• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- The South Dakota Board on Geographic Names is beginning a new chapter after completing its initial mission of removing the word "squaw" from the names of features in the state, officials said at a Thursday meeting.
• The board was established in 2009 to correct offensive nomenclature including "squaw" and "Negro." African-American leaders have advocated keeping "negro" in place names, saying it's not offensive and preserves the legacy of black South Dakotans.
• "We've come a long way," said Tribal Affairs Secretary J.R. LaPlante, chairman of the board. "We've accomplished our mission."
• The Legislature approved the board's final changes to offensive place names earlier this year. Now the board is taking proposals on other name changes and for unnamed geographic features.
• "It's kind of an expanded role for the board. People want to continue to have someone to go to with proposed changes," LaPlante said.
• June Hansen, vice chair of the board and a compliance officer in the Department of Transportation, agreed. She said the U.S. Board on Geographic Names wants states to have parallel boards to address issues at a local level.
• State board members discussed procedures at the meeting, including a new form for proposed name changes. They have rule making authority and state funding to cover travel expenses for the first time. LaPlante said that means the board can send a representative to a national conference and discuss the state's use of the Lakota language in renaming features.
• Board members discussed the single remaining use of "squaw" in a state feature, in Shannon County. The board cannot change the name without permission from the private landowner. Members unanimously agreed to recommend that the Oglala Sioux Tribe contact the property owner to solicit the name change.
• The board also agreed that it will only address the names of state geographic features, such as buttes and lakes and creeks, not the names of cities and counties.
• In June they will likely begin public testimony on names for an unnamed Minnehaha County creek and island. The creek has two proposed names, Annie Anderson Creek and Manning Creek. Quarry Island is the only suggested name for the island in the Big Sioux River near Dell Rapids. The public can suggest additional op

(Continued on page 22)