The Board on Geographic Names’ (BGN) Principles, Policies, and Procedures document contains the current Derogatory and Offensive Names Policy. Prior to Secretary's Order 3404, only two other words had been declared derogatory by the BGN in all occurrences:
- In 1963, the BGN, at the request of the Secretary of the Interior, mandated that the pejorative form of the word “Negro” be eliminated from all federal maps and publications. The pejorative term was replaced with "Negro" for all geographic features.
- In 1974, the BGN mandated that the pejorative word for Japanese be changed in all occurrences to “Japanese.”
Following the issuance of Secretary’s Order 3404, the word “sq___” was added to the policy as the third derogatory word.
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How do citizens make public comment on Secretary’s Order 3404 and the DOI Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force, including suggested replacement names?
The Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force opened a written public comment period and DOI offered Tribal Consultation to all federally recognized tribes. Both of these opportunities were announced in the Federal Register on Feb. 23, 2022 [link to Federal Register Notice for Consultation, link to Federal Register Notice for public comment]. In addition, the Task Force issued a letter through the...
What other derogatory names or words are being reviewed under Secretary’s Order 3404 and the DOI Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force?
Secretary's Order 3404 and the Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force considered only the sq___ derogatory word in its scope. Secretary’s Order 3405 creates a Federal Advisory Committee for DOI to formally receive input from interested parties regarding additional derogatory terms, derogatory terms applied to federal land units, and the process for derogatory name reconciliation.
Does the Board on Geographic Names decide what is derogatory or offensive?
The Board on Geographic Names (BGN) does not declare a word derogatory or offensive, with the one exception being the 1974 case when the pejorative word for Japanese was declared derogatory and mandated to be changed to “Japanese” in all occurrences. The BGN does, however, consider renaming any feature with a name considered derogatory or offensive on a case-by-case basis when a proposal is...
Will Secretary’s Order 3404 and the DOI Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force affect street names or street signs
Any renaming activity pursuant to Secretary's Order 3404 only applies to federal use. The names of cultural or man-made features such as roads, streets, shopping centers, churches, schools, hospitals and airports are not under the Board on Geographic Names’ purview, with very limited exceptions.
Once the public comment period has passed, what is the Department of the Interior’s process for reaching a final decision on replacement place names under Secretary’s Order 3404 and the DOI Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force?
Secretary's Order 3404 outlines the process. The Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force will review all candidate names, including those generated by U.S. Geological Survey, received by the Board on Geographic Names as part of a formal proposal prior to 1/24/22, or contributed through the public comment period or Tribal Consultations. As outlined in Secretary's Order 3404, "The task force will...
Is Secretary’s Order 3404 and the DOI Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force limited to only those features and geographic names that are on federal lands?
Secretary's Order 3404 and the Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force have purview over names of approximately 650 geographic features with the term sq___ located on federal, state, Tribal, county, local or private land. These are primarily natural features (i.e., lakes, mountains, etc.), as well as canals, channels, and reservoirs in the United States and its territories and outlying areas. While...
What is Secretary’s Order 3404 and the DOI Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force?
Secretary's Order 3404 declares “sq___” a derogatory term for federal use and directs a series of Department of the Interior actions to replace the names of geographic features with sq___ in its name. Secretary’s Order 3404 established the 13-member Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force to reconcile the derogatory geographic feature names. The Task Force includes representatives from the...
Are the decisions of the Board on Geographic Names (BGN) on the replacement names final? How can a Tribe participate in the renaming process if they were not able to take part in the Consultations or comment period?
The Task Force concluded its duties and responsibilities by recommending replacement names to the BGN, upon which the BGN rendered a decision. The decisions of the BGN are immediately official for federal use. However, if a Tribe, a member of the public, or another interested party believes the replacement name is not the most appropriate choice, they are welcome to propose that it be changed to a...
What criteria is the Department of Interior applying to choose replacement names under Secretary’s Order 3404?
A list of five candidate names for each geographic feature was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey as directed by Secretary's Order 3404. The candidate replacement names were derived through a search of nearby named geographic features until at least five nearby names were available. The candidate replacement name will replace the derogatory modifier. For example, “Castle Creek” is the nearest...
How were states involved in the process?
Each state has a state naming authority responsible for management of geographic names within its boundaries. Several of these naming authorities communicated throughout their states to generate input to the process, or directly submitted recommendations to the Task Force through the public comment period.
How will these name changes be used by private mapping companies?
All name changes will be reflected in the Domestic Names Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), the authoritative federal database. Federal agencies rely on the GNIS for the publication of map products or other services. Often, private mapping companies (e.g., Google Maps, Apple Maps, Esri) use GNIS but they are not required to do so.
