Placer County Renames 3 Public Roads Containing The Name 'Squaw'
PLACER COUNTY (CBS13) - Placer County leaders have voted in favor of renaming three county roads whose names contain the term "squaw."
Squaw Valley Road is now Olympic Valley Road, Squaw Peak Road has become Shirley Canyon Road, and Squaw Peak Way was renamed Marmot Way, according to a statement Thursday from the county.
The term has become widely known as a racist and sexist slur for Indigenous women. The county was in talks with the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California to rename county roads and property after Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows ski resort announced their name would be changed to Palisades Tahoe in September 2021. The following month, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland declared "squaw" a derogatory term and ordered the removal of it from federal lands.
There are still three private roads containing the term, which will also be removed after the new names are decided upon. The county is in the process of finding a new name for Squaw Valley Park in Olympic Valley.