The Reconciliation in Place Names Act establishes a systematic process to identify and rename U.S. geographic features and federal lands with offensive place names, including those containing racial or sexual slurs, honoring individuals who committed atrocities against Native Americans, or perpetuating racist stereotypes. The bill creates a 17-member Advisory Committee on Reconciliation in Place Names—with representation from Native American tribes, civil rights experts, historians, and the general public—that will solicit proposals for renaming from tribes, state and local governments, federal agencies, and the public, then submit recommendations to the Board on Geographic Names and Congress. The Board must review and respond to committee proposals within three years, and will approve them unless there is compelling reason to reject them or approval would violate federal law. The committee has a five-year timeline to complete its work, and the legislation requires no specific federal funding beyond staff and travel expenses, relying on the existing Board structure and the Interior Department to support the advisory committee's operations.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.