[ad_1]
“I thought this is crazy,” said Joy McClain, 81, when she saw the mountain’s name in the local paper and felt called to action.
“I decided there was probably nothing I could do, but I would try to see what it would take to rename the mountain,” McClain said.
Swastika Mountain gets its name from the lost city of Swastika — which reportedly took its name from a rancher who owned a cattle ranch, Kerry Tymchuk, executive director of the Boyle Family at the Oregon Historical Society, told CNN.
“This was in the early 1900s, long before the brand was associated with the Nazis and Hitler,” Tymchuk said. The breeder used the symbol because it is a Sanskrit symbol meaning “good luck” or “safety”.
However, after the Second World War, the name of the mountain never changed.
“If someone had come up with a new name, I suspect it would have been changed a long time ago,” Tymchuk said. He said the mountain is not well known, and is located in the middle of a national forest and is not really accessible.
At the same time, according to Tymchuk, another proposal was submitted to the OGNB to name the mountain “Mount Halo”. This is to honor Chief Halito, also known as Halo, the chief of the Yonkala Kalapuya tribe, who lived in a village 20 miles west of the mountain.
McClain subsequently decided to abandon her idea of naming the mountain after Chief Halo.
Chief Halito, often shortened to Chief Halo, was the leader of the Yonkala Kalapuya clan.
by the Oregon Historical Society
“For me, it’s like bringing some heritage back to the area,” Lewis said.
And Timchuk agrees.
“The names we give geographic features reflect our history and values,” Tymchuk said. And he feels that removing the name ‘Swastika’ is out of date.
Even if everyone agrees on a name change, it may not happen until the end of the year due to laws governing name change proposals.
As for McLean, she said she’s happy with the prospect of a change. “One person can make a difference,” McClain said.
[ad_2]
Source link
