To: President Donald Trump, Sen. Patty Murray (WA-1), and Sen. Maria Cantwell (WA-2)

Really? The government calls it "Coon Lake?" Tell Obama administration to stop supporting a racis...

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In 2008, Washington State officially changed the name of Coon Lake in the North Cascades mountain range to Howard Lake, to honor the African-American miner, Wilson Howard, who staked claims there 125 years ago.

But the National Park Service and the federal government have refused to agree to the state's name change, insisting on maintaining a name that is universally recognized as pejorative.

We urge Sens. Murray and Cantwell, the White House and the U.S. Department of the Interior to right this wrong - stop maintaining a racist name and align the federal government with Washington State's decision to honor Wilson Howard.

Why is this important?

Let's get the federal government to stop using a racist name.

Eight years ago Washington State officially changed the name of Coon Lake, a 15-acre lake located in the North Cascades mountain range, to Howard Lake. The state acted to honor Wilson Howard, a Black prospector who staked mining claims around the lake 125 years ago.

In enacting the name change, Washington State recognized Howard’s direct and historically significant contribution to the area, and removed any possibility that the former name represented a racial slur. (There are no raccoons in the area.)

But the federal government has refused to ratify the state’s decision – normally a pro-forma matter. Howard Lake lies within the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, which is administered by the National Park Service (NPS). Since 2007, the NPS has steadfastly opposed the change from Coon Lake to Howard Lake, and has effectively blocked action within the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Crosscut.com recently spotlighted this injustice: http://crosscut.com/2015/09/racism-and-the-public-lands-the-case-of-coon-lake/

Today the NPS trail signs and maps in the North Cascades National Park point to “Coon Lake.” In continuing to oppose the name change, the Park Service is failing to recognize Mr. Howard’s historical contribution to the area and is perpetuating a geographic name that is widely seen as pejorative and racist.

The federal government can right this wrong by adopting Washington State’s decision to honor the miner Wilson Howard.