WASHINGTON D.C., DC — Editor's note: the above video aired during a 2021 broadcast.
A word used as an "offensive ethnic, racial and sexist slur" against Native American women officially has no place on federally owned land, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced Thursday morning.
Nearly 650 geographic features across the United States used the slur in their names, the department said. There were 65 of those locations in Arizona.
“I feel a deep obligation to use my platform to ensure that our public lands and waters are accessible and welcoming," Secretary Deb Haaland said. "That starts with removing racist and derogatory names that have graced federal locations for far too long."
A full list of the names changed and a map of all the locations can be found here.
The announcement comes nearly two decades after Phoenix officials voted to change the name of a Valley mountain that used the word. The mountain is now known as Piestewa Peak in honor of Lori Piestewa, a Hopi woman who was the first Native American woman to be killed while serving in the U.S. military.
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