I am none too pleased with all the fuss over the word "squaw." As a
white female I may not be able to fully understand the fuss, but I know I
wouldn't favor renaming large tree-cutting rodents because of a somewhat
offensive alternative use of the word "beaver."

On Tue, 18 Mar 1997, Tim Shelmerdine wrote:

> >I support Jeff Gilligan's position - there is no need to change a colorful
> >historical name like oldsquaw. There is nothing inherently demeaning about
> >"squaw". My sources indicate that it is an Algonquin word (squa) meaning
> >woman or wife. What in the hell is wrong with that? Are we on our way to
> >eliminating papoose, wampum, and mocassin, among others? Enough of this
> >damned political correctness! Get a life, AOU.
>
> >Webster's dictionary defines "squaw" as "a North American Indian woman, esp.
> > a wife". This doesn't sound very offensive to me. Perhaps someone may have
> > used the word in a context which was offensive, but that doesn't make the
> > word inherently offensive.
>
> In a comment to these two posts, those of us who are Caucasian males are
> unlikely to be offended by this term. However, it has been used
> derogatorily and as such, we need to be more sensitive to those who find
> such names offensive. This ain't our call, guys.
>
> By the way, I do prefer the British name Long-tailed Duck. I ain't larned
> enuf to fully appreciate Callithumpian.
>
> Enjoy the day,
>
> Tim
>
> Tim Shelmerdine
> Lake Oswego/Aurora, Oregon
> shelmert at mail.clackesd.k12.or.us
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>