State Names Reports: COGNA 2013 Bloomington, MN
Minnesota
– Pete Boulay. Pete welcomed the attendees. Minnesota is still a
one-person board and has been for over 40 years. Approved Minnesota
State names over the past year included: McDonald Lake, Musselshell
Creek, Island Lake Creek, and Petrell Creek. A number of names have been
added to the “under discussion” list. Pete also mentioned the
preparation for COGNA 2013.
Alaska
– Jo Antonson. Joan discussed a native language map. Names cases
include Eichner Mountain and Gandláay Háanaa, with the latter having
issues with people stealing the sign of the feature. Jo also mentioned a
name request to name a mountaintop after a bush pilot.
Alaska –
Gary Holton. Discussed Alaskan native languages and cited one example
name: Troth Yeddá (means Indian potato). Joan Antonson mentioned
pronouncing issues and it is also difficult to get coverage of names in
today’s smaller newspapers. She mentioned the longtime naming issue of
Denali (Alaska) McKinley (US Board) Ended with the quote: “Every last
name in Alaska is political.”
Arizona – Julie Hoff. Julie
mentioned that the Arizona State board is a nine member board with six
members appointed by state agencies. There is some Grand Canyon
feature naming work that is being done and one of the topics discussed
was a “Name the Peak” contest.
California – Barbara Wanish.
Barbara talked about the California Advisory Board. There are currently
five members with a one member change. About twelve names are being
considered. A couple names that were mentioned were Clem Nelson Peak
and Fossil Point. There is also work being done on misidentified
features as well.
Idaho – Dan White. Various names discussed
including Carrie Mountain, Mt' mt' o' Imkhw Wetland, Oops Lake, Reno
Mountain, South Fork Sheep Creek and Staffel Island.
Missouri –
Chris Barnett. Chris mentioned that Missouri has a 19 member board.
About 3 to 4 years ago the board switched to be under secretary of
state. There’s been plenty of activity on names of streams.
New
Mexico – Pete Martinez. Pete said that things are fairly quiet, many of
the native communities have towns named after saints. Native
communities are getting together to rename them after the original
community names. He mentioned that the New Mexico board is not an
appointed board.
Oklahoma – Wayne Furr. Wayne discussed topics
regarding the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission and the debate on the
official spelling of Barren (Baron) Fork Creek. Wayne mentioned that
there was no evidence to overturn the name from Baron to Barren. Wayne
also mentioned the approval of Bartosh Creek to honor a long time
resident and bank employee who helped many residents in the area.
Oregon
– Bruce Fisher. Bruce mentioned that the Oregon board is composed of
25 members plus advisors. There is work to be done with 170 Squaw names
to get though. The state passed 60 replacement names with Native
American names. One county even formed its own names board. He also gave
an update on the health of Lewis McArthur.
South Dakota – Thomas
Gasque. Tom spoke about the recent work on replacing derogatory names
in South Dakota. He mentioned examples of five Squaw-named featured
that have proposed native language names for them. The South Dakota
Board of Geographic Names also circulated a notice asking for
suggestions to replace five geographic names that contain the word
“Negro.”
Utah – Dan White. Spoke about the rash of arch naming by
one proponent who proposed names for six or seven arches, all of which
the Utah committee did not approve. The Pfeifferhorn Summit was
approved. Negro Bill Canyon has gleaned plenty of media attention.
Discussed new member of the Utah Board: Kate Staley of SITLA, and lost
some members including Janet Packham and Scott Christensen. Also noted
was that Jay Haymond, who originated the Utah Committee and the Western
States Geographic Names Council, passed away.
Virginia –
Cassandra Farrell. Cassandra noted that there are four creeks that
have name proposals and four island names are in the works in Fairfax
County.
Wyoming – Dan White. Proposed new name that was passed:
Ten Trees. Three proposed names were mentioned: Yount Moutain (was
Yaunt), Prodigy Hill and Chris La Doux Point. Also discussed were board
changed. Due to the lack of new proposals, it was decided to meet only
twice a year, November and May on the third Thursday of each.
Business Meeting
Minneapolis/St. Paul Hilton
Bloomington, MN
4/30/2013
Meeting
called to order at 3:05pm. COGNA 2013 Host Pete Boulay welcomed
attendees to Minnesota. It was decided to table New Business regarding
the Constitution and Bylaws, due to number of attendees.
