The state board charged with reviewing name changes for geographic landmarks with offensive names on Thursday rejected two requests  and started reviews of more controversial proposals.

The Geographic Naming Board, part of the Department of Natural Resources, has dozens of requests before it, with the most controversial being the renaming of Mt. Evans in Clear Creek County.

Thursday’s meeting reviewed  changing the name of Squaw Mountain (or “S-Mountain,” as most people called it Thursday) in Clear Creek County, north of Mount Evans, to Mestaa’?hehe (pronounced mess-ta-HAY) Mountain, as well as looking at two Delta County landmarks named “Negro.” The board did not vote on the newer proposals but will continue to review them in future meetings.

The board also turned down two proposals originating in San Miguel County to change the name of V H Pasture Reservoir to Elk Springs Reservoir and to change Vurl Reservoir to Wapiti Reservoir. 

The request came from KL Spear of Placerville, who acquired the land around VH Pasture Reservoir in 2014 as part of a land trade with the U.S. Forest Service, according to the proposal. He intends to put the land into a conservation easement for preservation of its deer and elk habitat.  The reservoir’s original name is a bit of a mystery, but the proposal hints that it may have belonged to a cattleman who used the land for grazing. Documentation from the local historical society indicated the cattleman was likely Hans Von Hagen, an early settler in nearby Ridgeway. 

San Miguel County commissioners took no position on the request, and the Forest Service was not opposed, according to Jennifer Runyon of the federal U.S. Board on Geographic Names, part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Runyon noted during an April meeting that the federal board doesn’t care for name changes for lands with historical ties just because the land changes hands.

The board’s recommendation now goes to the governor, who would forward it to the federal board. 

The proposal to rename S-Mountain carries some pressure from the federal board, according to comments made by Runyon in June. That pressure is coming from people who have been waiting four years for the name change, she told the Colorado board.

The federal proposal said that “Mestaa’?hehe was the daughter of White Thunder, a Cheyenne tribal leader. She married William Bent, the founder of Bent’s Fort, located in present day Otero County. At Bent’s Fort, Mestaa’?hehe served as translator and helped negotiate trade deals between white settlers and native groups. Mestaa’?hehe died during the birth of her fourth child. A modern historian describes “Mistanta [sic] and Bent as ‘the central business and social leaders of the region.'”

Originally, the proposal was submitted in 2017 by Sarah Hahn Campbell, a Denver high school English teacher. At that time, she asked the name be changed to Mount Mistanta. But that was withdrawn in favor of the preferred spelling offered by the U.S. Forest Service on behalf of Teanna Limpy, the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe. The term “squaw” is offensive to Indigenous women, based on the native word for vagina. 

The Squaw Mountain name has been on USGS maps since 1923, the proposal said. There are two other summits named Squaw Mountain, three streams named Squaw Creek and 36 features, both natural and man-made, with the word “Squaw,” including Squaw Pass in Clear Creek County. Runyon said the Colorado board could be proactive on suggesting name changes and could do so for Squaw Pass.

Limpy told the board Thursday she supports the current proposal and talked about Mestaa’?hehe’s history.

Clear Creek County Commissioner Randall Wheelock, a member of the naming board, said that the county is waiting on the board to take action on the “S-word” mountain so they can inform citizens on name changes to other features, including roads. Wheelock said the county’s intent is to rename those other roads with offensive names. The county commissioners held several meetings to educate residents and non-residents about the history, and Wheelock estimated 95% of the residents support the name change. “We recognize it’s our place to follow and learn.”

No one spoke against the proposal during public comment Thursday. Those who spoke in favor of the proposal often referred to restorative justice and the healing power that changing names has.

Rick Williams, a Lakota Cheyenne elder who initiated the effort to ask Gov. Jared Polis to rescind two anti-Native peoples proclamations from Gov. John Evans, spoke in support of the name change. “It’s an honorable thing to do,” he told the board.

Now is the time to restore and reclaim justice, and bring back communities deserving of this justice, said Renee Millard-Chacon of Spirit of the Sun, a Denver non-profit founded by indigenous women to promote education, health and wellness for Native youth and young adults.

Through tears, Jan Iron, who is Diné (formerly known as Navajo), said Colorado is the land of the Cheyenne, Arapahoe Lakota, Pawnee, Ute and other tribes. “To know that this mountain was desecrated with this name really saddens me. I appreciate the efforts to change it to something more appropriate.” Iron said the name change is common sense. “Pass it through with no hesitation, it’s only right.”

“I cannot imagine anything passing for a sensible argument to keep the name,” said board member Patty Limerick of CU Boulder. Referring to Williams’ comments, she said “honorable” should be the board’s steering mechanism.

The federal board recently received a proposal to change Squaw Mountain in Teller County, near Victor, to Sunnyside Mountain, according to Runyon. Beth Hoover of Colorado Springs also proposed renaming Squaw Gulch, also in Teller County, to Mound Gulch, which was once the name of a city in the area.

Another proposal under consideration by the Colorado board is to change the name of Negro Creek in Delta County to either Hops Creek or Clay Creek. Backing the change: the Delta County Board of Commissioners. The commission held a naming contest at Cedaredge High School, which came up with the names that the commission voted on. Hops refers to the area’s brewing history. There is a second Negro Creek, in Mesa County.

Delta County also is backing a second proposal, to change the name of Negro Mesa, also in Delta County, to Clay Mesa. The name has been on USGS maps since 1962.

The board has about two dozen proposals to consider, including four proposed name changes for Mount Evans (the standard is to consider the first one submitted) as well as name changes for geographic landmarks with the names Redskin, Chinaman and Kit Carson (a mountain in Saguache County).