‘S’ Word Removed from Put-in-Bay
A non-political correct term referring to Native American women, which some decry as a racist and sexist slur, has been removed as a name for hundreds of locations in the U.S., including Squaw Harbor at the western end of Put-in-Bay Harbor.
Squaw Harbor is to be known as Oak Point Harbor. The word “squaw,” long used for a Native American woman, has been deemed derogatory and offensive. The word is to be removed from federal use for place names in the U.S.
The origin of the word “squaw” has been traced to the Algonquian language, in which it meant simply “woman.” But its meaning was skewed by centuries of use by white people, including colonists in the 1600s.
Nearly 650 locations in the U.S. which no longer will use the “S” word according to the Board on Geographic Names which voted to approve substitute names for federal use, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced in a Sept. 8th press release. The Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force and the Board on Geographic Names, part of the Department of the Interior, are responsible for this work.
The goal is to remove racist and derogatory names that have graced federal locations for far too long and to ensure that public lands and waters are accessible and welcoming.
Interestingly, no one seems to know how PIB’s “Squaw Harbor” got its name, but Susie Cooper, formerly of the Lake Erie Islands Historical Society, remembers something about it being called “Square Harbor” at one time. She believes the name Square Harbor may have been corrupted like so many other island names, thus becoming Squaw Harbor.
The previous piece is published in this month’s Put-in-Bay Gazette. The Gazette has been producing incredible independent Put-in-Bay island news for over 40 years. If you have any interest at all in what is happening on South Bass Island, we urge you strongly to subscribe to the Put-in-Bay Gazette. One-year online subscriptions are only $15, and print subscriptions are available as well. To subscribe please click here.
