Choose a new name for Agassiz Street

New Street Name Suggestions for Agassiz Street

Below is a list of the street name suggestions made by the community. The rationales for each name suggestion were written by the community member who suggested the name and the order in which the suggestions appear is random. 

• Corn Pollen Way: The name honors the diverse Indigenous peoples and nations who have lived here on this land since time immemorial. Corn Pollen is a sacred element used in many Indigenous healing ceremonies in this region to restore harmony among people and other-than-people beings who co-exist on this earth. Corn Pollen is also used as an offering to other-than-people beings to acknowledge appreciation of their spirit and physical natures (such as for their gifts as food and/or medicine) or when human-derived and natural disturbances occur to their existence. For Navajo people, our elders often impart stories with the reminder to stay on the "corn pollen road" by exercising behaviors and thinking which reflect our relational responsibility to respect and care for each other. In this time of 2020, we need this reminder here in our community. We need to continue working toward healing and creating a healthier community where all people, especially our communities of color, are respected and feel like they belong. This is why I'd like the Council to consider the name Corn Pollen Street or Corn Pollen Way.
• R Blackgoat Way: Mrs. Blackgoat was a well-known, widely travelled, and strong spoken iconic Diné matriarch, environmentalist and activist. She was deeply committed to living by traditional teachings and values, and assisted her medicine man husband with gathering herbal medicines, learning and holding ceremonial songs and prayers, and tracking stars and astronomical bodies as they pertained to seasons, ceremonies, balance and healing. In 1965, when her husband was killed in a car accident, Roberta became a single mother to six children.
• Phipps Way: Phipps Way would be named after Dr. Mamie Phipps Clark. Dr. Phipps Clark was a pioneer in psychology. Her career focus was on identity development; racial self-consciousness; racism and segregation; psychological and educational testing; counseling psychology.
• Code Talker Way: In honor of the Navajo Code Talkers in WWII.
• Soto Dr: The street would be named in honor of Marcelino Soto and his contributions to countless community members that called Flagstaff home. As an immigrant, Marcelino sought to create wealth from his hard work starting as a shepherd and working to become a ranch owner and land developer. He worked tirelessly to help women and minorities living in and around the Southside neighborhood keep their homes (with financial assistance), and new residents to the Southside community find homes so that they could live in his beloved community.
• Flagstaff Pl: No rationale given.
• Pluto Pl: Pluto is a well-known name that has an established connection with Flagstaff. It Is easy to spell and say and brings up positive feelings and pride!  
• Charles Drew Way: Charles Richard Drew was an African American physician who developed ways to process and store blood plasma in "blood banks." He directed the blood plasma programs of the United States and Great Britain in World War II, but resigned after a ruling that the blood of African Americans would be segregated. He died on April 1, 1950.
• Annie Wauneka Way: Annie Wauneka (1910-1997) pioneered healthcare and education initiatives on the Navajo Nation. She was greatly affected by the 1918 influenza outbreak and at the age of 8 she survived and helped to care for those who were ill. She dedicated her life to improving healthcare for the Navajo Nation. She was the first Native American to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963 and was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2000. Flagstaff's culture and history is intrinsically intertwined with the Navajo Nation. This year especially during a global pandemic that has heavily affected our town and the Navajo Nation, I would like to see Flagstaff honor her legacy to improve healthcare on the Navajo Nation and the greater Northern Arizona community. 
• Southside Way: When I heard that Agassiz street would finally be renamed, I immediately thought this would be a great opportunity to rename the street in honor of someone that Agassiz considered inferior.  
• Unify Pl: Time for unity and no racism.
• Sheepherder Way: The name change should reflect an awareness and appreciation of the people who were here throughout history and stand in direct contradiction to Agassiz’ beliefs. In an effort to recognize the indigenous peoples of the area (Navajo, Hopi), while keeping the street name easy to remember, Sheepherder reflects the traditional and current practices of many Navajo and Hopi. It also is a representation of Flagstaff’s history, which outside of the lumber industry, thrived with a rich sheepherding culture.
