San Juan County waterway renamed for indigenous leader Henry Cayou

https://www.goskagit.com/news/local_news/san-juan-county-waterway-renamed-for-henry-cayou/article_68d091c2-7ce2-5164-813c-e7b03d85627e.html

San Juan County waterway renamed for Henry Cayou

The waterway between Shaw and Orcas islands has a new name.

The state Board of Natural Resources approved Tuesday changing the name of Harney Channel to Cayou Channel, according to a news release from the state Department of Natural Resources.

The new name is in honor of Henry Cayou, an Indigenous businessman and San Juan County politician.

Cayou served as a San Juan Island County commissioner for 29 years at the turn of the 20th century and was a successful commercial fisher who lived and worked in the San Juan Islands until his death in 1959. He was one of the first Indigenous elected officials in the state.

According to the release, the naming of Cayou Channel is the result of a substantial community organizing effort from San Juan County residents.

Gen. William Harney, for whom the channel was previously named, is best known for nearly starting the San Juan Islands “Pig War” between the United States and England in 1859.

Harney killed an enslaved Black woman in 1834 and commanded the killing of Indigenous women and children during the 1855 Battle of Ash Hollow in present-day Nebraska, among other ignominious acts, according to the release.

In all, the state board approved four name proposals throughout the state.

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