Place Justice & Belonging: How Place Names Relate to Climate & Social Justice
We were joined by Meadow Dibble of Atlantic Black Box to discuss racist place names in the state of Maine and the efforts to change them. Resources from the Teach-In linked below!
How to support efforts to change place names in Maine, from the Wabanaki Alliance Coalition:
Support LD 1667 "An Act Regarding Recommendations for Changing Place Names in the State"
Sponsor: Rep. Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland.
SUMMARY
This bill creates the State Names Authority within the Office of Geographic Information Systems to serve as a liaison to the United States Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey, and United States Board on Geographic Names. The bill also establishes the Maine Board on Place Names. Its responsibility is to make recommendations to the State Names Authority for renaming Maine features. Read the complete bill text»
STATUS: Public hearing February 6, 2024
The Committee on State and Local Government will hold a public hearing at 1 pm Tuesday, February 6 in Room 214 of the Cross Building.
TAKE ACTION
Submit testimony. Follow the steps in the Legislative Toolkit on this page to submit testimony in support of this bill either in writing before the hearing or during the hearing via Zoom or at the State House.
Contact your legislators. If your legislators sit on this committee, email them and ask them to vote Ought to Pass on LD 1667. You can also share your written testimony with your legislators and ask them to support the bill.
Write a letter to the editor. Turn your testimony into a letter to the editor! Find tips and newspaper contact info in our LTE Guide.
Listen in. If you can’t attend the hearing in person, you can listen in HERE.
Links mentioned in the Place Justice Teach-In:
Bounty - “is a filmic testimony of the immeasurable resistance & survivance of Indigenous Peoples. The film is the cornerstone of this media ecosystem which invites us all to face stories of the incalculable loss, suffering, and unacknowledged trauma inflicted upon Indigenous People by settlers, past and present.” Watch it here.
