The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Colleen Roba (left), and Olivia Wallulatum are at work on renaming Squaw Creek. Photo by Craig Eisenbeis

Since Oregon Senate Bill 488 passed nearly two years ago, the name "Squaw Creek" has been living on borrowed time.

The name-change bill was passed in recognition of a nationwide movement to end the use of place names bearing the word "squaw." According to most sources, the word "squaw" -- in one Native American language -- is a vulgar anatomical reference and derogatory term for a native woman.

Although the word is linguistically linked to a northeastern tribe, other tribes have been supportive of a national effort to remove the term from common usage.

Already, several other states have passed bills similar to the one in Oregon.

Olivia Wallulatum and Colleen Roba represent the Warm Springs Tribal Office of Governmental Affairs and were instrumental in shepherding the bill through the Legislature.

Their work, however, is far from over.

Roba says that she has thus far identified 173 geographical "squaw" names in the State of Oregon.

"I started researching this back in '96," she said last week in her office at Warm Springs. "I've also been contacting ladies in other states that have accomplished this."

She said the problem is as much a gender issue as a cultural one.

Squaw Creek is hardly a unique name; in fact, Roba's list shows 50 of them in Oregon alone. Three in Benton, Linn, and Lane Counties have already been assigned new names.

Respectively, they are now known as Dunawi, Latiwi, and Tokatee Creeks.

Squaw Buttes in Lane and Harney Counties have been renamed Kwiskwis and Paiute Buttes, and the troublesome squawfish is now the northern pikeminnow; but that's just a handful of the scores of names yet to be changed.

Due to the efforts of Roba and Wallulatum, the watercourse that runs through Sisters has moved one step closer to gaining its new name.

The prevailing thought at this point is to name the stream after the local Sahaptin Tribe.

However, since the word "Sahaptin" itself is an English corruption, the proposed name is quite a bit different.

As a result, Sisters may soon become home to "Ichishkiin Creek."

"Sahaptin is what the white man calls it," said Roba, "but Ichishkiin is what we say in the native language."

Although English speaking tongues are likely to produce something that sounds more like "itchy skin," Wallulatum says that the goal of remaining true to the native language is the primary consideration.

The Warm Springs Tribes are directly affected by 42 of the 173 potential changes to "squaw" names in Oregon. Their area of responsibility covers all of the ceded Tribal lands in all or part of eight Eastern Oregon counties. The region runs along the Cascade Crest from the Columbia River to just south of the South Sister, then east to the John Day country and back to the Columbia near Heppner Junction.

Eight other tribal organizations are charged with making similar name determinations in other geographic regions.

The name changes are due by the start of 2005, but as Roba said, "We're not waiting. We need to get moving on it and get the other tribes moving in their areas."

In addition to working to pass Senate Bill 488, the Warm Springs representatives have taken an active role in coordinating the statewide renaming effort.

"When we went to the State Capitol last week, we met with all the nine tribes," Wallulatum said. "They are really excited about this. It's exciting to be part of the process of changing these names in your area."

She said there has been some resistance to the name changes among the non-native public.

"The majority of the people in Central Oregon didn't want it to happen," she said, "but the native females definitely want it to change."

Both women agreed that squaw names are extremely offensive and expressed particular dislike for the name of Squaw Mountain Ranch near Estacada -- a nudist camp.

"I've been feeling bad for other tribes, like in Idaho," Wallulatum said, "because they're trying to get it changed and it's not working. I don't know if it's prejudice, or what."

A bill to end the use of "squaw" names failed in the Idaho legislature. In Oregon, it's been quite a different story.

"Here, the Legislature has been really great in working with us," Wallulatum said.

Geographic names in Oregon come under the auspices of the Oregon Geographic Names Board (OGNB), an offshoot of the Oregon Historical Society.

Because of the huge number of name changes necessary in Oregon, the board is permitting multiple features to be re-named in a single application.

Even with an expedited process, it can take up to an additional year for new names to clear the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.

However, Champ Vaughan, Vice President of the OGNB, recently advised the tribal offices that the U.S. Board has also agreed to expedite the changing of "squaw" names.

"We haven't had a chance to make all the 's' word changes," Wallulatum said, "but we hope to do as many as we can this year."