Names Are Not Neutral: Our Work to Ensure Lands are Welcoming to and Inclusive of All People

Public lands should be a reflection of the people who enjoy and steward them. But what do you do when the lands, rivers, mountains, and valleys we love alienate or disrespect millions of people? In the U.S., we see this every day. Native women drive past places called “Sq___ Valley,” and Black families live near areas that honor Confederate generals. Countless other Americans find themselves alienated or disrespected when they see the outdoors.

Names are not neutral. They point to what matters and, specifically, who matters and who does not. Names reflect power dynamics and systemic oppression. 

At CORE, our belief is simple. Place names should not offend groups of people, and if they do, we work to change them.

We are a coalition of more than 80 member organizations — including the Sierra Club, The Wilderness Society, Native Organizers Alliance, Lakota People's Law Project, Sacred Defense Fund, Just Trails, and the American Association of Geographers — along with local organizers committed to restoring justice through an inclusive process of reconciliation by the renaming of offensive places.

We have an open membership model where advocates and allies alike are welcome. We do not collect membership dues but are bound instead by shared purpose — and by five values that guide everything we do: centering the voices of those most harmed, acknowledging historical injustice, working in partnership with Tribal Nations and local communities, educating and empowering advocates at every level, and preserving the natural heritage of these landscapes while fostering social change.

There are still thousands of derogatory and racist place names across this country. They may be in your backyard — the trail down the road, the mountain peak on the horizon, the creek you pass on your way to work. They live on trailhead signs, in textbooks, on federal maps, and in the names of places you may love. You can explore them yourself on our interactive map.

Renaming is not about erasing history. It is about telling a fuller, more honest one. Many places have had Indigenous names since time immemorial — names that describe ecological features, honor ancestors, and reflect deep relationships to the land that predate colonization by centuries. Renaming restores those connections.

Consider: Yokuts Valley in California was named with a slur against Native women for over a century before being renamed in 2023. Kuwohi — the highest peak in the Great Smoky Mountains — spent 165 years labeled with a Confederate sympathizer's name before the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians reclaimed its ancestral name in 2024. Gifford Pinchot National Forest still bears the name of an avid eugenics supporter.

These names are not neutral. And for communities harmed by them, renaming is not symbolic — it is a step toward healing, reconciliation, and belonging.

At CORE, we work to rename these places so that future generations will inherit a healed landscape — not one marked by the remnants of racism and colonial erasure. We do this by educating the public on the importance of culturally relevant place names, engaging in federal policy advocacy to make renaming processes permanent and community-driven, empowering the local and regional networks fighting this battle on the ground, and healing the relationships between peoples and the land they call home.

This work doesn't end when a name changes on a map. It continues in updated signage, tourism materials, textbooks, and public memory. The members of CORE stay present through all of it — because our goal is not just a new name. It is a new relationship between people and land.

If you want to join us, start a regional hub, or advance a renaming effort in your community, we invite you to get involved.

Together, we protect what connects us.