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A federal agency is working with local tribes across Alaska to rename 27 federally-recognized geographic place names. U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland ordered the action in November to erase and replace a derogatory term for Native women.
Communities and land features to be renamed stretch from Alaska’s Southeast to the North Slope and across the Aleutian Islands. Under the Interior Department, the U.S. Geological Survey has the authority to rename geographic features, but not manmade features like roads, churches, hospitals and schools.
The USGS is receiving tribal consultation and seeking public comment on potential new names through April 25.
– Caitlin Weaver, The Alaska 100