Making names official

This week I had the opportunity to attend the annual meeting of the Council of Geographic Names Authorities in Austin, Texas. This gathering brings together representatives of the various state names authorities, as well as the federal Board of Geographic Names (BGN). These are the folks that are responsible for deciding which names are made official. The process works in two steps. First, proposals for new names or name changes are reviewed by the relevant state board; then if the state board approves a proposal it is forwarded for consideration by the federal board.

There were five Alaskan name proposals up for consideration by the BGN. Two of these are Alaska Native names.

• Globemaster Peak
• Weisser Creek
• Mount Scribner
• Draanjik River
• Tlax̱satanjín

The fact that only a minority of these proposals are for Native names is fairly typical, although the proportion of proposals for Native names has been increasing over the past few decades. I did a count f all the official names approved for Alaska since 1980 and came up with the following summary. This shows that in the 21st century nearly one quarter of the official names approved for Alaska are Native names.

I think Alaska (and Hawaii) may be unusual in this respect. In the lower 48 states attitudes toward Native name proposals seem much less favorable. I sometimes even sense a vague resistance to Native names. Here's an example. The convener of this meeting in Austin opened with a joke about how Rhode Island got its name. He played a YouTube video which shows some cartoon founding fathers flipping a coin, saying, Heads: Rhode Island; Tails: Cacapoopoopeepeeshire. It might just be me, but the "tails" option seems to have a mocking tone, conflating potty terms with a vaguely Native American sounding name. Maybe I'm being overly sensitive, but either way Native names are a tough sell these days in the lower 48.

Fortunately the same is not true in Alaska. On Wednesday the Domestic Names Committee of the BGN voted unaminously to approve a proposal to change the name Black River to its Gwich'in name, Draanjik River. Rather than any overt opposition to the proposal the committee instead asked why the proposer had not included proposals to change other river names in the region. That is, rather than questioning the proposal they actually asked for additional similar proposals! This is truly an historic decision. The BGN is in general extremely reluctant to change existing official names. Approving a Native name for a previously (officially) unnamed feature is one thing; but the policy regarding changes to existing names is extremely circumscribed. Previous to the Draanjik decision the BGN has been open to name changes in only two situations. First, they have approved Native names for predominantly Native villages, including the following:

• Atqasuk, ‘downslope’, replaces Meade River
• Nuiqsut, ‘things speared’, replaces Nooiksut (should be Nuiqsat)
• Nanwalek, ‘one with lagoon’, replaces English Bay
• Nunam Iqua, ‘land’s end’, replaces Sheldons Point

Second, they have approved Native names to replace names which were considered pejorative, such as:

• Tsaani Creek (Ahtna, 2009) replaces Squaw Creek
• Tł’oo Hanshyah Mountain (Gwich’in, 2012) replaces Negrohead Mountain
• Łochenyatth Creek (Lower Tanana, 2012) replaces Negrohead Creek

But Draanjik River replaces neither a village name nor a pejorative name. It is simply the correct Gwich'in name for a geographic feature. This change opens up the possibility of making further changes to names of geographic features, as suggested by the Domestic Names Committee. Indeed, such a proposal for several rivers in the Yukon Flats region has already been endorsed by the Tanana Chiefs Conference.

The other Alaska Native name proposal on the docket, Tlax̱satanjín, was not discussed at the meeting. This proposal is controversial as it conflicts with a competing proposal for the name Mount Scribner, honoring long-time state employee Jon Scribner. No doubt Scribner was a good guy, but at some point we need to check our urge to name geographic features in honor of good people. Those "unnamed" peaks have Native names which have been known to the Elders since time immemorial. Disregarding those names in order to honor men like Scribner simultaneously dishonors those Elders, stripping away their long-standing connection to the land. Surely there are other ways to honor Mr. Scribner that don't strip away Native names? Let us honor the Elders by recognizing the long-standing traditional names which have been handed down through the generations.

I'll have more to say about honorific names in a future post. For now I'd rather close by reflecting on Draanjik River, the river of the Draanjik Gwich'in. A river whose now-official name stretches back into the realm of the ancestors, providing a connection with history. It is a history that can be learned and appreciated by all people, both Gwich'in and non-Gwich'in alike. We are all richer for this history.