{"id":33635,"date":"2021-11-06T06:16:39","date_gmt":"2021-11-06T11:16:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/upstate-ny-islands-offensive-name-has-officially-been-changed\/"},"modified":"2021-11-06T06:16:39","modified_gmt":"2021-11-06T11:16:39","slug":"upstate-ny-islands-offensive-name-has-officially-been-changed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/upstate-ny-islands-offensive-name-has-officially-been-changed\/","title":{"rendered":"Upstate NY island\u2019s \u2018offensive\u2019 name has officially been changed"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Squaw Island controversial name has officially been changed<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Democrat & Chronicle<\/a> reports Squaw Island, a tiny island located off the City Pier on Canandaigua Lake, has been renamed Skenoh Island. \u201cSkenoh,\u201d pronounced scan-oh, translates to either health or peace in the On\u00f6ndowa\u2019ga (Seneca) language.<\/p>\n

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 \u201coffensive\u201d name.<\/p>\n

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

    \n
  1. 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 \u201csquaw\u201d refers to a woman\u2019s private parts in a way that\u2019s offensive to Native Americans. The Merriam-Webster dictionary<\/a> also defines it as an offensive or disparaging term for an indigenous woman in North America.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u201cIt\u2019s derogatory, right, it\u2019s almost like a cuss word. It\u2019s almost like a slur towards women. And so, with that removed, that helps us be at ease,\u201d Dr. Joe Stahlman, Director of the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum, told Rochester First<\/a> in 2020.<\/p>\n

    According to the Historical Markers Database<\/a>, 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\u2019s 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<\/a>, Skenoh Island is technically a Wildlife Management Area; the State Park at the Fair<\/a> is the smallest park within the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation agency.)<\/p>\n

    The Democrat & Chronicle reports Edward Randolph, whose father\u2019s ancestry includes the Seneca and Onondaga tribes, first proposed changing the island\u2019s name.<\/p>\n

    \u201cFrom the start this was all about correcting the wrongs of the past,\u201d Randolph told the newspaper. \u201cWhile 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Skenoh Island is not the only island that previously used the term \u201csquaw\u201d; 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\u2019s family had a compound on Squaw Island in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.<\/p>\n

    (Editor\u2019s note: This story has been updated to include Merriam-Webster dictionary\u2019s definition of \u201csquaw\u201d and a note that the island is listed as a wildlife management area, not a state park, according to the state DEC)<\/p>\n

    The post Upstate NY island\u2019s \u2018offensive\u2019 name has officially been changed<\/a> first appeared on Native Sun News Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    <\/span><\/div>

    Visit Original Source<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    <\/span><\/div>

    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. \u201cSkenoh,\u201d pronounced scan-oh, translates to either health or peace in the On\u00f6ndowa\u2019ga (Seneca) language. According to the Rochester newspaper, <\/p>\n

    Read More<\/a>
    Shared by     Native Sun News Today<\/a> November 6, 2021<\/p>\n

    <\/span><\/div>","protected":false},"author":1541,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5627],"tags":[10105,6659,3222],"class_list":["post-33635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-resource-directory-blog","tag-archive","tag-environment","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1541"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33635\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}