The California State Parks Commission heard statements from Yurok Tribal members and advocates before deciding on the name change Wednesday. The park was named after Patrick Beegan in the mid-1800s, a homesteader who was accused of violence against Native Americans.
Rosie Clayburn, a Yurok tribal member, says the name change is important because for many years the Yurok language was suppressed by the US government. She says that even though the word Sue-Meg is small, the change has deep historical meaning.
鈥淭his decision, it spans history, it spans generations,鈥� says Clayburn. 鈥淚t reaches back and honors our ancestors and it honors the people who fought with their lives. But it also spans into the future.鈥�
Another reason that this change is so meaningful is that many tribal members went to the park to visit the Sue-Meg village. The Sue Meg village is where healing ceremonies and brush dances were held. Many tribal members at the meeting said that visiting a park named after a man who murdered members of their family was disturbing.
Sue-Meg was the name that the Yurok tribe had for the area for thousands of years. In a press release, the tribe says they鈥檙e happy the park has been returned to its original name.
