Decolonial Atlas, Turtle Island Decolonized

For some Indigenous Peoples, Turtle Island is the name for North America. The name comes from various Indigenous oral histories that tell of a turtle that holds the world on its back. From the moment Columbus landed in the Americas and christened it “San Salvador,” place names became weapons to claim Indigenous land. The erasure of Indigenous peoples and place names from colonial maps was deliberate. Reclaiming these names has been part of a movement to "revitalize endangered languages, undo centuries of suppression and widespread misinformation, and acknowledge unextinguished Indigenous land tenure." This map is the result of a 9-year collaborative effort of hundreds of Indigenous elders and language-keepers across North America to accurately document Indigenous place names for major cities and historical sites, and serves as a reminder of the Indigenous peoples and lands that were erased with the arrival of Europeans.