SRPMIC Requests Membership Feedback on Name

By Juan Ysaguirre

3 Takeaways

Since 2023, official plans have been discussed regarding potentially renaming the SRPMIC.
Seven options are available for the Community members to vote on.
The survey is for SRPMIC members and residents living in the Community. Ultimately, SRPMIC Council will make the final decision on the name.

The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community is looking for Community-member feedback on its formal name.

“This effort came out of the SRPMIC Strategy P team, which Council put together from different strategic teams to address priorities in the Community,” said Kelly Washington, SRPMIC Cultural Resources director and team member of the Strategy P team.

Washington stated that the focus of the team is language emphasis.

He said, “Beyond what the schools and language program are doing, as a Community, [our team figures out] how we can support the revitalization of our languages on a Community scale.”

As the team continued to collaborate and brainstorm avenues on how to go about the potential name change, they had to address the aspect of status planning.

“Status planning” is a language planning term referring to how languages are used in a society.

As an example, communities and countries have different languages spoken by their people. In Canada, both English and French are the official languages. The Canadian government decided from their status planning that both languages have equal importance in government and education.

“Status planning for our languages here [involves], ‘How do we make efforts to increase the status of our language within the Community?” Washington said. “To make sure people value the language, and not just in a nostalgic way, but [finding ways such as] is there a possibility for individuals to be paid more if they speak the language, or a [greater] likelihood of getting elected, hired and more.”

Washington detailed signage located throughout the Community that showcases both the O’odham and Piipaash languages. An example are the shopping signs located inside the Helping Hands thrift store that detail men’s, women’s and children’s categories in both Community languages as well as English.

“We were envisioning visitors coming to this Community [and we asked ourselves], ‘What do they see when they get here?’ The name of our Community,” Washington said.

He added, “This is the biggest thing we could do status-wise, to say that we value our languages, by calling ourselves what we should be calling ourselves.”

Official plans began in 2023, but Washington stated that this is not the first time the SRPMIC has considered a Community-wide name change.

“The efforts usually get sidetrack by other factors. [For example] replacing ‘Pima-Maricopa’ with ‘O’odham and Piipaash.’ People would say, ‘Let’s do that,’ but then we would hear from people who would tell us, ‘Let’s get rid of the “Indian” name as well.’ In the past, that would split people, whether they wanted ‘Indian’ or not.”

Washington also noted that members suggested potentially using the term “Nation” instead of “Community.”

“Those types of things would sidetrack the [previous name-change] efforts,” he said.

This current effort is the farthest that official plans have advanced so far regarding potentially renaming the SRPMIC.

Officially there are seven options in the survey for Community members to choose from, which includes a write-in option. More information and the survey can be found on the SRPMIC website.

“We, in the Strategy P team, speculate that some of the differences might be generational. A lot of older folks grew up with the word ‘Indian’ and that’s their identity in a way. Now, to the younger folks, it seems like it’s an antiquated word. But there’s only one way to find out,” Washington said.

On Oct. 21, a Community members–only meeting was held at the Community Building to discuss the potential name change.

The next Community-member meeting will be held in Lehi at the Community Building on Nov. 10 at 5:30 p.m. and will utilize presentations previously used at district meetings. Additional outreach is planned.

Booklets detailing the name change options are available in the Community Relations Office, Two Waters Building A.

Additionally, the official SRPMIC name-change survey also features prize incentives for members, including televisions, gift cards, phones, laptops and more. The drawing for the incentives will be held in February 2026.

“Council is the one that will make the ultimate decision. This survey will make sure we are headed in the right direction,” said Washington.

The 7 SRPMIC Name-Change Options

Replace “Pima-Maricopa” with “O’odham Piipaash”
New name: Salt River O’odham Piipaash Indian Community (SROPIC)

Replace “Pima-Maricopa” with “O’odham Piipaash” and omit “Indian”
New name: Salt River O’odham Piipaash Community (SROPC)

Change “Pima” and “Maricopa” to “O’odham” and “Piipaash,” delete “Indian” and replace “Community” with “Nation”
New name: Salt River O’odham Piipaash Nation (SROPN)

Replace “Salt River Pima-Maricopa” with specific tribal names and replace “Community” with “Nation”
New name: Onk Akimel O’odham Xalychidom Piipaash Nation (OAOXPN)

Use specific tribal names with “Jeveḍ”
New name: Onk Akimel O’odham c Xalychidom Piipaash Jeveḍ (OAOCXPJ)