• Avery Way: Nathan Avery was a physician in Flagstaff that passed away several years ago from an accident at Lake Powell. He grew up in Flagstaff, and was a neurosurgeon here. He was highly respected. His office was on Verde Street, a block away from Agassiz.  
• Annie Watkins Ln: Annie Watkins was the first African American teacher hired by Flagstaff Unified School District after desegregation in 1956. She had a more than 30 year teaching career in Flagstaff. Annie was the granddaughter of freed slaves and was an active member of the Flagstaff Southside Community. During the Jim Crow era of of suppressing black voters, Annie was a crusader to register voters and make sure black residents were registered and able to vote here in Flagstaff. Annie has deeply touched so many of us in this community and has created a legacy worthy of having a street named in her honor.
• Colonel Arman Ln: Arman Peterson, son of A.C. Peterson (professor of political science and sociology for whom NAU’s Peterson Hall is named), grew up in Flagstaff. He was on Flagstaff High School’s varsity basketball and track teams and was also class valedictorian and student body president. At Arizona State Teachers College (today NAU) he was elected student body president --- twice --- and received the coveted Lowell Award for outstanding scholarship. Following graduation from ASTC in 1936 he joined the Army Air Corps where he passed the difficult hurdles to become a fighter pilot and then a test pilot. He rose through the ranks quickly after Pearl Harbor and in May 1942, following his promotion to major, was given command of the new 78th Fighter Group. In December 1942 the Group went to England and in June 1943 Peterson was promoted to colonel at the age of twenty-eight. His fighter group included 1,700 personnel and seventy-five P-47 Thunderbolts, all based at Duxford, England. Word quickly spread that the “Fighting Arizona Colonel” led every combat mission from 78th Fighter Group in his P-47 named “Flagari” (for “Flag” staff “ari” zona, his beloved “old home town”). Every time his pilots fought in the air, Colonel “Pete” led the way. Soon he had over twenty-five combat missions and could have rotated back to the U. S. However, he was shot down over the Netherlands and killed on his forty-third mission on July 1, 1943. The loss of such a popular, promising, and valiant young man stunned the Flagstaff community where he was known and admired by everyone. Colonel Peterson was awarded several medals posthumously: The Silver Star for gallantry in the air; The Distinguished Flying Cross for extraordinary achievement in aerial flight; The Air Medal with Three Oak Leaf Clusters for meritorious achievement in aerial flight against the enemy; and The Purple Heart.   The importance of Arman Peterson to the Flagstaff community was perhaps best illustrated by the late Arizona Daily Sun editor Randy Wilson. Wilson’s article about Arman Peterson, “A favorite son lost …”, appeared on July 1, 2018, the 75th anniversary of Peterson’s death --- just six days before Wilson passed away unexpectedly. This was the last major article Wilson wrote for the Arizona Daily Sun.
• Ice Age Way: No rationale given.
• W C Riles Dr: Wilson C. Riles was principal of the Paul Laurence Dunbar School during the 1940s and early 1950s. A graduate of Arizona State Teachers College (Northern Arizona University), he was also the president of the NAACP and a radio talk show host during his years in Flagstaff. Riles was originally from Louisiana, and was recruited by Mrs. Cleo Murdoch to work for the Dunbar school. In 1952-53, Riles and Superintendent Sturgeon Cromer worked to desegregate Flagstaff city schools. It was agreed that the segregated Dunbar school would close at the end of the 1954 spring semester, and that Dunbar students would join other neighborhood students at the South Beaver School, which had been segregated for Mexican/LatinX students since the 1920s. Riles moved to Northern California in the 1950s and was elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction for the state of California in 197 - the first Black person elected to a major office in California since the 1800s.
• Goldencrest Way: Based on what I can see from Google Street View, there is a stand of oak trees at the crest, where the street meets Elm Street. During Fall, I suspect these oaks provide a golden crest to the street, (soon to be) formerly known as Agassiz.

Thank you for your time. After this survey has concluded, the points assigned to all of the different name suggestions will be analyzed and the highest-scoring name suggestions will be presented to Council for further discussion and direction on November 17.