Island name deemed too racist, sexist

IdRatherBeSkiing

Satelitte Radio Addict
May 28, 2007
15,277
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Toronto, ON
Is cracker offensive?

I choose not to be offended but if one was to be offended by stuff, it would be equally offensive as the n-word I would think. It is a name whose sole purpose is to be derogatory and offensive. In these days of extreme sensitivity, it is somewhat of a concern.
 

Twila

Nanah Potato
Mar 26, 2003
14,698
73
48
me too.. in fact i'll go out my way to find some way to use the name if somebody mentions Haida Gwaii. ..just an obnoxious old coot i guess. :)

that's interesting. I go out of my way to call the area between Vancouver Island and the mainland the Salish Sea. I use Haida Gwaii instead of queen C. I prefer the names they were given before they were taken over.
 

coldstream

on dbl secret probation
Oct 19, 2005
5,160
27
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Chillliwack, BC
that's interesting. I go out of my way to call the area between Vancouver Island and the mainland the Salish Sea. I use Haida Gwaii instead of queen C. I prefer the names they were given before they were taken over.

I use 'Canada'.. i use Ottawa, Toronto and many other names that have aboriginal origins. I'll retain Vancouver, and Juan de Fuca.

I'm just not going have a full scale sell out of names imposed by way of 'white guilt'. Then you'd have to sort out the competing claims of the Haida, Salish.. or the Iriquois, the Huron and Objibwe which form separate language groups.. and who ruthlessly exploited each other with vicious tribal wars and ethnic'cleansing' for centuries prior to the onset of the evil 'white man' on this pristine and peaceful vista. :roll:
 
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Twila

Nanah Potato
Mar 26, 2003
14,698
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I use 'Canada'.. i use Ottawa, Toronto and many other names that have aboriginal origins. I'll retain Vancouver, and Juan de Fuca.

I'm just not going have a full scale sell out of names imposed by way of 'white guilt'. Then you'd have to sort out the competing claims of the Haida, Salish.. or the Iriquois, the Huron and Objibwe which form separate language origins.. and who ruthlessly exploited each other with vicious tribal wars and ethnic'cleansing' for centuries prior to the onset of the evil 'white man' on this pristine and peaceful vista. :roll:

Whoa, one comment and your panties are all in a bunch.

I'm pretty sure we all recognize that Natives were humans who did what humans do so very well. War over resources. Some humans use the excuse that they're spreading the word of their god(s), others use the excuse of righting a perceived wrong. I don't believe there is a race on the planet that hasn't used slaves to their advantage, war to their advantage or hated another group for being different.

Humans are some fvcked up creatures who lie non-stop to acquire "things" they can hold over anothers head and pretend it makes them better. No big surprise.

What is a surprise is that this behaviour is levelled always at the "other" side as if it were some kind of winning point in a debate. It's not and It doesn't mean a damn thing.

Might as well hold fur shedding against dogs and use it to explain why we ought to torment and or ignore them.
 

Dexter Sinister

Unspecified Specialist
Oct 1, 2004
10,168
539
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Regina, SK
"It is as certain as any historical fact can be that the word squaw that the English settlers in Massachusetts used for 'Indian woman' in the early 1600s was adopted by them from the word squa that their Massachusett-speaking neighbors used in their own language to mean 'female, younger woman,' and not from Mohawk ojiskwa', '******,' which has the wrong shape [sound], the wrong meaning, and was used by people with whom they then had no contact. The resemblance that might be perceived between squaw and the last syllable of the Mohawk word is coincidental."

The Straight Dope: Is "squaw" an obscene insult?
 

Cliffy

Standing Member
Nov 19, 2008
44,850
193
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Nakusp, BC
Nakusp is an Interior Salish word. When the miners first came to this area, they ran off the Sinixt people who lived here, killing some (maybe all except for a few). Anyway, when they started building the town as a port for mining, they asked some passing Indian what they used to call this place. He answered Nakusp, curling up his lip. In the language it means "the inedible part of the deer" or an azzhole. On the brochures it says Nakusp means "bay of quiet waters". The mayor was not happy when I told her the truth. Kinda reverse racism but nobody wants to change it. I guess it would be too embarrassing to admit the truth of what happened here.
 

B00Mer

Make Canada Great Again
Sep 6, 2008
47,127
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Rent Free in Your Head
www.canadianforums.ca
Sounds like bullsh-t Clifford.

...over on the white man: "n'ksp" (Nakusp) literally means "as shole"

"As the above mentioned buddy, some backstory: We were driving through Nakusp, British Columbia. My mom is a local author and historian, as well as an expert on the area's First Peoples. The residents of Nakusp believe their town means "the place where things come together" in the local Sinixt language. According to my mother, this is technically true but not an exact translation. Much of the Sinixt language is lost, but the old woman that originally was the source of the translation apparently pulled one over on the white man: "n'ksp" (Nakusp) literally means "azzhole"."

Source: http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/s9t13/at_a_tiny_drugstore_in_a_miniscule_town_in_the/
 

Cliffy

Standing Member
Nov 19, 2008
44,850
193
63
Nakusp, BC
My mom days it doesn't mean azzhole.
And your mother is interior Salish? I wrote the history of the Sinixt. I know them. I've lived with them, spent many nights around the council fires with the elders. The translation was confirmed by the Shuswap people of Kamloops and the Okanagan of Kelowna. But I know nothing will ever allow you to believe anything I say, so: I don't give a sh!t what you think.
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
117,910
14,434
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Low Earth Orbit
And your mother is interior Salish? I wrote the history of the Sinixt. I know them. I've lived with them, spent many nights around the council fires with the elders. The translation was confirmed by the Shuswap people of Kamloops and the Okanagan of Kelowna. But I know nothing will ever allow you to believe anything I say, so: I don't give a sh!t what you think.

Riiiiiiiight!!!
 

Twila

Nanah Potato
Mar 26, 2003
14,698
73
48
Metchosin on Vancouver island is a Salish word that means Smelly fish or place of smelly fish.

There a few places with Native names that are not attractive, just perfectly descriptive.
 

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
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Racist, sexist island name changed as Buffalo mayor signs bill
Squaw Island renamed Unity Island
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First posted: Tuesday, July 07, 2015 09:37 AM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, July 07, 2015 09:51 AM EDT
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Members of the Seneca Indian Nation joined Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown as he signed a bill changing the name of Squaw Island.
The island park in the Niagara River is now called Unity Island.
Monday's bill signing followed a vote by the Common Council last month to change the 336-year-old name following complaints that it was offensive to Native American women.
The action continues a nationwide movement toward replacing the names of sports teams and geographical sites whose labels are now viewed as insensitive or outright offensive.
Racist, sexist island name changed as Buffalo mayor signs bill | World | News |