I ran into another article about this last night, with a more in-depth exploration of how the name change came about. It's an interesting read.
https://www.sfgate.com/renotahoe/article/Tahoe-ski-resort-Squaw-Valley-finally-loses-its-16455765.php
A year ago, a woman who is a member of the Washoe Tribe told me that every time she sees the "s-word," she feels a full-body reaction. The word, "squaw," is a painful reminder that historic violence against Indigenous people continues to linger in our daily lives, she said, as I was reporting a story for the Tahoe Quarterly.
The word has no ties to the language of the Washoe Tribe, whose ancestral land encompasses Lake Tahoe and the surrounding region; their word for women is damumóˑʔmoʔ. But it traveled across the country with settlers more than 150 years ago and was used to assert power over Indigenous people. Today, the slur is still displayed prominently in Washoe ancestral land. [snip]
For decades, the Washoe Tribe has been asking the ski resort to change its name. And now, they are welcoming the announcement of Palisades Tahoe. But more than the new name itself, the tribe has expressed gratitude that the slur will be removed from their ancestral land.
Tribal Chairman Serrell Smokey, in a statement, calls the name change a “positive step forward.”
“The Washoe people have lived in the area for thousands of years,” said Smokey. “We have great reverence for our ancestors, history and lands. We are very pleased with this decision; today is a day that many have worked towards for decades.”
Darrel Cruz, historic preservation officer for the Washoe Tribe, gives credit for the decision to change the name of the ski resort to Ron Cohen, the former chief operating officer of the ski resort.
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