Column: Piestewa the right name for Arizona peak

Tuesday, April 1, 2008  

"'ll ask the same question that I asked in April 2003. Now that five years have passed, there is no way to avoid answering it by changing the subject:

Would you call Lori Piestewa a "squaw"?

Not long after the 23-year-old soldier lost her life in Iraq, becoming the first Native American woman to die in combat while serving in the U.S. military, I put the question into a column suggesting that we change the name of Squaw Peak to Piestewa Peak.

The people who most vehemently opposed that idea at the time said that it wasn't the name change that bothered them but the fact that Gov. Janet Napolitano decided to steamroll the normal five-year waiting period for such an honor.

Well, five years have passed.

You still can be angry at Napolitano for speeding up the process and at people like me for encouraging her, but you can no longer duck the question.

Would you call Piestewa a squaw? Would you call any Native American woman a squaw?"

Get the Story:
E.J. Montini: Piestewa: The new name for sacrifice (The Arizona Republic 4/1)

Related Stories:
Federal board to vote on Piestewa Peak (3/31)
Letter: Rename peak for Lori Piestewa again (3/26)
Ceremony honors Lori Piestewa and Native soldiers (3/25)
Family looks back on Lori Piestewa's death (3/20)