A Phoenix mountain renamed for the first American Indian woman to die in combat

[Thunderwolf, MSN, RN]

A federal panel officially renamed a Phoenix mountain for the first American Indian woman to die in combat while serving in the U.S. military, ending one of the country's most contentious fights over a place name.

Less than a month after Army Spc. Lori Piestewa was killed in Iraq in 2003, a state panel renamed Squaw Peak, one of the city's most popular hiking spots, as Piestewa Peak.

The U.S. Board on Geographic Names made the name change official Thursday in an 11-2 vote, Lou Yost, the board's executive secretary, said from Washington, D.C.

"We're very grateful that they went ahead and kept the name," said Piestewa's mother, Percy Piestewa. "It's an honor and it's very humbling. It's awesome."

Many American Indians found the old name offensive and had been trying to change it for years, but critics called the change a heavy-handed political move by Gov. Janet Napolitano's administration.

Yost said supporters on the board felt that Piestewa (py-ES'-tuh-wah) symbolizes everyone who has died in the line of duty, while opponents argued that she didn't have a direct association with the mountain and is not of regional or national prominence.

Full article: http://www.reznetnews.org/article/ap/it%2526%2523039%3Bs-official%3A-piestewa-peak