The federal government Friday declared the word “squaw” a derogatory term and began the process of removing and replacing it on federal lands.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who is the first Native American woman to serve as a cabinet secretary, said the term has been used as a racial slur particularly against Indigenous women.

“Racist terms have no place in our vernacular or on our federal lands. Our nation’s lands and waters should be places to celebrate the outdoors and our shared cultural heritage – not to perpetuate the legacies of oppression,” said Secretary Haaland.

A newly created task force will have to seek Tribal consultation and public feedback on proposed name changes to sites on federal lands.

The Department of Interior says several states have passed legislation prohibiting the use of the word “squaw” in place names, including Montana, Oregon, Maine, and Minnesota.

There is also legislation pending in both chambers of Congress to address derogatory names on geographic features on public land units, according to The Department of Interior.

This isn’t the first time the federal government has declared a word derogatory. The Department of Interior says racial slurs aimed at other groups were eliminated from federal lands in the 1960s and 1970s.

BOSTON (AP) — U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland joined with Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker to mark the groundbreaking of the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the United States.

Haaland said Thursday on Cape Cod that the Vineyard Wind 1 project is the first of many that will contribute to President Joe Biden’s goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030.

The farm will generate enough electricity annually to power more than 400,000 homes. It’s set to be located about 15 miles away from the coast of Martha’s Vineyard.

The project will be 25 times the size of the country's only existing offshore facility, located in Rhode Island, according to Iberdrola, a partial owner of the company operating the wind farm.

Iberdrola says the project will reduce tariffs by $1.4 million in the first 20 years of operation, while preventing the emission of more than 1.7 million tons of carbon dioxide per year, the equivalent or taking 325,000 vehicles off the roads.

The construction of wind farms like these have been met with some criticism. Fishing groups have said the federal government did not adequately account for impacts on their industry.