HR 2843119th CongressIn Committee

Reconciliation in Place Names Act

Introduced: Apr 10, 2025

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

The Reconciliation in Place Names Act would create a structured, public process to review and rename offensive place names in the United States. It establishes a new Advisory Committee on Reconciliation in Place Names to develop proposals for renaming geographic features and federal land units with offensive names, and it requires the Board on Geographic Names (BGN) to consider and, if appropriate, approve those proposals. The bill emphasizes public involvement, tribal consultation, and transparency, with the aim of addressing names that rely on racial slurs or honor individuals who perpetrated racial injustices or atrocities. The process is time-bound: the advisory committee would complete its work within about five years, and the Board would decide on proposals within three years of receipt. The act also explicitly allows renaming to proceed even if related legislation is pending, and it envisions federal land units being renamed as part of this initiative.

Key Points

1Establishment of an Advisory Committee on Reconciliation in Place Names (within 180 days) to advise the Board, the Secretary of the Interior, and Congress on renaming offensive place names; the committee would have 17 members, including tribal representatives, civil rights/race-relations experts, scholars in anthropology/history/geography, and members of the public.
2Definition of “offensive place name” to include names that (a) honor individuals with racist or violent histories or actions, (b) contain racial or sexual slurs, (c) perpetuate stereotypes, or (d) are otherwise derogatory or offensive.
3Comprehensive process for renaming: the Committee would solicit and review proposals from Indian Tribes, state/local governments, land management agencies, and the public; require public comment; and make naming proposals to the Board and to Congress for federal land units.
4Timeline and decision framework: the Committee must complete its duties and proposals within up to five years; the Board must accept or reject each proposal within three years of receiving it, and must rename the feature if it accepts the proposal, unless there is a compelling public interest to reject or a legal prohibition.
5Overrides and scope: an accepted Committee proposal to rename a geographic feature would move forward unless blocked by law; and a policy preventing consideration of a name change due to pending legislation would not apply to Committee proposals.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected: Native American Tribes and tribal organizations, Native Hawaiian organizations, civil rights/race relations communities, scholars of anthropology/history/geography, geographic feature managers, and the general public engaged in place-naming decisions.Secondary group/area affected: Federal land units (including National Forests, National Parks, National Wilderness Preservation System, National Landscape Conservation System, and National Wildlife Refuges) that currently have offensive names and could be renamed under the act.Additional impacts: Increased transparency and public participation in renaming decisions, potential cost and logistical considerations for changing official names and signage, and a defined, time-bound pathway for reconciliation through official renaming processes. The act also clarifies that the Board’s renaming authority can proceed notwithstanding other pending legislation.

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