The word “squaw” is now generally recognized as offensive to Native Americans.   The City wants all residents to feel safe and respected in their community, so it is appropriate to remove obviously disrespectful street names.   Additionally, a state law, AB 2022, requires the removal of all public place names with this word, so the name change is also necessary to comply with state law.

Ideally, these streets would not have been given this name originally; however, the inappropriateness of this word was not as widely recognized at the time the streets were created. Now that businesses and governments across the country are recognizing and eliminating this word from place names, it is time for West Sacramento to make the necessary changes.

Staff will not recommend any compensation.   The City’s practice on previous street re-naming efforts (most recently, Tower Bridge Gateway) has not involved any compensation.

No. The City will coordinate with the U.S. Postal Service to assure that mail directed to your current address arrives at your home after the name of the street has changed.  

No. The County tracks property records by Assessor’s Parcel Number, not street address.   Your property records at the County will remain unchanged. The City will update your mailing address with the Yolo County Assessor.

Yes, in fact there are over 650 place names containing the word ‘squaw’ across the United States and 100 of those names are located in California. Some have already changed, and many others are in the process of changing. The federal government is also in the process of removing this word from federal place names. Please read this article from Interior Secretary Deb Haaland about removing the word 'squaw' from federal lands.

Here are just a couple completed name changes in California: 

• Palisades Tahoe (formally Squaw Valley Resort)
  
• Yokuts Valley (formally Squaw Valley)

The City is taking steps to make the renaming process as simple as possible for residents.   As part of the renaming process, the City will notify the U.S. Postal Service, Yolo County, and all relevant public safety agencies of the new street name.   There should be no disruption to your mail service during this process.  

Since the County tracks parcels by Assessor’s Parcel Number (APN), not address, no action is necessary to update property records.    The City will also make the necessary changes to its own records, so no resident action is needed to update the City utility records, etc.

Generally speaking, residents will need to notify any other entity that sends them mail, including banks, creditors, magazine subscriptions, the Department of Motor Vehicles, Social Security Administration, etc.  

Following a request from residents, staff is preparing a guide that will contain a checklist to help residents update their address where needed.   This document is in development now and will be made available to residents well in advance of the implementation of the new street name.

You can change your address with the DMV online at this website.

Note: You can also change your voter registration address at the same time.

Here are some other entities you should advise of your new address:

• Credit card companies
• Pension providers
• Life insurance companies
• Magazine and newsletter subscriptions
• Employers
• Healthcare providers