Canada, US Hold Fresh Trade Talks as August 19 Tariff Deadline Nears 
Nigel Farage Faces Count Binface in Clacton Election Test 
Wisconsin Democratic Primary Tests Progressive Appeal 
Trump Orders U.S. Navy to Return to Steam Catapults for Aircraft Carriers 
Missile Threat Forced Trump to Secretly Switch Air Force One in Turkey 
Putin Visits Japan-Claimed Iturup Island, Drawing Strong Protest From Tokyo 
U.S. Military Operations Killed 153 Civilians in 2025, Pentagon Says 
Peggy Flanagan Wins Minnesota Democratic Senate Nomination 
Albanese Says AUKUS ‘Full Steam Ahead’ After Trump Call 
Iran War Escalates as US, Houthis Target Ships Near Key Oil Routes 
Rebecca Cooke to Challenge Derrick Van Orden in Key Wisconsin Race 
Bashar al-Assad Sentenced to Death After Syria Regime Collapse 
Israeli Troops Enter Qusra Homes as West Bank Settler Siege Continues 
Trump Imposes New US Tariffs on Drone Imports Over National Security Concerns 
Jared Kushner May Visit Israel for Gaza Talks Next Week 
Taiwan Slams ‘Dangerous’ China-Indonesia Naval Drill Near Island 
Add as a preferred source on Google
US Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is moving through the final steps to remove a word considered a slur against Indigenous women from federal lands. The department is set to ban the word “squaw” from federal lands following an assessment by the task force in charge of reviewing land names.
AFP reports that Haaland, who is the first Native American to become Interior Secretary, is finalizing steps to remove the word “squaw” from all federal lands. This follows a report by the derogatory geographic names task force that looked through over 660 geographic features in the country that have the slur which the federal government currently refers to as “sq___.”
The effort was first announced back in February when the agency started a comment period and reviewed possible replacement names. The names of several towns were also under review, such as Squaw Harbor in Alaska, according to the release by the department.
The word “squaw” is part of the Algonquian languages of North America, meaning “woman.” However, the word has taken on an offensive tone as it was used as a slur by White people during the colonization of the Americas. The word was commonly used to objectify Native women.
Haaland thanked the task force for their “work to ensure that racist names like sq___ no longer have a place on our federal lands.” Haaland also said she hoped to implement the changes as soon as possible after a vote by the US Board on geographic names.
However, there are other Native Americans who are attempting to reclaim the word in its original meaning.
Earlier this month, Haaland defended the Biden administration’s progress regarding federal fossil fuel leasing during a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee, citing the unused leases on federal lands.
This follows the executive order signed by President Joe Biden in January 2021 to temporarily pause new oil and gas leasing on federal lands.
Gas prices have increased this year due to a number of factors, including the war in Ukraine along with production that is struggling to keep up with the demand. The administration has cited the unused leases to address the criticism of its energy policies.
