NELSONVILLE, Ohio — The U.S. Forest Service is evaluating more than 1,000 comments that it received during a 15-day public engagement period on the proposed renaming of Wayne National Forest. The comment period ended Sept. 4.
In August, the forest service announced a proposal to change the name of the Wayne National Forest to Buckeye National Forest. It is not known why Ohio’s only national forest was named after Gen. “Mad Anthony” Wayne — who, the service said, led “a violent campaign against the Indigenous peoples of Ohio that resulted in their removal from their homelands” in the 18th century.
“All input received will be included in a package provided to the Secretary of Agriculture for a decision,” said Wayne National Forest Operations Staff Officer Dawn R. McCarthy in an email. “No additional information will be available until the Secretary announces his decision.”
U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) has voiced his opposition to the name change. For State District 94 Rep. Jay Edwards, the name change is insignificant, if not enraging.
“[The name change] will impact zero people here in the Appalachian region, and it’s kind of sickening,” Edwards said.
“There’s a lot of people that want to erase history,” he continued.
A spokesperson for the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma — one of the 10 tribes who requested the name change — said that changing the name of the forest would expand people’s understanding of history.
“As we look back on history, today we all have increased knowledge that leads to greater understanding, and an excellent way to reflect that is not to forget the past but to change as we change as a people,” Logan York, Miami Tribe of Oklahoma Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, said in a statement. “Wayne might have been a hero to some but not to all, and national forests are for everyone to enjoy equally, and the name should reflect that.”
Edwards also objected to the cost involved in the change.
“What bothers me about this, is this is going to cost the federal government millions of dollars in name change, signage, brochures, advertising, literature, website, marketing — hundreds of millions of dollars is going to be invested into this name change, and it’s going to have virtually no impact on the citizens.”
McCarthy said in an email that the forest service has estimated a maximum cost of $400,000 to change the name of the forest.
“We will make every attempt to minimize cost should the Secretary of Agriculture decide to change the name,” McCarthy stated, adding that the primary cost will be signage, including signs that are already scheduled to be replaced. Updating websites will come at no cost and other expenditures, such as business cards, would be minimal.
“Brochures and maps would be replaced on their regular schedule, not with a forest name change,” McCarthy added.
In the Miami Tribe’s statement, York acknowledged that changing the forest’s name is “no minor task, but this effort supports the continuation of the rightful history of this forest as a part of the landscape we know as Ohio. The name Buckeye National Forest shows respect to those who first called it home, not to one whose heroism was born of destroying them.”
The Independent previously reported that, according to Wayne Forest Supervisor Lee Stewart, tribes have been urging a name change for the national forest for over a decade. The Miami Tribe spokesperson said the tribe and 10 other sovereign tribal nations whose homelands include Ohio submitted a request for the name change on Oct. 31, 2022.
The Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, along with other tribes, “seek a new name for the Forest that will connect all Ohioans, including the Native peoples of this region,” York said in a statement.
The tribes began meeting last year “to offer more suitable names for this unique place,” York stated. Through its consultation, the Miami Tribe suggested “Buckeye National Forest because it is so iconic of Ohio; and it is something that can bring all the peoples of Ohio together. Buckeye is also easily translated into our and other languages.”
The Miami Tribe also offered koteewa, pronounced koh-tae-wah, which translates to “fires.” Koteewa was suggested to “highlight fire’s life-giving properties and uses for forest stewardship.”
Edwards drew a connection from Wayne to Ohio University, the first land grant institution in what was called the Northwest Territory.
“Historically, if Anthony Wayne (hadn’t) came through here and claimed this ground, Ohio University likely wouldn’t be there, and wouldn’t have been the first land grant institution of the Northwest Territory,” Edwards said. “I think it’s a waste of time and it really is frustrating to see government’s so far disassociated with the desires and needs of the people.”
In the Miami Tribe’s statement, York said, “Though Wayne’s goal was to conquer enemy territory and carve out Ohio from a ‘rugged wilderness,’ the forests of Ohio had been carefully stewarded for their entire history by the Indigenous peoples who have lived in Ohio and beyond since time immemorial. … Wayne’s actions ultimately led to the forced removal at gunpoint of our Miami ancestors from our homelands in 1846.”
York acknowledged that some may consider Wayne a Revolutionary War hero. But, York wrote, “He is also the main villain in our story of resistance, trying to keep our homes and maintain our lives. For a national forest to bear the name of Anthony Wayne is a harmful, and painful reminder and devalues us as Native peoples of Ohio. This national forest is ours as much as those who consider Wayne a hero.”
