(Continued from page 31)

fensive names of places, most of which use the terms "Negro" or "Squaw."
• After receiving dozens of suggestions from the public, the board on Thursday agreed the creek might be renamed Bob Lee Creek in honor of western historian and writer Bob Lee, Howes Creek because it's located near Howes corner, or Rebecca Buffington Creek for a woman reported to have died of diphtheria a century ago while living near the creek and treating Native Americans ill with the same disease.
• Board member Jay Vogt, director of the South Dakota State Historical Society, said he will conduct research to try to verify that Lee, who died a few years ago, had some connection to the creek and find out more information about the Howes and Buffington families.
• The board plans to meet again Oct. 9 to recommend a replacement name. After the public is given a chance to comment, the panel will hold a hearing in Meade County before making a final decision.
• State Rep. Dean Wink of Howes asked the board in June to make Negro Creek its test case, saying the 9-mile creek runs through his ranch. He said the creek was apparently named Negro Creek because a black family lived there decades ago.
• Board members said they would prefer to rename the creek in honor of that black family, but no one knows the family's name.
• "We haven't been able to track down who those folks were," board member June Hansen said. "If we could find that name, that would be perfect."
• In 2001, the South Dakota Legislature passed a law to start eliminating offensive names, and the U.S. Board on Geographic Names has since changed the names of 20 places in the state. For example, Squaw Creek in Pennington County has been renamed Cedar Breaks Creek.
• Another state law passed in 2009 listed 15 names that hadn't been changed, and created the state Board of Geographic names to tackle the job.
• Even though the federal board has agreed to rename some places in South Dakota, it deferred action on others, partly because it said the state had not sufficiently involved the public in renaming creeks, gulches and other offensively named places. Most places are so small they do not appear on most maps, officials have said.
• The federal board has the final say on renaming places. It requires that new names be descriptive of the land; suggested by local history, folklore or incident; or associated with Native American or other names. If named after a person, that person must have been dead for at least five years.
• J.R. LaPlante, board chairman and secretary of the state Department of Tribal Relations, said he was encouraged by the number of replacement names suggested

(Continued on page 33)