“Moose’ on the loose Feds take issue with surge in spots named for antlered animal

It appears there may be too many moose in Piscataquis County.

While few would take issue with the large number of live moose that roam in this northern Maine county, the growing number of geographic locations named for the popular antlered beast has raised the eyebrows of the U.S. Geological Survey in Reston, Va.

Up until this year, there were 28 geographic features in Piscataquis County with “moose” or a derivation in the name. But when Maine Indians were successful last year in convincing the Legislature to remove the word “squaw” and “squa” from public geographic locations, another 12 sites in Piscataquis County were renamed for the animal.

The words “squaw” and “squa” are offensive to Indians who believe they are synonymous with “prostitute” or an unflattering reference to the female anatomy.

When the Legislature moved to eliminate the two words from public geographic locations, ideas to rename the affected locations in Piscataquis County were solicited from residents. Few serious suggestions were offered to county commissioners, other than from Little Squaw Township residents who asked that their community be renamed Moosehead Junction Township. So everywhere else the commissioners simply substituted “moose” for the word “squaw” in blanket fashion.

“Adopting the name ‘moose’ seemed the easiest way to [resolve] a situation we didn’t like,” Commissioner Tony Bartley said Thursday. “Most everybody was happy with that.”

Renaming the locations identified as “squaw” with “moose” also was favorable to the Legislature which adopted the changes.

Piscataquis County commissioners thought they had put the matter to rest. But to their surprise, a letter arrived recently advising them that the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, a division of the U.S. Geological Society, had some reservations about adding more moose to the map. Approval from the USGS is required before new names can appear on federal maps.

The USGS already listed 102 features in the state named “moose” or a combination of the word, such as Moosehead Lake. Of those, 82 refer to geographic locations such as streams, summits, islands, bogs, ridges, swamps, ponds, lakes and mountains.

“It’s not that these [new moose names] are disapproved, it’s just they are so unlike the others,” Roger Payne, executive secretary of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, said Thursday.

Payne said this was the first time a county had proposed a “blanket” name change in Maine. All other Maine counties have had their recommended name changes for “squaw” approved by the federal board because the names provided were individualized, he said.

“The board was concerned that this [the Piscataquis County effort] was being done with just a one-word replacement,” Payne said.

In a letter to the commissioners, Payne wrote that before the 12 Piscataquis County geographic name changes are approved for federal maps and publications, two issues need clarification.

One, the board wants assurance that the added moose-named locations will not present any confusion to the county government or area residents with existing locations named moose.

That could be difficult. With the changes, Piscataquis County would have five Moose Ponds, two Moose Islands and two Moose Coves.

Payne said the U.S. board does not typically approve duplicate names because it could result in confusion, especially in matters of public safety, emergency preparedness, and search and rescue operations.

Second, Payne wants to know whether, as required by the legislation, a public hearing was conducted, and whether any tribal authorities who might have had an interest in the renaming were consulted. If so, Payne wants to know whether the tribal authorities are in agreement with the replacement names. The board wants to make sure the changes are in the spirit of the intent of the legislation, he said.

“Name issues are highly emotional and irrational,” Payne said. “We just want to make sure all interested parties have had a chance to comment.” He said there was no written evidence that a tribal council was involved in the Piscataquis County renaming process, although the council’s involvement is not mandatory.

Barry Dana, chief of the Penobscot Nation, said Sunday that his council had not been asked to comment on the renaming of any public geographic location in the state in connection with the “squaw” issue. However, he had no problem with the universal word “moose.”

“A lot of the Native people feel the change from squaw to moose is a positive one and a step in the right direction,” Dana said.

Bartley said no formal public hearing was held on the renaming project, but local residents were polled and some Indians commented independently. “It didn’t warrant a full public hearing,” he said. And he noted that the issue had been well publicized.

Once the U.S. board is satisfied that all interested parties have had ample time to comment on the name changes and the board receives the requested clarification, the name changes will be approved, according to the federal official.

“The whole goal is standardization, not regulation,” Payne said.

Payne noted that six states, including Maine, passed legislation banning the use of the word “squaw” and all either have worked or are working with the federal board on the name changes.