US renames five places that used racist slur for Native Americans- PublishedThe US government has announced name changes for five places whose designations included a racist term for Native American women."Words matter, particularly in our work to ensure our nation's public lands and waters are accessible and welcoming to people of all backgrounds," said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, who is the first Native American cabinet secretary in US history.The word 'squaw' has historically been used as "an offensive ethnic, racial and sexist slur, particularly for Indigenous women", the department said.In September, the Department of the Interior - which oversees public lands and is the federal agency that most closely oversees Native affairs - announced a final vote to change the names of hundreds of locations, but left seven places that it said needed to be further reviewed.- In California, one site was renamed Loybas Hill, which was proposed by the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians and means "young lady"- Another California site was renamed Yokuts Valley, which translates to "people"- A North Dakota site was renamed Homesteaders Gap, which was selected by the community because it was relevant to local history- In Tennessee, a site was given the name Partridgeberry, a plant for which the community was named before- A location in Texas was renamed Lynn Creek in honour of Isaac Lynn, a man who lived on the creek nearbyOf the remaining two sites, one in Wyoming was removed from consideration because it is now privately owned land, while another location in Alaska was removed because it is a historical area that no longer serves an unincorporated community, the government said."