The Provincial government of Saskatchewan has recently changed the demeaning name of several small lakes.
The lakes once known as Killsquaw, have been renamed to celebrate Indigenous women. Squaw is a known as an offense term used towards Indigenous women. The intent of the word is to sexualize and offend Indigenous women.
The name has been changed to Kikiskitotawânawak Iskêwak translating to “we honor women.”
A group of small lakes out west have been renamed #KillSquaw pic.twitter.com/eDEh6ARBeC
— XFM News (@XFMNews) November 22, 2018
Changing the name has been noted as a step forward towards healing the racial divide. A formal renaming celebrating is taking place in 2019.
