Fresno County sues over Yokuts Valley name-change. Critics slam ‘anti-woke’ politics

As promised, the Fresno County Board of Supervisors has filed a lawsuit against California as part of their latest effort to preserve the name of a foothill community now called Yokuts Valley.

In the lawsuit, Fresno County alleges that a new state law violates the community’s right to free speech. Some Fresno County and Yokuts Valley residents criticized as “frivolous.”

At the heart of the conflict is a new state law that removes the term “squaw” from over 100 geographic features and place names in the state because it’s widely considered a racist and sexist slur. The community, which had been called Squaw Valley for over 150 years, had its name formally changed to Yokuts Valley by the federal government in January. In 2021, the U.S. Department of the Interior declared the term as derogatory.

The lawsuit, filed earlier this month in Fresno County Superior Court, also alleges the state has no authority to order the name change.

It’s unclear whether the lawsuit could potentially change the Yokuts Valley name. Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig on Wednesday said he believed it was a possibility, but the ACLU disagreed.

In an interview with The Bee/Fresnoland, Magsig said he thinks it’s a free speech issue. “Does the state have the right to ...rename an unincorporated community?”

In an interview with The Bee/Fresnoland last month, Supervisor Nathan Magsig, who represents the foothill community, said the board decided to sue the state, rather than the federal government, due to the specific requirements the state law places on counties. The law requires local agencies and governing bodies to ensure that map updates and sign replacements use the new name.

The Board of Supervisors has criticized how the federal government handled the process, arguing that local voices and decision-making were largely left out of the process. The lawsuit references an informal survey of community members that Magsig conducted last year, which found that most residents were opposed to a name change.

Some advocates and Yokuts Valley residents are criticizing the decision as “racist” and question whether it will hold up in court.

Bayard Taylor, a Yokuts Valley resident who was part of the name change coalition, called the lawsuit “a colossal waste of time and money in service of a racist agenda” in a text message to The Bee/Fresnoland.

4-11-23 Fresno County lawsuit against state of California - 23CECG01368 by Melissa Montalvo on Scribd

The Board of Supervisors wants to add to their “anti-woke credentials” by “pandering to the most ignorant and poorly informed elements of our community,” Linda Tubach said in an interview with The Bee/Fresnoland on Tuesday. “I hope the state fights this vigorously.”

Tubach also wondered how much the county is spending on the litigation.

In a text message to The Bee/Fresnoland, Fresno County spokesperson Sonja Dosti confirmed that the county is paying outside counsel, Brian Leighton, an hourly rate of $275 per hour to work on the case.

William Freeman, senior counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, called the lawsuit “frivolous” and “political theater.”

“Any dollar in the county of Fresno spent on this lawsuit is one dollar too much,” he said Wednesday in an interview with The Bee/Fresnoland.

The county is seeking declaratory and injunctive relief and wants the court to weigh in on their rights and obligations under the state law, as well as its legality. A case management conference is scheduled for Aug. 10.

Could the lawsuit impact town name?

It’s unlikely that the lawsuit will change the name of Yokuts Valley, according to Freeman of the ACLU.

But beyond that, Freeman doesn’t think the county has legal grounds to sue.

“Counties,” he said, “don’t have first amendment rights against state because they’re subdivisions of the state ... and answerable to the state.”

Magsig, however, is more optimistic. He said the new law is “new territory” for both the state and the county. If successful, the lawsuit “could” lead to a new name selected by local residents, such as Bear Mountain.

Fresno County also alleges that the state doesn’t have the authority to rename a community that is not on public or state land and alleges the state law has “no limits” on what the California Advisory Committee on Geographic Names — a state committee that makes recommendations on California names to the federal naming board — alleging that the law “placed no limits” on the committee and what it considers offensive.

“It’s up to the courts,” Magsig said Wednesday.

ACLU considers legal action against Fresno County

So far, Fresno County officials appear to be defying the name change, raising concerns and threats of litigation by community advocates.

In a Feb. 27 official Fresno County news release about a temporary shelter during the winter storms, the county used the old name “Squaw Valley.”

Separately, Magsig, is pushing to preserve to former town name.

In a Feb. 7 Facebook video, Magsig acknowledged concerns about how the “Welcome to Squaw Valley” sign in front of the Fresno County Bear Mountain Branch Library was taken down. He said county trucks came out and removed the sign under direction of the county librarian who wanted to preserve the sign.

Magsig said he had asked for that sign to be placed back.

“The Community is not associated with, nor has ever been associated with the name ‘Yokuts Valley’,” according to the county’s lawsuit.

According to the state law, which goes into full effect in 2025, no geographic feature or place should have a name that includes the slur. Public agencies like the county, under the state law, are to replace any sign or marker or printed material with the old term.

But some say reinstating the library’s sign was unlawful and are calling for legal action against the county.

“What I would actually like to see is a counter suit (against the) county for (restoring) the old ‘Welcome to Squaw Valley’ sign in front of the library,” Tubach said.

At least one group has indicated they might sue Fresno County.

“We are definitely considering legal action,” Freeman said, “and we’re in the process of determining what would be the best form of action that we can take.”

In an April 4 letter to the Board of Supervisors, the ACLU of Northern California said replacing the sign was an “unlawful” violation of the new state law, urged the board to “remove the illegal sign immediately,” in addition to urging the county to drop its lawsuit.