James "Jim" Confalone, owner of the Big Squaw Mountain Ski Resort in Greenville, Maine, was quoted in newspaper coverage throughout the early aughts opposed to changing the name of his private enterprise - even when Governor Angus King banned use of the "S-word" in 2000.

At first Confalone was miffed that the bill was passed without a vote.  He then worked to convince a puzzled public that he had conducted his own in-depth research and came up with a theory: the "S-word" was actually "a term of endearment" to the Indigenous women it slandered. 

Even when watershed events in 2020 rushed in a cascade of racial justice protests, Jim Confalone, an Italian immigrant who grew up the poorest of the poor in Melrose, Massachusetts, couldn't be convinced that using the "S-word" was akin to using the "N-word." 

Now, he's no longer in a position to decide.  The beleaguered ski resort that locals in Greenville say he's held hostage for years is in throes of switching to new ownership, this time by investors who have vowed to change the name of the resort once the deal is sealed. 

It's the latest in a trend by the outdoor industry to re-examine its role in the past several decades for how it has cradled the naming of everything from resorts, to climbing routes, destinations, and trails that are racist to Black and Brown people. 

It's a good start, but there's still more work to do.

To be sure, the movement to ban the derogatory "S-word" has been a campaign among Indigenous communities for decades.  A group of high-schoolers in Minnesota were among those first to lobby for a law that in 1995 renamed 19 place names, statewide.  

Today, a total of seven states have ditched the "S-word":  Minnesota (1995), Montana (1999-2000), Maine (2000), Oklahoma (2000), Idaho (2000), South Dakota (2003), and Oregon (2003). 

Last month, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, formally declared the "S-word" to be a racial slur and ordered its removal from exactly 666 federal land units that use the word. 

"Racist terms have no place in our vernacular or on our federal lands," said Secretary Haaland. "Our nation’s lands and waters should be places to celebrate the outdoors and our shared cultural heritage – not to perpetuate the legacies of oppression.” 

The origin of the "S-word" can been traced to the Algonquian language, translated as "woman." But it's been disparaged over the centuries by colonizers as early as the 1600s to refer to the female genitalia.

In addition to banning the "S-word," Haaland also created a Federal Advisory Committee to review other derogatory public place names across the country.  According to a 2015 study, as many as 1,441 racial slurs in their official name can be found on federal lands nationwide, even when laws in the 1960s and '70s outlawed such place names deemed offensive to Black and Japanese people.  Reasons for the ignoring are unexplained, but in Maine, a state law banning the naming of three islands deemed racist towards Black people were only changed last year - 43 years after the law was passed. 

The Outdoor industry also has its place in this work.  Rock-climbing routes recently have raised attention among guidebook publishers, who last year, began renaming a site previously known as Slavery Wall in Wyoming's Ten Sleep Canyon.  In September, the legendary Lake Tahoe ski resort formerly known as "S-word" Valley unveiled its new identity: Palisades Tahoe whose logo features an eagle as a gesture to the Washoe women who, for decades, demanded the resort change its name. 

North Face sells the Chilkat insulated boot named after a Tlingit dialect. Cotopaxi, a Quechua word meaning "Shining Peak" peddles colorful backpack and outer wear. Yakima, named after the tribe, makes roof racks. Ignik, an Inuit word meaning "fire," produces camping stoves. Kuiu, high-end performance gear, relies on the Indigenous people of Kuiu Island, the Stomach Tribe, to make itself marketable.  Of course the longest-running brand to appropriate Indigenous ways is Igloo, the household name for the ice cooler since 1947. 

In each case,  profits of our commodified identities go to the Outdoor industry offering little to nothing to the Native nations upon which these brands are based. One company is trying.  Kahtoola, which means "directly" in Tibetan, gives grants of 1% of annual sales to support Indigenous lifeways. 

Why Native appropriation, even in name, are so burdensome is because it cannot be divorced from the legacy of land dispossession and genocide in America.  To capitalize on our identities as if we are not here, is by itself, another racist act - not unlike use of the "S-word."

Secretary Haaland created the Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force which will include tribal consultations with representatives from various agencies to consider proposed name changes to "S-word" place names, but also, to explore other shifts to reconcile and honor the original peoples of these lands.  One shining example is Piestewa Peak, named in honor of Army Spc. Lori Ann Piestewa (Hopi) in 2003, the first known Native woman to die in combat in the U.S. military.  

The Outdoor industry should take note.  And so should you. 

It's the holidays and there are many ways to spend your money that may likely go towards brands that are of us but do not include us - Indigenous people.  Outdoor gear is just one example.  Automobiles, software, jewelry, and appropriating clothing lines are all in on it- so keep an eye out this season and see what you notice. 

• Here's more about Secretarial Order 3404
• And for some context about how out of hand the "S-word" got used here's one messed-up headline from the Associated Press, 1973,  after Sacheen Little Feather's Academy Award speech in declining the Oscar on behalf of Marlon Brando
• And if you have no idea what I'm talking about with regard to Brando, thank you, youtube.

I've been writing this as the first storm hits the Arctic this weekend. Snow is blowing with authority across the icy tundra and waters and drifts are expected to be perhaps waist high if not higher. I'm anticipating to see a wall of snowpack when I open my front door. Luckily I brought the shovel indoors.  Anyway, I'm sending this newsletter out late, so I'll end it here. 

Oh - also I received a good many requests from you all about the Nome newspaper and sticker giveaway. So great to hear from you.  They'll be on their way soon. 

Stay safe and warm out there,

"There's so much to appreciate in your Nome posting...pure inspiration." 

Bunny, Bath, ME