Phoenix City Council Approves Plan To Change Street Names

The days may be numbered for street names in Phoenix like Squaw Peak Drive and Robert E. Lee Street. The city council on Tuesday voted 6-3 to change policy to make it easier for them to change names deemed offensive or derogatory even if residents object.

Mayor Greg Stanton has been trying to get both those names changed, saying they do not reflect the city's values.

His move - in particular - to get the name of Squaw Peak Drive - changed has drawn a lot of support from the state's Native American community. (Subscribe to local news alerts on Patch).

"One only has to look up the definition of "squaw" to see that it is described as a contemptuous term used to refer to a North American Indian woman as a derogatory, disparaging and offensive," representatives of the Phoenix Indian Center, Native American Connections, and the Inter Tribal Association of Arizona said in a letter.

Residents of Squaw Peak Drive have resisted the change, even sending a petition saying the street's name is part of their "history."

Phoenix policy had said that if 75 percent of residents resist a change, it won't happen. The new policy does away with that obstacle.

Photo City of Phoenix