-tahoe-to-carson-indigenous-people-say-sierra-names-misrepresent-them/
