This is the sort of headline that causes you to do a double take, then a triple take. Then maybe you just turn off the computer and go for a walk to clear your head.
Swastika Mountain in Oregon will be renamed Mount Halo following a vote by the US Board on Geographic Names.
"Swastika Mountain??"
Okay, in fairness, that title was rarely used these days, and indeed the mountain was originally named "after a local cattle ranch in the early 1900s well before the term became associated with the Nazi Party." If you didn't know, the swastika has been a symbol used by various cultures around the world for thousands of years, but those dang Nazis had to go ruin it for everyone.
Historical reasonings aside, the peak was still officially labeled "Swastika Mountain," so it had to change. Especially after the elderly Joyce McClain saw it in the news (when someone was rescued from the peak in 2022) and was immediately horrified.
Ms. McClain initially suggested that the feature be renamed Mount Umpqua, after the Umpqua National Forest in which it is located.
However, when the suggestion was made to name it Mount Halo after historical Yoncalla Kalapuya leader Halito, she withdrew her name, agreeing that the indigenous reference was better.
Typical white Oregonian...
Anyway, I'd rather we name it something awesome for awesomeness' sake —
But in the scale of things, uneducated-but-well-intended naming schemes are better than ones that bring up the specter of Nazis.
Chief Halito's village was located around 20 miles west of the peak, and Halo was an alternate form of referring to him during his lifetime.
Still, not everywhere is willing to change names because of the horrific crimes of the Nazi Party.
Consider the Ohio county of PIckaway, which honestly kinda has it worse than "Swastika Mountain" ever did!
