Failing to answer question of honor to Pfc. Piestewa

Arizona Republic ^ | Apr. 17, 2003 | Ed Montin

[presidio9]

We dishonor the memory of Lori Piestewa with our pettiness. She put on a uniform and went to war and was killed, leaving behind a loving family and two small children. In return we waste the opportunity to honor her sacrifice and mend a bleeding insult by depreciating her life and pouring salt on the wound.

[presidio9]

No disrespect, hawk, but you are missing the point. The liberals in AZ have used racially divisive tactics relating to the moutain for years. The Govenor could care less about Pfc. Piestewa (I sincerely doubt she attended the funeral). This is political opportunism at its slimiest. And I for one have been vocal about saying we have to tone down the beatification of Pfc. Lynch until all the facts are on the table.

[anymouse]

Wouldn't it be a bigger offense to name Squaw Peak after her? If it really is considered a slur, then why disgrace her memory that way? Wouldn't it be more appropriate to name another landmark after her?

I guess the politics of victimology doesn't have to be logical. /sarcasm

[kaktuskid]

Plus the 50-odd businesses that use "Squaw Peak" in their name!

[herkbird]

We could change the name but everyone would still call it Squaw Peak.

As a former Phoenix, Arizona resident, the above statement is the truth. The Phoenix area has Squaw Peak to the north, Camelback Mountain in the Center, and South Mountain in the south. These three peak/mountains are well known landmarks in the Phoenix area, changing the name of Squaw Peak would be a complete waste of time and money. Phoenix area residents will forever call and know it as Squaw Peak.

Why not name the Airport after her?

[JackelopeBreeder]

I guess you have to have lived here in Arizona for quite a while to understand the rancor. Squaw Peak did not get its name because Indian women lived near it or on it. It got its name because from a distance it looks very much like a big tit -- typical 19th Century cowboy humor. Up close it's just a pile of rocks.

I am Arizonan and retired Army. I would not want to see Squaw Peak named after a fallen soldier regardless of race or gender. I can think of a lot of far more majestic mountains in this state that would be far more fitting as a memorial for PFC Piestewa.

[brickdds]

"Why not name it after one the the Arizona soldiers that either died in Viet Nam "

Why not name it for the WARRIOR who played a significant COMBAT role as a fighter pilot, AND lost his life, AND was from the area (Mesa)?
Nothing against Piestewa, but let's be fair and reward the individual MOST deserving of this.

[Don Corleone]

The "Gov" has been told NO!. It is illegal and will not be done. The man in charge cannot be fired for at least 2 more years so the politically correct crowd can't get to him. BTW the word "Squaw" originaly refered to a married Indian woman. It was not a derisive appelation. Only the PC crowd sees it that way.

[zook]

1. The word "squaw" is offensive only to total idiots.

2. That said, I have no problem at all with the renaming of the peak to "Piestewa"

[HitmanLV]

So far as we know, Army Pfc. Piestewa is the first Native American servicewoman to die in combat.

I have a hard time believing that no native american soldier had died in WW2, the Korean or Vietnam comflicts. Any military scholars have any insights into this?

[not-an-ostrich]

I think renaming the mountain is an excellent idea and kudos to whoever made the suggestion. Why in the world would anyone spend 5 seconds viewing the idea as a negative. Well, except for those folks in our society who live to say black if you say white.

[Cagey]

She is the first Native American Servicewoman to die in combat.

[Poohbah]

I forgot to ask. What do we know about this woman other than she served our country?

I forgot to ask: what else do we need to know?

[G-Bob]

I think servicewoman is the key here.

[Cagey]

I should add that if your point is that it doesn't matter if she is a woman and then she would not be the first Native American soldier and you have made a good point.

[HitmanLV]

Oops! Yep, that makes sense. My mistake! I routinely edit out references to sex in these matters since I aspire to live in a genuinely color blind and non-sexist society, and I do my part!

[ATCNavyRetiree]

Rename it!
She died for our freedom.
Enough said.

[HitmanLV]

Yes, I genuinely didn't notice the fact that it referenced her being a woman and I concentrated on the fact that she couldn't possibly be the first Native American soldier to die in combat.

[brickdds]

"Rename it!
She died for our freedom.
Enough said. "

OK, so what can we do for the other 100+ and counting lives that were lost? Or is she the lone exception?

[kcvl]

A Good Word Goes Bad

The only written account of the Pilgrims’ disastrous first two years at Massachusetts Bay, 1620-22, contains just two Indian words, sachem, chief, and squaw, woman.(1) Some twenty years later Roger Williams, the founder of the settlement of Providence and the colony of Rhode Island, compiled a word list of the local Narragansett Indians, who spoke a dialect of the Algonquian family of aboriginal languages.(2) He recorded that the word squaw meant “woman,” and functioned in compound words to denote “female,” as in squasese—“little girl,” kihtucksquaw—“a marriageable virgin,” keegsquaw—“virgin or maid,” and segousquaw—“widow.”

I could care less what this nut, that wrote this article, says, it's a damn mountain, for goodness sakes! How could it possibly "care" what anyone called it? lol!

I happen to like the word "squaw" and my family heritage is Cherokee Indian.

[usmcobra]

I can think of worse ways to honor her memory.

"Piestewa's Privey" comes to mind

(It's a reset from John Wayne's The Green Berets for those of you that don't get the joke.)

Do it now, Five years from now only her family will remember who she was, or how she died.