After 11 years, “squaw” will no longer appear in the names of public places in Maine.

Despite the mandate more than 10 years ago, signed into law by then-Gov. Angus King, it was just this summer that the U.S. Board on Geographic Names approved name changes for half a dozen locations in Aroostook County that still contained a variation of the word “squaw.”

Many Native Americans say the word is offensive and translates to “prostitute” or “whore.”

Although this victory has finally been won, it took too long, and hold outs like James Confalone, owner of Big Squaw Mountain Resort outside of Greenville, are dragging out the issue. Confalone is not affected by the law, as his is a private business bearing the name, but out of respect for Native Americans and all minority groups, he should make the change on his own.

Confalone told The Associated Press recently that the word squaw means Indian woman and only became offensive after the early 1970s. He said his ski area serves as a “monument” to Maine’s Indian tribes. He added that his intent is not to “disparage Indians. The intent is to carry on the name.”

But he is disparaging Maine’s Indian tribes by using a word that is offensive to many of those tribes, regardless of his intent.

According to Lou Yost, executive secretary of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, in 1963, the board changed all geographic names containing the derogatory form of “Negro,” and in 1974 changed all names containing the disparaging form of Japanese.

While those words may not be offensive to all blacks or all people of Japanese descent, they are certainly offensive to some ”“ and to those of other races, for that matter. Most Americans would shudder if they drove up to “Negro Mountain Resort” or “Jap Mountain Resort” ”“ and rightfully so. While the offensiveness of Native American slurs are not as mainstream, it does not make those words any less offensive.

John Dieffenbacher-Krall, executive director of the Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission, said despite some resistance, names were eventually changed, which is pointing us in the right direction.

“I think it’s another step in the non-Indian population further recognizing indigenous people of this land,” Dieffenbacher-Krall said. “It’s a positive step in improving tribal-state relations. I think all people want to be treated with respect.”

We agree. And we applaud the efforts of the Maine legislators who got this bill approved and the U.S. Board on Geographic Names for making the official changes.

Hopefully, people like Confalone will reconsider and change their business names to something that is respectful of all cultures.

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Today’s editorial was written by City Editor Robyn Burnham, on behalf of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski by calling 282-1535, Ext. 322, or via e-mail at kristenm@journaltribune.com.