Residents file opposing petitions for potential name change of Squaw Valley Park in O'Hara

Dueling petitions to keep or change the name of Squaw Valley Park in O’Hara are heating up online and will likely be debated during the township’s parks and recreation committee meeting on July 22.

Council heard Tuesday night from several people advocating for a name change to the 31-acre park along Fox Chapel Road, with many noting that “squaw” is a slur against Native American women to imply they are impure, perverse or worthless.

“I have lived in the district more than 30 years and am an indigenous daughter, grandmother and elder,” Fox Chapel resident Michele Leonard said. “I have had to stomach the word ‘squaw’ at our beautiful park, and I’m sick of hearing it.

“I know there are caring people that once they know what it means, they will want to do the right thing and change the name.”

Leonard initiated the issue during a Black Lives Matter rally June 11 and has since joined with Fox Chapel councilwoman Mandy Steele and Sharpsburg resident Kayla Portis to petition O’Hara and Fox Chapel councils to remove “Squaw” from local parks, trails, streams and roads.

There are plenty of references to the word throughout the Lower Valley. In addition to Squaw Valley Park in O’Hara, there are Old Squaw Trail and Squaw Run Road in Fox Chapel, as well as Squaw Run, a stream that winds from the Allegheny River up to Indiana Township.

O’Hara resident Becca Tobe encouraged council to survey township residents for input on a new park name.

Council President Bob Smith said that if changes are made, local government has authority only over the park. Roads and streams would need to be addressed by Allegheny County and the state, among other entities.

An opposing petition is circulating online to retain the “Squaw” titles, saying they represent history and can be of educational value.

No one at Tuesday’s meeting spoke in favor of keeping the name but an online petition reads, “Many ‘squaw’ names recognize ancient places where women did traditional activities.

“Without a very good understanding of history, it is a mistake to erase the lives, stories and voices of the women whose presence was acknowledged by the original naming.”

Elsewhere across the country, the issue has been gaining steam for years.

Squaw Peak in Arizona was renamed in 2003, and people in the Utah town of Provo pushed to rename a similarly named mountain in 2017. Just this month, leaders at the Squaw Valley Ski Resort in California said they are eyeing a name change in this time of righting deep-rooted oppression.

O’Hara Historian Tom Powers said the name “Squaw Run” has been used locally since at least 1822, when it first appeared on a state map from the Library of Congress.

The tale of Squaw Run is derived from an 1885 fleeing bride story which appears to be more legend than fact, he said. Those sorts of tales have been around since ancient Greece, Powers said.

Others believe the name is rooted in local history with the park name being linked to Chief Guyasuta, who traversed the valleys of O’Hara as an ally of George Washington.

Anyone interested in hearing more about the potential name change can attend the township’s remote parks and recreation committee meeting at 7 p.m. July 22. Instructions will be available on the website.

Fox Chapel council is also expected to discuss the issue at its virtual meeting, 6 p.m. July 20. Details are available on the borough’s website.