SAN JUAN COUNTY, Wash. - A proposal to rename a channel in San Juan Islands after one of the first Indigenous elected officials in Washington state was approved by a state board.
The Washington State Board of Natural Resources approved four naming proposals Tuesday, including renaming Harney Channel between Shaw and Orcas islands after Henry Cayou.
The proposed name, Cayou Channel, would honor Indigenous longtime businessman and local politician, Henry Cayou.
Cayou lived his whole life in the San Juan Islands until his death in 1959. He was a successful commercial fisherman and was one of the first Indigenous elected officials in Washington state, according to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. Cayou served for 29 years as the San Juan Island County commissioner.
Harney Channel was named after notorious American General William Selby Harney in the 1800s. Harney led the U.S. Army’s Department of Oregon from 1858 to 1860 and has a storied history of killing indigenous people throughout the midwest and western territories, and narrowly avoided war with Great Britain, which led to the occupation of the San Juan Islands, according to the Oregon Historical Society.
The Washington State Board of Natural Resources said the naming of Cayou Channel is the result of a "substantial community organizing effort" from San Juan County residents.
The proposal was first submitted in early 2021 and has cleared all state hurdles.
The approved name proposal will be added to the Washington Administrative Code, and the Washington State Board of Natural Resources will pass the proposal along to the United States Board on Geographic Names for federal review.