Emmett Messenger Index, Sept 21, 2022
Sehewoki'i Newenee'an Katete
By Del Gray
After months of anticipation and little to no communication, the Department of the Interior on Sept. 8 announced the new names that the federal government will use in over 600 locations across the country to replace the term “squaw”. As previously reported by the Messenger Index, Debra Haaland, the Secretary of Interior, issued an executive order in November, 2021, that the term was considered a slur against native women.
The new name for Gem County’s iconic and picturesque big butte is now Sehewoki’i Newenee’an Katete. It was one of five locations in Gem County that has been reclassified and named in federal documents and maps moving forward.
Also getting a new name is Squaw Creek, including Second and Third forks; and Little Squaw Creek. The Little Creek that runs from Gem County into Valley County is now Sohoagaiteka’a Naokwaide. The creek that runs south from Sage Hen Reservoir into Black Canyon Reservoir, and two of its tributary forks for some reason were not given native names but an anglicized name of a native chieftain — Chief Eagle Eye Creek — Second and Third Forks as well.
In all, 71 locations in Idaho bearing some form of the word were federally renamed. Over 650 locations nationwide. Owyhee County had eleven locations renamed.
What do the new Native names mean?
There are a number of either loose or sarcastic interpretations floating around local social media.
One thread has made the translation to Muskrat Butte, another White Man’s Folly. Some have bastardized the last word Katete to either tata or titty saying its a “perfect match for a community with Dolly Parton High.”
The new names are actually very old names, in the Shoshoni language, according to Nolan Brown with the Language and Cultural Preservation Center at Fort Hall Idaho.
Brown breaks down the translation of the Butte name.
“Sehewoki’i means “willows standing in a row,” said Brown. This is a term that was used for much of the area of the Payette and Boise River valleys. It is more a traditionally recognized Native description of the geographic region.”
“Newenee’an in singular form means human beings and in plural would translate to Peoples.”
Katete translates to Butte.
Like many languages, the syntax differs from English so the most literal interpretation of the new name for Gem County’s iconic butte would be “People of the Willows Standing in a Row Butte.”
Sohoagaiteka’a Naokwaide translates to Cottonwood Salmon Eaters. According to Brown there was a time that “Salmon as big as logs were known to swim in these waters.”
Brown, who was involved in the submission of names for the various sites in Idaho expressed some displeasure with the actual spelling and/or treatment of the names submitted but overall found they hold to century old traditions.
“We submitted names in both the Shoshoni and Bannock languages,” Brown said. The two peoples have shared much of this space for more than a thousand years and we asked that both names be used. The announcement of the selections came back with only Shoshoni names used. We were disappointed as some of the region is certainly more Bannock in history.”
The official release from the Department of Interior’s Board of Geographic Names did not keep all punctuations of submitted names the same either.
“We will be sending a letter to hopefully clarify some of those issues,” Brown said. “There was not a lot of consistency shown in honoring the specific language markings across the country.”
Brown points out that the Shoshoni and Bannock tribes, historically, have shared space and often spoke each other’s languages in a geographic region that spanned from eastern Oregon into Montana and Saskatchewan, Canada. He says both the Shoshoni and the Bannock have history in southwestern Idaho and more specifically in Gem County.
It is from some of the history of the late 1800’s that the name “Chief Eagle Eye” is drawn to now be memorialized with renaming of the creek and its tributaries in the Sweet and Ola valleys.
Who was Chief Eagle Eye?
The mention of that name at the Gem County Historical Museum drew immediate recognition.
Chief Eagle Eye was the leader of a band of Weiser Shoshoni. He chose to remove his people from the areas of conflict that arose following the Fort Bridger Treaty of 1868. Disputes arising from that treaty were later manifested in numerous attacks against the displaced tribes. This eventually lead to the “Bannock War of 1878” according to Hank Corless’s book, “The Weiser Indians, Shoshoni Peacemakers.”
Chief Eagle Eye kept his people out of the fighting, finding safe havens to occupy throughout western Idaho during the conflict. After the hostilities were settled, the Chief was recorded as settling, at least for a time, in the Dry Buck area of Gem County.
Gem County Commissioner Bill Butticci, who serves on the Historical Preservation Board and the Gem County Historical Museum Board, says that the historical roots behind the new names are legitimate.
The biggest frustrations that each Brown and Butticci have experienced in this process has been the inconsistent, if not evasive, responses from federal officials in the execution of Haaland’s directive.
The window for public input following Haaland’s initial announcement was less than a week and primarily available online in November the week before Thanksgiving. A February release of proposed names was not apparently sent to media — local or national. Gem County received an email regarding the issue but according to Butticci it was made clear “we would not have any part in the naming.”
Multiple emails and phone calls placed by the Messenger Index since November seeking clarification of process or timetables were never returned by Bureau of Land Management nor Department of Interior officials.
Even the official name change announcement on Sept. 8 has not been widely shared to traditional media release points or local government officials.
According to Butticci there is supposed to be a process by which the final decisions could be appealed and additional comments taken but that has not been communicated to community leaders as of yet.
For Brown it’s the inconsistency with the final determinations — particularly the adherence or lack of adherence to the orthography of the various native languages.
Orthography is the set of conventions or standards for writing a language. That includes norms of spelling, word breaks, emphasis, punctuation, and pronunciation. This is particularly sensitive to languages that have a long oral tradition prior to becoming written and are impacted by the conventions of the languages being translated to — in this case American English.
He did offer a few tips to work on appropriate pronunciation of the new names in Gem County.
Each vowel is sounded but with a different phonetic sound than most of us are familiar with. Unlike American English, there are not normally both short and long sounds for each vowel. The A remains a long A sound. E is pronounced uh. I is ee. O is a long O.
Haaland’s order and the release of the Board of Geographic Names is considered to be complete and official for federal government publications and future government maps. There is no provision at this point forcing state and local entities to necessarily comply.
The changing of the name has been discussed and considered for decades. Now the discussions have a new basis to begin from.
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