US Olympic ski resort begins talks to remove racist slur from name

One of America’s leading ski resorts is considering changing its name as part of the global movement to remove apparent symbols of racism and oppression.

Management at Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows in California has begun talks to reconsider the use of the term ‘squaw’ in its masthead.

“We are currently in the process of setting up a plan to review the use of the term ‘squaw’ as it relates to our business,” read a statement from the resort.

Squaw is historically used as a derogatory slur used against Native American women. According to the resort, the term was adopted by the area around the time of the California gold rush in 1849, when the valley was largely occupied by Native American women and children while the men went off to hunt.

“We’re at a point in history where we have to look at that word for what it is,” the resort’s President and Chief Operating Officer Ron Cohen told local reporters at KCRA 3.

The Washoe tribe has lived in the Great Basin and eastern Sierra Nevada mountains for at least the last 6,000 years, including areas around Lake Tahoe and its many ski resorts.

This is not the first time Squaw Valley has faced pressure to adjust its brand. Talks over 10 years ago involved numerous local representatives including the Washoe tribe, but the decision was made to keep the name. Over a decade later and there is renewed pressure on the resort as the Black Lives Matter movement sweeps the world.

“I think now it’s something that we really need to address. We see more and more abandonment of this name in between when that last conversation occurred. A nearby ridgeline and an adjacent national forest, that had the squaw name, were renamed and other locations have seen it renamed,” said Cohen who will lead the discussions.

“This is good that we’re putting the word out to educate the public,” Darryl Cruise, part of the Washoe tribe, told local reporters from CBS Sacramento.

“We have been in the area for thousands of years – Olympic Valley is within the ancestral homeland of the Washoe people. Years ago our troubled people never really had a voice, we have an opportunity here to speak with the right people and have our voice heard."

The resort of Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows connects two ski areas in neighbouring villages, Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows, at the north end of Lake Tahoe in California.

Before this connection between the two villages was made, Squaw Valley hosted the Winter Olympics in 1960 following a $80million development project specifically for the Games. Subsequently there are numerous Olympic mementos and signs around the resort that bear its name and mark its legacy – it remains unclear how these will be altered if the decision is made to change its name or how much it would cost.

“We use the name squaw all over the place, from small components, departments of our business that serve the public restaurants, stores, things like that. It's emblazoned all over our resort. It’s on our uniforms, our name tags, our public facing collateral,” said Cohen.

“It will take a lot of work for us to change the name out. It will take a period of time to do it. Cost a lot of money. None of those are reasons to not do it."

Local Native American leaders have again been invited to join discussions about the use of the slur in the resort’s name, to provide their own guidance on the matter.

“The term is used by several area businesses as well as state and federal agencies for locations in the Olympic Valley region and these groups should be involved in the discussion. Additionally, we plan to invite regional Native American leaders and scholars to provide us with appropriate guidance,” said Cohen.

“It’s something we really need to talk about, investigate and make a decision on.”

The resort is located in Tahoe’s Olympic Valley, which changed its name following the 1960 event – however the resort and village did not follow suit, deciding to maintaining its Squaw Valley brand.

Local businesses, often small independent operations, may also face pressure to rebrand in the future. International retailers including Oakley and Patagonia have stores in the resort with ‘squaw’ in their signage too. “Things that we don’t own or control will have to reach their own decisions as they see what we do,” said Cohen.

The removal of the slur entirely from the region would involve a community-wide effort. The Sacramento Bee reports that more than 100 places across California have ‘squaw’ in their official name, according to the US Geological Survey. As well as signage and branding the name is used in association with rivers, creeks and rocks on local maps.

The resort is part of the Alterra Mountain Company, which is made up of several top ski destinations in the US and Canada. These include nearby Mammoth Mountain, Winter Park in Colorado and Tremblant in Quebec, Canada.

“There have been calls to change the name over the years with various opinions and perspectives on the meaning of the word, ‘squaw,’ with many discussions and debate regarding whether the word was offensive. As the conversation has evolved, the Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows team has increased thoughtful discussions within the resort and among Alterra Mountain Company leadership,” read a statement from Alterra Mountain Company, who will form the panel discussing potential changes alongside the Washoe tribe, local businesses, community leaders, and agencies.

The Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows ski area is part of the multi-resort Ikon pass, which is operated by the Alterra Mountain Company and covers 43 ski resorts around the world, including SkiBig3 (Banff, Lake Louise and Mt Norquay) in Canada, Zermatt in Switzerland and Niseko in Japan.

A popular choice with regular skiers and snowboarders multi-resort passes provide flexibility, loyalty scheme and the chance to hit the slopes all winter in various locations under one pass. This connection to some of the world’s other leading ski resorts will no doubt form part of the discussion around the future of Squaw Valley’s name as pressure mounts around the world to remove names, statues and symbols with racist connections.

While a decision might be able to be made quickly, the process of renaming the resort would take time and many locals argue they would continue to use the Squaw Valley name, out of habit and familiarity. “The process that I would envision would be to have a discussion both internally among our employees, externally with stakeholders, agencies, tribes, locals and people in our broader communities so that we can really sound out how people feel about it,” said Cohen.

“I think it’s really important to have that discussion before we act, but it's equally important that we act and we not just let things drag on forever,” he said.