Indeed, pioneer wives of the 19th-century imposed their sensibilities on a whole range of raunchy names that earthier souls had given some of the topographical features hereabouts. The West is home to scores of hills, mountains, rocks and ridges that once were tagged with colorful expressions for parts of the human anatomy that we choose not to print in a family newspaper. The names people choose for themselves tell a story of their own. Some African Americans changed their names after emancipation, whether to cast off a despised past or to symbolize a new life. Others kept their names, perhaps to make separated families easier to find.
Names are important.
Derogatory names uttered in commission of a crime can raise the level of criminality to a hate crime. There's no question that name calling and race carry special weight because of this nation's history. The history of the West's early place names isn't lost, and the history of the disputed creek name won't disappear with a new name. The changing names of places reflect changing customs and that's a history worth keeping, too.