Natasha Blakely, natasha.blakely@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Interior Department terminated six committees, including the Advisory Committee on Reconciliation in Place Names, which was established by former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to support efforts to rename federal geographic features or places with racist, offensive and derogatory names.
This follows after the Bureau of Land Management quietly removed internal documents on the implementation of policies from the Biden administration, including relating to efforts to remove a racial slur against Native American women from place names.
In response, Gerry Seavo James, Deputy Director of Sierra Club’s Outdoors for All Campaign, released the following statement:
“The Advisory Committee on Reconciliation in Place Names was doing important work and, while significant ground was gained in efforts to remove racist and offensive slurs from the names of federal sites, that work was far from done. It is a shame to see Interior Secretary Doug Burgum dismiss the efforts of that committee and attempt to undo their hard work, especially at the start of Women’s History Month. This should be a time when we uplift women and the contributions they have made to our history and legacy, not reinforce outdated and sexist language and terminology.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.