Tag Archives: bird names

A reverse land acknowledgment: Place names honor ethnic cleansing and slavery

Posted on April 4, 2022 by Stephen Carr Hampton

I live in Port Townsend, Jefferson County, Washington. It was originally called qatáy by the S’Klallam, a place with a small lagoon and a series of freshwater ponds that allowed for kayak portages from Puget Sound to the Strait of Juan … Continue reading →

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Reflections of a Native birder: The one Indian killer bird name I really have trouble with

Posted on June 6, 2021 by Stephen Carr Hampton

As a citizen of Cherokee Nation and a birder for nearly fifty years, I offer these thoughts on the burgeoning discussion to re-name birds that are named after people. When people say they are used to the current bird names … Continue reading →

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Erasure, white fragility, and the verbal monuments of bird names: Should we hold people in the past accountable to present-day mores?

Posted on June 4, 2021 by Stephen Carr Hampton

When addressing historic wrongs, and especially memorials that honor people that perpetrated historic wrongs, a common challenge is: Should we be holding these people accountable according to modern values and mores? There are two big problems with this question. Almost … Continue reading →

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Decolonizing bird names: Effort reveals fault lines among birders

Posted on April 28, 2021 by Stephen Carr Hampton

A revolution is about to sweep the world of birders and ornithologists. After decades of intransigence, the most prominent organizations and authors – including prominent field guide authors David Sibley and Kenn Kaufmann – are endorsing “bird names for birds”, … Continue reading →

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