Tahoe ski resort changes name from ‘derogatory and offensive’ slur for Native women

A popular Lake Tahoe ski resort that hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics announced a name change Monday, a year after promising to move away from its “derogatory and offensive” name.

Squaw Valley will now be labeled Palisades Tahoe, its owners announced Monday, replacing a word often used as a racist and sexist slur against Indigenous women.

The Squaw Valley Ski Resort hosted the Winter Olympics in 1960. (Haven Daley/)

“It did not stand for who we are or what we represent. And we could not in good conscience continue to use it. So we began a long and difficult process,” the ownership group said in a statement.

“We spoke extensively to the local community, heavily researched local history, and went through countless rounds of creative exploration. We dug hard and deep to find a name and identity that would do justice to this place and its legacy.”

The California resort will now go by Palisades Tahoe. (Tim Dunn/)

Leaders with the Washoe Tribe, on whose lands the ski resort is located, praised the decision.

“The Washoe People have lived in the area for thousands of years; we have great reverence for for our ancestry, history and lands,” Tribal Chairman Serrell Smokey said in a statement.

“Today is a day that many have worked towards for decades.”

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