No Honor in Genocide: A Case Study of Street Renaming and Community Organizing in the Wake of National Decolonization Efforts

Abstract

The United States hosts countless streets, structures, and cities named after colonial and military leaders. Although many of these white historical figures, like Robert E. Lee, were revered in their own eras, modern history now acknowledges their involvement in immoral acts such as slavery and genocide. As they recognize that individuals responsible for such traumatic events should no longer be honored, the citizens of many towns and cities across the nation are attempting to rename their public properties. These efforts, however, rarely prove straightforward; the process of renaming a single road, for example, requires a thorough understanding of city ordinances and codes, coordination between various government entities, strong public support, and collaboration between multiple community stakeholders. This case study highlights and examines such critical components of the renaming of a road in the City of Spokane, Washington. Named after a mid-1800s U.S. military leader who contributed to the genocide of Native Americans and the slaughter of hundreds of their horses, Fort George Wright Drive had served as a mile-long arterial in Spokane for more than 34 years. Although both local Native Americans and other Spokane community members had attempted several times since the 1990s to change the name of the road, their efforts did not finally lead to success until December of 2020. This report also elucidates how Tribal community activism remains uniquely tied to Native culture. Tribal members from the surrounding reservations and Natives living in the City utilized Tribal art, oral history, as well as Tribal songs to advocate for change. These Indigenous songs have been passed down for the 168 years since the hanging of Tribal warriors by Colonel Wright in 1858. To change the name of the road, Natives and white allies also took more tangible actions: projecting messages on buildings, writing letters, organizing meetings, coordinating teach-ins, and staging rallies/marches. This study documents how extensive organizing between the Spokane Tribe, other local Tribes, the Spokane City Council, the Spokane City Plan Commission, and community activists ultimately led to the renaming of Fort George Wright Drive to “Whistalks Way.” Whis-talks was the daughter of Chief Polatkin and wife of Qualchan. She rode alongside her husband into battle and carried the medicine eagle feather staff into the U.S. military post to parley. The Spokane Tribe selected Whis-talks, later adapted to “Whistalks” without the hyphen, to not only honor women warriors of the battlefields of the 1800s, but to also honor the Spokane Tribal women of our families today. With this new name, the Spokane Tribe honors the female warriors who daily fight to protect and preserve our culture, our lifeways, our families, our lands, our environment, and our Tribe. Further, this report will illustrate the critical role that timing of elections and nationwide events can play in such efforts, particularly when coinciding with nationwide events.