{"id":1194849,"date":"2023-08-29T14:15:34","date_gmt":"2023-08-29T14:15:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grist.org\/?p=617221"},"modified":"2023-08-29T14:15:34","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T14:15:34","slug":"the-race-to-replace-derogatory-place-names","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2023\/08\/29\/the-race-to-replace-derogatory-place-names\/","title":{"rendered":"The race to replace\u00a0derogatory place names"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
In May, a homecoming took place 3,000 feet below the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Since the U.S. federal government forcibly removed the Havasupai people from this sacred place<\/a> in 1919, the stop along the park\u2019s Bright Angel Trail<\/a> has been known as \u2018Indian Garden.\u2019 That changed recently, when a federal board approved a name change request after years of tribal advocacy. Now officially called Havasupai Gardens<\/a>, the name reflects the people who continue to care for the land, despite a century of harm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Across the United States, there are thousands of mountains, rivers, and other geologic features that bear derogatory, racist, or pejorative place names. About 660 of those referred to a slur against Indigenous women. But that\u2019s now changing<\/a>. The single largest name change effort in history is giving way to a movement that advocates hope will shed light on why place names are so significant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n