A federal proposal to rename Ohio’s Wayne National Park after its eponymous American Revolutionary leader participated in the massacre of Native Americans has sparked outrage from lawmakers and residents.
The US Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service announced in the summer that it was considering renaming the park at the behest of a local tribal chief who said Revolutionary War General Anthony Wayne led efforts to remove Native Americans from the area in 1794.
The Forest Service is considering renaming the vast forest the “Buckeye National Forest,” which would echo Ohio’s state nickname the “Buckeye State.”
Other options include “The Ohio National Forest” and “Koteewa National Forest,” after the Miami Tribe word for “fire” — in honor of the role burning plays in forest management and regeneration.
“Our intention is to listen to Tribal Nations and community members and take the necessary actions to better serve them,” Forest Supervisor Lee Stewart said in a statement at the time.
The agency added that the effort to change the name to “Buckeye National Forest” is “based on respect and inclusion for all Ohio communities and strives to ensure that this federal land name represents all who value the national forest.”
“It also follows multiple policy directives and is consistent with the Agency’s efforts to advance equity and inclusion.”
The Forest Service is considering renaming the vast forest the “Buckeye National Forest,” which would echo Ohio’s state nickname the “Buckeye State.” AP
The forest’s current eponym, Anthony Wayne, lived in Pennsylvania and was summoned by President George Washington to rid the confederation of Native Americans in what would later become Ohio.
He was also a “proud slave owner,” owning more than 50, according to Cleveland.com.
But Republican lawmakers who represent the state think his legacy should be preserved.
Just days after the Forest Service announced its proposal, Senator JD Vance (R-Ohio) sent a letter disapproving of the proposed name change.
“This federal effort tarnishes Ohio’s history and represents a lack of loyalty to our nation’s founding generation,” he wrote, before launching into a history of Wayne’s accomplishments.
The US Department of Agriculture Forest Service announced in the summer that it was considering renaming the park at the behest of local tribal chiefs. Corbis via Getty Images
Vance said Wayne “answered the call of his infant nation” in 1775 and “raised a militia unit to secure American independence” by going to modern-day Ohio and leading soldiers to defeat British and Native allies.
“This … ended the Northwest Indian Wars and established the official boundary between the US and the Confederacy, opened much of Ohio to American settlement and recognized Indiana as Indian territory,” he wrote.
He also called the proposal “part of a broader federal trend that replaces real people with abstract things and real history with anecdotes,” and said he was concerned by the agency’s refusal to mention the compromise Wayne made with Native American leaders to keep them out. . from newly occupied land.
“Wayne’s historical service to our country during his continued existence is not a foregone conclusion,” Vance concluded. “He fought and won peace for our kingdom, the kingdom you now serve, and cut Ohio from the rugged wilderness and occupied the enemy’s territory.
“Just as the United States would not exist without George Washington, Ohio would not exist without Anthony Wayne,” he continued.
Ohio House of Representatives Speaker Jason Stevens also denounced the name change as a problem raised by a “woke Biden administration.” AP
“Unfortunately, I am left to conclude that the USDA has such a low opinion of Ohioans that you believe we are incapable of appreciating the complexity of American history.”
Vance wrote another letter on September 7, this time in collaboration with Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio).
“There are examples in our history where great people achieved extraordinary things, and they deserve to be honored and remembered for that. General Wayne was one of those men,” they write
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“If we allow him to be erased from history, soon George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other great patriots who founded this country will also be considered too problematic to remember.”
The next day, three more Ohio Republicans, Rep. Troy Balderson, Brad Wenstrup and Bill Johnson, sent their own joint letter to the Forest Service and the Department of Agriculture asking for an extension of the 15-day public comment period and questioning whether the measure is worth the “$400,000 price tag.”
Ohio House of Representatives Speaker Jason Stevens also denounced the name change as a problem raised by a “woke Biden administration.”
“This is just another example of the federal government overreaching trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist,” he said in a statement to the Ironton Tribune.
“As Ohio’s only national forest, Wayne National Forest has been a destination for all Ohioans and visitors to enjoy nature and all that Southeast Ohio has to offer for nearly a century.”
Residents also spoke in emails to the Department of Agriculture during a brief public comment period, with some ironically suggesting that the forest be renamed the “Woke National Forest.”
“Removing Anthony Wayne from the national forest is like removing Thomas Jefferson from Mr. Rushmore,” one person wrote in an email obtained by Cleveland.com.
“Please stop trying to whitewash our history.”
Peggy Feldhaus asks, “Can we all just relax, admit that everyone’s history is complicated and stop the renaming?
“By not renaming, the door is open to discussing real people, flaws and all,” he wrote in an email obtained by the Cincinnati Enquirer. “Eliminating their success and quality diminishes us.”
And Jesse Laughlin argued that the renaming campaign “is just a show to do for ‘the woke’ to get votes.
“Stop trying to rename the forest and actually help,” he pleaded. “I know I would appreciate better schools or better roads or better infrastructure in my community.”
But more than half of the responses the Department of Agriculture received expressed support for renaming the forest.
“Ohio shouldn’t have a park with a name that brings violence to mind,” wrote one.
“We will not name the park after Hitler or Pol Pot. Crazy Anthony Wayne doesn’t fit into that villain category, but you see what I mean.”
Another wrote that they supported the name change, saying “the buckeye tree actually represents our state, not the people of Pennsylvania who killed slaves. Wayne must go!”
Even a woman who identified herself as a descendant of Wayne said she supported the idea, writing: “It is shameful and horrible to honor someone who so violently removed Native Ohioans.”
John Washco, of the American Indian Movement of Ohio, also argued that removing Wayne’s name from the forest is “not erasing history at all” and actually keeping his name in the forest “would show either a lack of compassion or ignorance … not knowing the real history.” “
“Whenever you talk about the untold history of this country, it’s like, ‘Oh wake up this, wake up that,'” he told the Daily Beast.
“Well, it’s going to happen whether they like it or not,” he warned.
The Department of Agriculture has not yet announced when the final decision will be made, but it will be at the discretion of US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
In a statement to the Post, a Forest Service spokesperson said: “No name can capture every aspect of this forest, with its deep history and living, breathing connections to communities in Ohio.
“The Forest Service is committed to listening to the voices of our communities including tribal nations, whose ancestors were the first inhabitants of our land. When visitors go to the forest and see the name on the welcome sign, we believe it should be a welcoming experience.”
The Post has reached out to the Department of Agriculture for comment.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
