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MADISON, Wis. – Dane County leaders are looking at changing the name of Squaw Bay on Lake Monona.
The goal is to find a name that is considered less offense to members of the Ho-Chunk Nation.
The Ho-Chunk Nation is recommending renaming Squaw Bay to Muskrat Bay, renewing a request they first suggested in 2005. The word muskrat in the Ho-Chunk language is wicawak.
Ho-Chunk members were known to excel as fur trappers in the past, and the muskrat remains highly celebrated by the Ho-Chunk Nation.
There are 22 sponsors of a resolution looking to change the name. The group is requesting the Dane County Department of Planning and Development make the application to the Wisconsin Geographic Names Council by Oct. 1, 2019 to change the name from Squaw Bay to Muskrat/Wicawak Bay.