How will these name changes be used by states?
All name changes will be reflected in the Domestic Names Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), the authoritative federal database. Federal agencies rely on the GNIS for the publication of map products or other services. A state may maintain its own names database or have other policies that govern state map production, but typically, they use the names from GNIS for consistency.
Related Content
- FAQ
How do citizens make public comment on Secretary’s Order 3404 and the DOI Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force, including suggested replacement names?
The Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force opened a written public comment period and DOI offered Tribal Consultation to all federally recognized tribes. Both of these opportunities were announced in the Federal Register on Feb. 23, 2022 [link to Federal Register Notice for Consultation, link to Federal Register Notice for public comment]. In addition, the Task Force issued a letter through the...
What other derogatory names or words are being reviewed under Secretary’s Order 3404 and the DOI Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force?
Secretary's Order 3404 and the Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force considered only the sq___ derogatory word in its scope. Secretary’s Order 3405 creates a Federal Advisory Committee for DOI to formally receive input from interested parties regarding additional derogatory terms, derogatory terms applied to federal land units, and the process for derogatory name reconciliation.
Does the Board on Geographic Names decide what is derogatory or offensive?
The Board on Geographic Names (BGN) does not declare a word derogatory or offensive, with the one exception being the 1974 case when the pejorative word for Japanese was declared derogatory and mandated to be changed to “Japanese” in all occurrences. The BGN does, however, consider renaming any feature with a name considered derogatory or offensive on a case-by-case basis when a proposal is...
Will Secretary’s Order 3404 and the DOI Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force affect street names or street signs
Any renaming activity pursuant to Secretary's Order 3404 only applies to federal use. The names of cultural or man-made features such as roads, streets, shopping centers, churches, schools, hospitals and airports are not under the Board on Geographic Names’ purview, with very limited exceptions.
Once the public comment period has passed, what is the Department of the Interior’s process for reaching a final decision on replacement place names under Secretary’s Order 3404 and the DOI Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force?
Secretary's Order 3404 outlines the process. The Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force will review all candidate names, including those generated by U.S. Geological Survey, received by the Board on Geographic Names as part of a formal proposal prior to 1/24/22, or contributed through the public comment period or Tribal Consultations. As outlined in Secretary's Order 3404, "The task force will...
Is Secretary’s Order 3404 and the DOI Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force limited to only those features and geographic names that are on federal lands?
Secretary's Order 3404 and the Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force have purview over names of approximately 650 geographic features with the term sq___ located on federal, state, Tribal, county, local or private land. These are primarily natural features (i.e., lakes, mountains, etc.), as well as canals, channels, and reservoirs in the United States and its territories and outlying areas. While...
What is Secretary’s Order 3404 and the DOI Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force?
Secretary's Order 3404 declares “sq___” a derogatory term for federal use and directs a series of Department of the Interior actions to replace the names of geographic features with sq___ in its name. Secretary’s Order 3404 established the 13-member Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force to reconcile the derogatory geographic feature names. The Task Force includes representatives from the...
Are the decisions of the Board on Geographic Names (BGN) on the replacement names final? How can a Tribe participate in the renaming process if they were not able to take part in the Consultations or comment period?
The Task Force concluded its duties and responsibilities by recommending replacement names to the BGN, upon which the BGN rendered a decision. The decisions of the BGN are immediately official for federal use. However, if a Tribe, a member of the public, or another interested party believes the replacement name is not the most appropriate choice, they are welcome to propose that it be changed to a...
What criteria is the Department of Interior applying to choose replacement names under Secretary’s Order 3404?
A list of five candidate names for each geographic feature was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey as directed by Secretary's Order 3404. The candidate replacement names were derived through a search of nearby named geographic features until at least five nearby names were available. The candidate replacement name will replace the derogatory modifier. For example, “Castle Creek” is the nearest...
How were states involved in the process?
Each state has a state naming authority responsible for management of geographic names within its boundaries. Several of these naming authorities communicated throughout their states to generate input to the process, or directly submitted recommendations to the Task Force through the public comment period.
How will these name changes be used by private mapping companies?
All name changes will be reflected in the Domestic Names Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), the authoritative federal database. Federal agencies rely on the GNIS for the publication of map products or other services. Often, private mapping companies (e.g., Google Maps, Apple Maps, Esri) use GNIS but they are not required to do so.
How will these name changes be used by states?
All name changes will be reflected in the Domestic Names Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), the authoritative federal database. Federal agencies rely on the GNIS for the publication of map products or other services. A state may maintain its own names database or have other policies that govern state map production, but typically, they use the names from GNIS for consistency.