Squaw Valley (Squaw Valley)
Yokuts Valley (formerly Squaw Valley ) is a census-designated place located in Fresno County, California, at the foothills of the Sierra Nevada on State Route 180 just below Kings Canyon National Park.
As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a total population of 3,162, up from 2,691 at the 2000 census. Yokuts Valley is located 9 mi north-northeast of Orange Cove and 30 mi east of Fresno, at an elevation of 1631 feet.
The label "Valley" originally referred to either the surrounding basin or a narrow valley that connects it to the San Joaquin Valley. Today it refers to both. The basin may have originally been named "Woman's Land", after a depression in a rock overlooking the valley that resembles a woman's moccasin print. By 1873, non-native hunters adapted the name in English to "Squaw Valley", because "squaw" was the pejorative term used by white settlers for Indigenous women. The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) officially assigned the name Squaw Valley to the community in 1957 and to the basin in 1959.
On August 28, 1958, at the behest of Representative B. F. Sisk, the BGN decided that Squaw Valley would only refer to this community, not to a newer community in Placer County that was about to host the 1960 Winter Olympics. The latter would become known as Olympic Valley. Nevertheless, the name "Squaw Valley" continued to refer informally to both communities, creating considerable confusion.
From 2020 to 2023, a coalition that included members of local tribes petitioned the Fresno County Board of Supervisors to rename the community "Nuum Valley" and later "Yokuts Valley", citing the derogatory history of the town's previous name.
In September 2022, the Board on Geographic Names renamed the surrounding valley to Yokuts Basin as part of a program to remove "squaw" from geographical names across the country. A Fresno County Supervisor, Republican Nathan Magsig, solicited feedback from 1,400 households soliciting feedback about the proposed renaming and organized a town hall meeting with local activists that turned contentious. Arguments against the name change ranged from procedural to political. Some opposed it simply for the fact that the new name had not been chosen by residents. Others refused to accept that the word "squaw" has a derogatory history, and proposed that "a woke agenda" had motivated the change. Arguments in favor of the change came from Native activists and white residents of the town who wanted their home cleared of a name that degraded Indigenous women.
A few days later, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law directing state and local authorities to remove "squaw" from geographic features and place names throughout the state, including Squaw Valley, by 2025. In October, the Fresno County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution that acknowledged the state and federal renaming efforts while notifying the federal government that 87% of households that responded to Supervisor Magsig's survey opposed renaming the community.
In January 2023, the Board on Geographic Names completed additional review on renaming the unincorporated populated place to "Yokuts Valley." In February, a prominent welcome sign bearing the previous name was removed, prompting some local residents to call for its restoration.
As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a total population of 3,162, up from 2,691 at the 2000 census. Yokuts Valley is located 9 mi north-northeast of Orange Cove and 30 mi east of Fresno, at an elevation of 1631 feet.
The label "Valley" originally referred to either the surrounding basin or a narrow valley that connects it to the San Joaquin Valley. Today it refers to both. The basin may have originally been named "Woman's Land", after a depression in a rock overlooking the valley that resembles a woman's moccasin print. By 1873, non-native hunters adapted the name in English to "Squaw Valley", because "squaw" was the pejorative term used by white settlers for Indigenous women. The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) officially assigned the name Squaw Valley to the community in 1957 and to the basin in 1959.
On August 28, 1958, at the behest of Representative B. F. Sisk, the BGN decided that Squaw Valley would only refer to this community, not to a newer community in Placer County that was about to host the 1960 Winter Olympics. The latter would become known as Olympic Valley. Nevertheless, the name "Squaw Valley" continued to refer informally to both communities, creating considerable confusion.
From 2020 to 2023, a coalition that included members of local tribes petitioned the Fresno County Board of Supervisors to rename the community "Nuum Valley" and later "Yokuts Valley", citing the derogatory history of the town's previous name.
In September 2022, the Board on Geographic Names renamed the surrounding valley to Yokuts Basin as part of a program to remove "squaw" from geographical names across the country. A Fresno County Supervisor, Republican Nathan Magsig, solicited feedback from 1,400 households soliciting feedback about the proposed renaming and organized a town hall meeting with local activists that turned contentious. Arguments against the name change ranged from procedural to political. Some opposed it simply for the fact that the new name had not been chosen by residents. Others refused to accept that the word "squaw" has a derogatory history, and proposed that "a woke agenda" had motivated the change. Arguments in favor of the change came from Native activists and white residents of the town who wanted their home cleared of a name that degraded Indigenous women.
A few days later, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law directing state and local authorities to remove "squaw" from geographic features and place names throughout the state, including Squaw Valley, by 2025. In October, the Fresno County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution that acknowledged the state and federal renaming efforts while notifying the federal government that 87% of households that responded to Supervisor Magsig's survey opposed renaming the community.
In January 2023, the Board on Geographic Names completed additional review on renaming the unincorporated populated place to "Yokuts Valley." In February, a prominent welcome sign bearing the previous name was removed, prompting some local residents to call for its restoration.
Map - Squaw Valley (Squaw Valley)
Map
Country - United_States
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Indigenous peoples have inhabited the Americas for thousands of years. Beginning in 1607, British colonization led to the establishment of the Thirteen Colonies in what is now the Eastern United States. They quarreled with the British Crown over taxation and political representation, leading to the American Revolution and proceeding Revolutionary War. The United States declared independence on July 4, 1776, becoming the first nation-state founded on Enlightenment principles of unalienable natural rights, consent of the governed, and liberal democracy. The country began expanding across North America, spanning the continent by 1848. Sectional division surrounding slavery in the Southern United States led to the secession of the Confederate States of America, which fought the remaining states of the Union during the American Civil War (1861–1865). With the Union's victory and preservation, slavery was abolished nationally by the Thirteenth Amendment.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| USD | United States dollar | $ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| EN | English language |
| FR | French language |
| ES | Spanish language |