California state park’s Indigenous name restored

A California state park has been renamed to reflect the name used by the Indigenous Yurok people.

The California State Park and Recreation Commission voted unanimously Thursday to change Patrick’s Point State Park to Sue-meg State Park.

“California State Parks applauds the California State Park and Recreation Commission’s approval to rename Patrick’s Point State Park to Sue-meg (“Sue-meh”) State Park,” California State Parks Director Armando Quintero said in a statement.

“This is the first park name change as part of the state’s Reexamining Our Past Initiative and is a momentous step to heal relationships with Native Americans and working together in recognition and honor of indigenous cultural and linguistic relationships,” he added.

Quintero said the name change is part of a larger project to rectify “discriminatory names” used for transportation systems and parks in the state.

The 625-acre park was named in 1963 after Patrick Beegan, an Irish settler from the 19th century who established a ranch in the area and was later accused of killing a Native American boy. The request to change the park’s name was brought earlier this year by the Yurok tribe, The Los Angeles Times reported.

“Our journey toward a California for All continues with this historic action today by the State Park and Recreation Commission,” California Secretary for Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot said. “We are thankful to the Yurok community for its leadership and to Governor Gavin Newsom and California State Parks for their vision.”

A Zoom meeting for the public was held Monday to talk about the cultural significance of the new name and the Yurok community with representatives from the tribe and other state agencies.