BILLINGS — Multiple groups have asked the federal government to rename three Montana geographic features currently named after a Confederate Civil War leader and proponent of slavery.
The groups — the Montana Racial Equity Project, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the Montana Human Rights Network and several others — asked the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to rename Jeff Davis Peak and Jeff Davis Creek in Beaverhead County and Jeff Davis Gulch in Lewis and Clark County, the Yellowstone Public Radio reported.
Jefferson Davis was the president of the Confederated States during the Civil War. Instead of honoring Davis, the groups recommend honoring Chinese immigrants who built the state’s mines and Native Americans.
The group suggested changing Jeff Davis Peak to “Three Eagles Peak” in honor of Salish Chief Three Eagles; Jeff Davis Creek to “Choos-wee Creek” in honor of the Salish word for Chinese people; and Jeff Davis Gulch to “In-qu-qu-leet Gulch.”
The process could take years before a decision is made.