CANMORE, AB — Stoney Nakoda women elders have revealed a new name for a prominent landmark in the Alberta Rockies with a racist and misogynistic nickname.
The feature, which has been known since the 1920s as Squaw’s Tit, is located near the summit on Mount Charles Stewart and can be seen from the mountain town of Canmore.
A ceremony was held Tuesday near Canmore to bring back the peak’s original name: Anu katha Ipa, or Bald Eagle Peak.
Elders say the landmark was long overdue for a name change.
The word “squaw” came from the Algonquin language and once simply meant woman, but it has become a term to disparage Indigenous women.
The derogatory nickname for the landmark has been used in several hiking and climbing guides, on Google maps and on many trail websites — although some sites have recently removed it.
There have been two other recent attempts to officially name the landmark, but the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation board rejected both.