OHA Board Chair statement commending newly appointed members of the National Advisory Committee On Reconciliation In Place Names

News Release from OHA, Aug 11, 2022

HONOLULU (August 11, 2022) – On Aug. 9, United States Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced the members of the Advisory Committee on Reconciliation in Place Names, a federal advisory group formed to help identify and recommend changes to derogatory terms still in use for places throughout the country. Committee members will be tasked with developing a process to solicit and assist with proposals to the Secretary to identify and change derogatory names by engaging with Tribes, the Native Hawaiian community, state and local governments and the public.

Two Native Hawaiians were named to the committee: Niniaukapealiʻi Kawaihae, a special assistant with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, and Kamanaʻolana Mills, a senior supervising project manager in Sustainable Industry Development at Kamehameha Schools. 

Today, OHA Board Chair Carmen “Hulu” Lindsey issued the following statement:

“It is important that the voice and perspective of the Native Hawaiian people continue to be heard on a national level, and we mahalo Secretary Haaland for including these outstanding leaders in this critical endeavor of helping to eliminate the symbols of oppression in our collective past. We also salute Niniau and Kamanaʻo for their commitment and willingness to serve in helping make a better and more just America for all of us. It will be very interesting to see the results of this committee’s work.” 

Members are expected to meet for the first time in the coming months for two to four times a year to identify geographic names and federal land unit names that are considered derogatory and solicit proposals on replacement names. 

Others appointed to the committee include:

Derek Alderman, Professor of Geography, University of Tennessee

Angelo Baca, Assistant Professor, Department of History, Philosophy, and the Social Sciences, Rhode Island School of Design (Diné/Hopi)

Kiana Carlson, J.D. candidate, Mitchell Hamline School of Law (Ahtna Kohtaene, Taltsiine; Native Village of Cantwell, Alaska)

Julie Dye, Board Member, Eliminating Racism & Creating/Celebrating Equity (Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians)

Michael Catches Enemy, Tribal Archaeologist, Oglala Sioux Tribe Fifth Member’s Office (Oglala Sioux)

Donald Lee Fixico, Professor of History and Indian Studies, Arizona State University (Sac & Fox, Shawnee, Mvskoke, Seminole)

Christine Karpchuck-Johnson, Lecturer, Departments of Anthropology and Geography, University of Nevada Reno

Jason MacCannell, Special Assistant to the Director, California Department of Parks and Recreation

Lauren Monroe Jr., Secretary, Blackfeet Tribal Business Council (Blackfeet Nation, Pikuni)

Federico Mosqueda, Coordinator of the Arapaho Language and Culture Program (Arapaho)

Rachel Pereira, Vice President of Equity and Inclusion at St. John’s University

Kimberly Probolus-Cedroni, Historian, Washington D.C.

Howard Dale Valandra, Member, Tribal Land Enterprise Board of Directors (Rosebud Sioux Tribe)

Aimee Villarreal, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, Texas State University

Elva Yanez, Senior Advisor for Parks, Land Use, and the Built Environment at the Prevention Institute

Charles Bowery, Executive Director, U.S. Army Center of Military History, Department of Defense

Meryl Harrell, Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Elizabeth Klein, Senior Counselor to the Secretary, Department of the Interior

Letise LaFeir, Senior Advisor, Office of the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, Department of Commerce