Fiscal Note
No appropritation required.
Title
Supporting changing the name of Squaw Bay to Wiicawak Bay.
Body
WHEREAS, Madison and Dane County occupies part of the ancestral lands of the Ho-Chunk Nation, formerly known as the Wisconsin Winnebago Tribe. The city and county acknowledges this occupation, and values and celebrates the historical significance of these lands for the Ho-Chunk Nation; and,
WHERES, some names once assigned to geographic features in the past are inappropriate and offensive to the Ho-Chunk Nation; and,
WHEREAS, the Southeast corner of Lake Monona, Squaw Bay, is one such name; and,
WHEREAS, Ho-Chunk members were known to excel as fur trappers when this land was their land; and,
WHEREAS, the muskrat, one animal trapped, remains highly revered and celebrated by the Ho-Chunk Nation and the word muskrat in the Ho-Chunk language is Wiicawak Bay (We-cha-wuk); and,
WHEREAS, in 2005, the Ho-Chunk Nation Traditional Court recommended renaming Squaw Bay to Muskrat Bay, and have recently renewed this request,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Mayor and Common Council supports Dane County’s request to the Dane County Department of Planning and Development to make application to the Wisconsin Geographic Names Council by October 1, 2019 and the U.S. Board of Geographic Names to change the name of Squaw Bay to Wiicawak Bay.