Roll Call
Pete Boulay - MN
Pete Martinez -NM
Dan White –UT
Barbara Wanish –CA
Wayne Furr – OK
Betsy Kanalley – FS-DNC
Glen Yakel Retired MN
Bruce Fisher USGS -OR
Julie Hoff AZ
____________________
1. Old Business
a. Motion to approve minutes of 2011 Business Meeting: Pete Boulay, seconded by Barbara Wanish
Ayes- all
b. Executive Secretary’s 2011 Conference and Annual Report
Wayne
discussed COGNA 2011 in Hawaii and mentioned logistics. The conference
came close to cancelling at one point. However people had already
registered so the conference went as planned. There were 48 attendees,
down from the average of 67. Wayne mentioned that the talks were top
notch and the conference was very successful. One common issue was
hearing comments relayed from management of various agencies, ex: “we
won’t let anyone go to Hawaii.” Overall it was a good conference with a
lot of planning.
Motion to approve the COGNA 2011 report by Barbara Wanish, seconded by Bruce Fisher.
c. Financial Report for 2012.
Wayne
discussed the financial report and summed it up by mentioning: “We
still have money in the bank.” The recent purchase of AV equipment was
discussed. This was done to avoid rental costs in the future. In effect
it was cheaper to purchase the equipment than it was to rent it. (Note
the projector and the computer used for COGNA 2013 were on loan from
State of Minnesota-Department of Natural Resources)
2. Future Conference/Conformation and Election of Officers.
a. Economy
Wayne
Furr: Economy continuing to impact COGNA Conferences with 1/3 of the
attendees missing from COGNA 2013 due to the Sequester.
b. Deadlines
Wayne Furr found it difficult to get people to sign up for the banquet in a timely manner.
c. Registration
Wayne
Furr mentioned that the PayPal system had some issues from those using
state credit cards that would not work with the service.
d. Timing of the Conference
Dsicussion
about the best time of the year for COGNA. Was a fall conference and
switched to spring in 2011. Spring was chosen because it seemed to be
the best timeframe for the Federal Fiscal year in the past. Pete Boulay
mentioned that this year was an exception due to the events that
unfolded. Other spring conferences were mentioned that wound up being
cancelled due to the Sequester.
3. Presentation for Austin, TX: Claire DeVaughan
Wayne
presented for Claire DeVaughan in regards for GOGNA 2014 in Austin at
the Holiday Inn Town Lake (Lady Bird Lake) in Austin, Texas from April
29-May 4, 2014.
Dan White made the motion for Claire DeVaughan
to be Conference Coordinator, Pete Martinez seconded. Note that Richard
Wade is the Chairman of the committee host.
Wayne noted that COGNA has until August 1 to cancel with no conditions.
-Ayes all.
Discussion
then turned to the 2015 conference with Montana as a possible location.
Dan White cautioned that it could be expensive to travel to Montana.
Pete Boulay posed the question regarding which COGNA was attended the
most. After some discussion, St. Louis, MO in 2000 had about 103 to 108
attendees, with Springfield MO in 2010 with about 70 attendees.
4. Election of At. Large Member (Tabled) Reason: No quorum to vote on topic.
-Ethics
committee- Federal Government can’t vote on structure- can confer on
names issues. Finances of COGNA since 2007 are controlled by the
Executive Secretary.
-Discussion about renaming the conference
as a training conference to more reflect what it is and to perhaps help
attendees receive permission to attend.
-Discussion then ensued
about what topics to keep and drop from future conferences. It was
decided that Academic Talks were useful and add to the conferences.
Perhaps adding a workshop on ESRI or having Google present would be
beneficial in the future.
-Wayne Furr added that he is planning to continue to be the Executive Secretary for COGNA past Austin in 2014.
Dan White made the motion to adjourn the meeting, Pete Boulay seconded that motion.
Ayes-All
End of Business Meeting.
Conference Opening Reception
WEDNESDAY, May 1
7:30 – 9:30 Registration Continental Breakfast
10:00 –Tour of the Nature Center
THURSDAY, May 2
7:30 – 9:30 Continental Breakfast
8:00 – 8:15 Opening Remarks & Housekeeping - Pete Boulay
8:15 – 9:30 State Names Authorities’ Reports - Wayne Furr
10:30 – 3:00 State-Federal Roundtable - Glen Yakel, Moderator
The State/Federal Roundtable should be considered one of the most important session of the conference. Topics are often linked to the Principles, Policies, and Procedures but consideration should be much broader with subjects for GNIS and other matters of applied toponymy that delegates and attendees would deem of interest and useful.
3:30 – 4:00 Advancing Native Place Names in Alaska
Gary Holton, Lawrence Kaplan, and James Kari
Alaska Native Language Center
Recently there has been a surge in public interest in native-origin place names in Alaska. These names attest to the rich heritage of native languages and cultures in the state. Several recent and pending proposals suggest native names locations which otherwise lack an official name. Native names have also been proposed as replacements for derogatory names, such as the 2012 proposal to replace Negrohead Creek with the Athabascan name Lochenyatth Creek.
