There are at least 1,441 federally recognized places across the US that include racial slurs in their official name, according to a report from Vocativ. “Squ*w,” a slur which demeans and dehumanizes Indigenous women, accounts for most of them. It’s the most-used racial slur in American place names, with 828 locations referencing it. The word is often used with sexually-explicit overtones as well – at least 11 variations on “Squ*w Tit” or “Squ*w Teat” exist across the country. The report notes that Western “pioneer” groups were often exclusively white and male, which lead to both racist and misogynistic overtones in naming places, particularly in the Western United States.
Source: U.S. Board on Geographic Names
The Decolonial Atlas 