Some names used around the city of Durango might need to change with the times, according to City Council and staff members on Tuesday.
Around the country, communities are saying the names of their lakes, museums, neighborhoods, schools and sports teams exclude and offend some community groups. Durango has been taking a second look at some of its own names. The city plans to update its naming policies, but exactly how to do that gets complicated.
“I don’t think this is going to be a three-month study, then all the sudden we have new names for things,” said Mayor Dean Brookie during the City Council study session Tuesday. “How do we approach this and study it and include some public engagement?”
In the summer, Durango intensified its efforts to improve diversity, equity and inclusion within the government in response to months of nationwide social and police reform protests.
Staff members began to identify historic names that carry negative connotations for some community groups.
For example, Parks and Recreation staff members suggested changing a few Horse Gulch trail names, like SkyRaider and Anasazi Descent, because the names have negative connotations, they said.
City advisory commissions weighed in, noting a few others that might need to be reviewed, such as the Bandito and Snake Charmer trails.
City Council expects to hear an update on these name changes during the regular meeting Tuesday, but the city is still troubleshooting how to identify other current problematic names and how to name city assets appropriately in the future.
“There are a number of folks in our community, and this is a fairly sensitive topic nationwide and especially as it applies in Durango,” Brookie said. “We are multi-ethnic and on stolen land, but we’ve had a lot of history in our community as well. There’s a lot of things to acknowledge.”
City Council members raised questions about how to decide whether a name should be changed and whether a complete asset review is necessary.
Brookie asked what the scope should be – artwork, buildings, trails? Councilor Barbara Noseworthy wanted to ensure that the public engagement process included people who felt marginalized by existing names.
“We might need to think about renaming trails or streets, but it also might be appropriate to have a current name and also offer what an Indigenous group might have called it,” Noseworthy said.
Council also discussed including a land acknowledgment during public meetings, which would serve as a reminder that the land was taken from its original inhabitants, the Ute tribes.
The city already has some procedures in place. Streets, park and building names must be approved by City Council. A naming policy from 1996 outlines the naming process for Parks and Recreation Department assets, like swimming pools and golf courses.
“Starting with an update of this current policy, based on best practices and what works for our community, would be a really good start,” said Councilor Melissa Youssef.
City Council directed staff members to create a draft policy that would address future name changes, while alerting the council to current names that might need to be reconsidered.
Staff members did not share a timeline for when the work would be completed.
“I think it will take some time because we want to be very thoughtful and have that community engagement,” said Sandy Irwin, one of the staff members leading the effort.
smullane@durangoherald.com