In addition to these there are a wealth of official names, carefully documented by Orth (1967), which are clearly of Native origin but are improperly spelled. These could benefit greatly by having the Native name included as a variant and displayed on maps in parentheses next to the official name. For example, Talkeetna (K’dalkitnu), could be rendered easily since K’dalkitnu is the sole variant name for this name in GNIS. In other cases this approach would be more difficult. GNIS list 47 variant names for Mt. McKinley, 33 of which appear to be of Native origin, but there is no easy way to determine that Deenaalee is the correct spelling of the Kayukon Athabascan name from which the common name Denali derives. Another situation we find on occasion is a Native-language place name that has been inadvertently assigned to the wrong feature.
Since its founding by state legislation in 1972 the Alaska Native Language Center has worked to develop standardized writing systems for all twenty Native languages in the state, while also compiling place name lists. In this presentation we suggest ways that ANLC could collaborate on Alaskan GNIS entries t make them (a) more effective for public use; and (b) more accurately mirror authentic the native language place names.
4:00 – 4:30 The GNBC at 116 – Building on the past to take on the challenges and opportunities of the future
Heather Ross
Geographical Names Board of Canada (GNBC) Secretariat, Natural Resources Canada.
In 1897, Canada established the Geographic Board of Canada. The government recognized the need for an authority to address standardization, recording, and dissemination of the geographical names in Canada. During the ensuing 116 years, the work of the Board has continued through administrative, social, and technological change, and even through war. Although its name has changed several times, and its mandate has evolved to meet the changing needs of its members and the country, its core values remain the same.
Over time, responsibility for naming has devolved from the federal authority to the provinces and territories, and most recently to Aboriginal groups who have been granted self-government under land claim settlements. The national Board serves as a coordinating body.
Technological change has played a major role in the work of the GNBC. Names storage and retrieval has gone from banks of index cards and paper maps and files to data bases, spatial data warehouses, and online mapping tools and applications. The first national names data base was established in 1978. Currently, the national data base of names data is updated continuously, and is linked to a warehouse of delineations, and an online query tool.
In 2013, the Board’s working groups are dealing with some of the most important issues it faces: Aboriginal Toponymy, Feature Identifiers, Delineation, Undersea and Maritime Feature Naming, and Cultural Generics. The focus is, and will remain, standard and geographical authoritative names, and the cultural, historical and social importance of toponymy for Canada and its citizens.
4:30 – 5:00 Foreign Language Influence & Allonymy: A Case of some Topoynms of Southern Ghana
Yaw Sekyi-Baidoo
Foreign occupation and influence from 15th century through colonialism and independence have had a profound effect on names in Ghana and many such countries. Owusu-Ansah and Akrofi (1994), Agyekum (2006) and Sekyi-Baidoo (forthcoming) have discussed these influences on anthroponyms in Ghana. In addition to the anthroponyms, toponyms seem to have had a great deal of influence from the foreign languages with whom the peoples came into contact.
The paper discusses the influence of foreign languages on toponyms in the southern part of Ghana through the influence of European traders and colonialists between the 15th and 19th centuries from the perspectives of the postcolonialist theory. It examines various forms of foreign language influence including corrupted variants, the creation of new toponyms usually by foreigners with topographic and mercantile considerations, the addition of topographic descriptions to existing names, and the co-existence of earlier and latter renditions of the same name.
In addition to the lexical analysis, the study also undertakes a phonological analysis as a way of explaining the relationship between the original and the allonyms, and between original lexical manifestations and current renditions of the name, drawing attention to the nature of the change and the responsibility for these changes.
Finally, the paper discusses the situation of allonymy in the synchronic use of these names. It draws attention to such factors as nature of association, field and tenor of discourse among other factors, making the allonyms only referentially synonymous.
FRIDAY, May 3
7:30 – 9:30 Continental Breakfast
8:00 – 9:30 U.S. Forest Service Representatives Session - Dan White, Moderator
10:30 – 11:00 Place Name Dictionaries in the U.S.
Tom Gasque
Most U.S. states have some sort of place name dictionary. Many of them are decades old, and the quality varies greatly. Among the oldest--and the best--are those from Oregon (1928, etc.) and Minnesota (1920, etc.), both of which have been revised in recent years. The coverage also varies. Some include only towns and cities, and others attempt to include all features, or at least the larger and more significant features, such as mountains, rivers, and larger creeks. The arrangement of material also varies. Probably the best plan is alphabetical by the specific element of the name, as in the Oregon book. Others have a county-by county structure, as in Minnesota. Some are arranged by feature type, as in South Dakota, and at least one is not a dictionary but a narrative history explaining the names in various contexts, as in Kansas. In all cases except the first, an alphabetical index is essential but not always present. Another feature that varies widely is the documentation, the authority for the information about the names. Some books document each entry; others--less usefully--provide a general list of sources. The focus in this presentation s on the usefulness (or lack of it) of these books for the applied toponymist. Because we in are in Minnesota for this meeting, special attention is given to Minnesota Geographic Names (1920, rev. 1979; rev. as Minnesota Place Names in 2001).
