Fresno group proposes new name for Squaw Valley, asks federal government to weigh in
The Fresno-area coalition calling to change the name of Squaw Valley has submitted a formal proposal to the federal government to change the name of the Fresno County census-designated place.
The name change request was submitted to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names on Jan. 1, said Roman Rain Tree, the coalition leader.
“We submitted because we found ourselves at an impasse with the (Fresno County) Board of Supervisors. We feel that they should utilize their resources of their elected position to host a meeting or put it on a future agenda,” said Rain Tree.
The new name currently being considered by the BGN is “Nuum Valley.”
For nearly a year, Rain Tree, a Fresno County resident and member of the local area Dunlap Band of Mono and Choinumni tribes, has led a charge to rename Squaw Valley but said he hasn’t been able to make inroads with Fresno County officials.
Just as the local debate started heating up last November, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland formally declared that the term was derogatory towards Indigenous women and would be taking steps to remove it from federal lands, of which six are located in Fresno County.
Proposals to rename areas — a process that can take years to complete — will be expedited under Haaland’s order.
The timing of the announcement, and the new process with the BGN, gave the local coalition a new idea of how to get around the communication impasse with the Fresno County Board of Supervisors.
“What a positive uplift it did for our group,” said Rain Tree of the federal decision. “Where we felt ‘where do we go now with this?”
Rain Tree said he hopes the name-change process will revitalize the local dialogue about a new name for the rural mountainous census-designated area in eastern Fresno County.
“That was really the intention of the decision,” said Rain Tree. “The (Fresno County) Board of Supervisors and supervisor (Nathan) Magsig won’t have a meeting. Maybe these folks (the U.S. Board on Geographic Names) will say, ‘hey, you need to have a meeting, supervisor,’”
Magsig on name change: ‘Local voices need to be heard’
In an interview with The Bee on Wednesday, Magsig said he learned of the new developments from an email he received from Rain Tree on Tuesday.
He said that it was “unfortunate” that there had been a lot of effort by others outside of Squaw Valley when he said that since the beginning, he’s been asking Rain Tree and his group to set a meeting with the residents and is willing to provide county resources. He hasn’t, however, offered to host a community meeting.
Magsig also added that he’s open to a name change if it’s driven by the Squaw Valley residents, “not by people who don’t live in the area,” he said.
Rain Tree also said he and the coalition are open to other names and suggested Nuum Valley because they were required to propose an alternate name.
“We’re not stuck on the word ‘Nuum,’” said Rain Tree. “Change it to Bear Mountain Valley, change it to Yokuts Valley, change it to something else.”
In an email shared with The Bee, representatives from the BGN also expressed a need for more public opinion and said that they would be reaching out to the Fresno County Board of Supervisors, as well as the California Advisory Committee on Geographic Names, as well as all federally recognized American Indian Tribes.
Once all parties have had an opportunity to provide their recommendations, the review committee will present the proposal for Nuum Valley to the BGN for discussion and the final decision. The entire process typically takes several months.
While Magsig said he hasn’t yet heard from the BGN for input on the potential name change, but he said that “if they choose to reach out, I’m happy to have a dialogue with them,” said Magsig.
Ultimately, he said that his top priority is that “the local voices need to be heard, ” said Magsig.
One such local voice is decades-long Squaw Valley resident Connie Work.
Work, 69, owner of the Branded Calf B&B in Squaw Valley, said she understands the term is offensive to a growing number of Native people, even if she’s confused that she hadn’t heard many complaints about the name in the past.
“Does that make it less derogatory? No,” said the decades-long Squaw Valley resident.
“If any of them feel that that is a derogatory term, then I understand their perspective,” said Work.
However, she said that local businesses “have to do all the trouble” of changing their government paperwork, business documents, and more if the name change is approved. “It is a major undertaking for a very depressed area,” said Work.
She also said she doesn’t like any of the proposed alternative names and thinks Squaw Valley should instead become part of the neighboring census-designated area of Dunlap.
Which local organizations support the name change?
A number of California and local Central Valley organizations submitted institutional letters of support for the name change application. Here’s the list:
ACLU Foundation of Northern California
Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indígena Oaxaqueño (CBDIO)
Fresno Barrios Unidos
Council on American-Islamic Relations Sacramento Valley/Central California
Planned Parenthood Mar Monte
Central Valley Natives for Change
99 Rootz/Power California
Jakara Movement
Sovereign Bodies Institute
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability; Fresno
Building Healthy Communities
Central Valley Partnership
Restoring Justice for Indigenous Peoples
Democratic Socialists of America Fresno
October Fourth Coalition Fresno
The Wiyot Tribe
Faith in the Valley
California State University, Fresno Sociology Department Faculty
Communities for a New California Education Fund
Poor People’s Campaign California Coordinating Committee
Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), Santa Maria Chapter
This story was originally published January 5, 2022 at 5:22 PM.
