Upstate NY island’s ‘offensive’ name has officially been changed

Squaw Island controversial name has officially been changed

The Democrat & Chronicle reports Squaw Island, a tiny island located off the City Pier on Canandaigua Lake, has been renamed Skenoh Island. “Skenoh,” pronounced scan-oh, translates to either health or peace in the Onöndowa’ga (Seneca) language.

According to the Rochester newspaper, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names approved the change to Skenoh Island last week after receiving recommendations from the New York State Geographic Names Committee, the New York State Museum and the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The Canandaigua City Council also passed a resolution last year in support of changing what it said was an “offensive” name.

The change is effective immediately, and will be updated in the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) later this fall and on federal maps.

Peter Jemison, historic site manager at the Ganondagan State Historic Site in Victor, told the D&C that he suggested the new name because the term “squaw” refers to a woman’s private parts in a way that’s offensive to Native Americans. The Merriam-Webster dictionary also defines it as an offensive or disparaging term for an indigenous woman in North America.

“It’s derogatory, right, it’s almost like a cuss word. It’s almost like a slur towards women. And so, with that removed, that helps us be at ease,” Dr. Joe Stahlman, Director of the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum, told Rochester First in 2020.

According to the Historical Markers Database, a sign in Canandaigua describes the area as the birthplace of the Seneca Indian Nation and details how the island, which eroded over time and is New York’s smallest state park, was used for refuge by the Senecas during an invasion by General Sullivan in 1779. (According to the state Department of Environmental Conservation, Skenoh Island is technically a Wildlife Management Area; the State Park at the Fair is the smallest park within the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation agency.)

The Democrat & Chronicle reports Edward Randolph, whose father’s ancestry includes the Seneca and Onondaga tribes, first proposed changing the island’s name.

“From the start this was all about correcting the wrongs of the past,” Randolph told the newspaper. “While the process to change the name was difficult, it pales in comparison to the difficulties that the Native American community has faced and will continue to face. While changing the name will not bring home the missing and murdered, the decision will hopefully bring a small bit of peace to their community.”

Skenoh Island is not the only island that previously used the term “squaw”; another island park also called Squaw Island, in Buffalo, was changed to Unity Island in 2015. There is also a Squaw Island in Tioga County on the Susquehanna River, and late President John F. Kennedy’s family had a compound on Squaw Island in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.

(Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include Merriam-Webster dictionary’s definition of “squaw” and a note that the island is listed as a wildlife management area, not a state park, according to the state DEC)

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