11:00 – 11:30 How the Virginia Board on Geographic Names handles place name requests with a small board
Cassandra Farrell
Map Specialist and Senior Reference Archivist
Library of Virginia
This paper explores how the Virginia Board on Geographic Names handles place name requests with a small board. The Virginia Board, which consists of 2 to 3 people at any given time, is currently made up of the Virginia State Archivist and the Map Specialist and Senior Reference Archivist at the Library of Virginia. In the past two years we have received several requests for place names from residents who live in rural localities to city dwellers living on the Virginia coast. This small board routinely conducts in-depth historical research when working on a name proposal and looks not only at maps, but other records like land and tax records when making a decision. We also consult with local officials, community leaders, and stakeholders in the decision-making process to determine their views on the proposed names.
11:30 – 12:00 Diversity and Distribution of Wetland Toponymic Generics in the United States
Janet Gritzner, South Dakota State University
For most observers swamps, marshes, and other wetland features are defined by the supported vegetation and persistence of wet conditions. Whereas there are hundreds of thousands of wetlands in the US, few are named and are recorded in the GNIS database. This research looks at the toponymic generics of the swamp category of features in the GNIS. Why are some wetland features named and others are not? Is it size, commonality, impermanence, cultural attitudes, or geography? What generics are applied? Mapping "swamp" generics reveals fascinating patterns of distribution - some tied to physical characteristics and others to regional and local naming practices. Most common, clearly "swamp" generics are swamp, marsh, bog, meadow, brake, and slough. Examples of less familiar, highly localized generics include vly, heath, pocosin, cienega, sog, baygall, and suck.
1:30 – 2:00 Board on Geographic Names and NHD Stewardship Coordination in Missouri
Anna Nowack
The main objective for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MoDNR) becoming the NHD steward in 2011 was to have better reporting capabilities with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to meet requirements of the Clean Water Act (CWA). This process discovered many discrepancies between the MoDNR’s in-house data, the NHD, and the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). Many of these discrepancies were brought to the attention of U.S. Geological Survey GNIS staff. Many of the discrepancies involved multiple names of reservoirs listed by the MoDNR – Dam Safety, Army Corps of Engineers (ACE), or other state agencies such as the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC). A meeting was held in May 2011 to decipher what the issues were and the best approach for solving the discrepancies:
Majority of ACE entries included reservoirs the ACE did not regulate or own but reported from other agencies (such as MoDNR and MDC) to USGS for inclusion in GNIS
GNIS staff review ACE entries to determine the official name according to ownership and U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN) protocol, then make administrative changes as appropriate or refer any changes needing ruling
Changes conducted are reported to a NHD staff in Denver for integration into the NHD. Upon syncing with the NHD, MoDNR updates in-house datasets
ACE and MDC entries causing discrepancies – the MDC published name is the official name unless BGN rules are not followed. Then a BGN ruling is needed to determine the official name.
This process will ensure all reports produced by the MoDNR will have the most accurate information according to national and state standards.
2:00 – 2:30 Pseudo-French and French Place Names in Minnesota
Andre Lapierre
In his book La toponymie française aux États-Unis, published in 2000, J. Montbarbut lists some 450 place names of French origin in Minnesota. A closer examination shows that the actual number may be less important due to several factors. This paper discusses the differences between cultural and linguistic legacy, the role of translation and homography as well as other issues that combine to determine what constitutes a place name of French origin in geographical nomenclature.
2:30 – 3:00 The Name Itasca - Pete Boulay
3:30 – 4:00 Generics in Place Names - Janet Gritzner
4:00 – 4:30 Spanish Place Names in the Upper Midwest - Tom Gasque
4:30 – 4:45 Invitation to the COGNA 2014 conference - Wayne Furr for Claire DeVaughan
4:45 – 5:00 Wrap-up - Pete Boulay & Wayne Furr
6:00 – 9:00 Banquet with Geographic Names Presentation by Dr. Mark Seeley
SATURDAY, May 4
8:00 – 5:30 Educational Toponymic Tour – A Look at Geographic Names in the Twin Cities and Surrounding Area - Pete Boulay
Welcome to Minnesota in May
Mill City Museum and Park