Frequently Asked Questions

Please find answers to Frequently Asked Questions regarding the name change, by clicking on the + signs below.

• Why did the name change?

  In recognition and respect to elder peoples of this place, the Nature Center’s name is now “The Nature Center at Pia Okwai”. This name acknowledges the name this river has always been called by the Indigenous peoples of this place.

  This name change is part of larger efforts to create a community-based nature center where diverse perspectives on our environments, conservation, and nature are welcomed, centered, and amplified.

  Place names are one indicator of how we relate to our environments. By renaming our campus to acknowledge the Indigenous name, we seek to recenter the knowledge, memories, and stories that are attached to the Pia Okwai name. The use of this name asks us to reconsider our connections to this place, center elder knowledges, and, for those of us who are not native to this place, learn to live in better relations as visitors and guests.

  Renaming ourselves as “The Nature Center at Pia Okwai”, is one step in the processes of:

  • • • Cultivating good relations with and learning from our Indigenous relatives who have been here for a long time.
      • Upholding Indigenous Ecological Knowledge collective memories of and relations to this place.
      • Resisting colonial narratives that have harmed and sought to erase people and their relations to this land, and reconfigure landscapes.

  We don’t own the name “Pia Okwai”; we use it in our name to indicate that we are located along the shores of this waterway.

  Learn more about the Story Behind the Name. 

• What does this name mean?

  Pia Okwai means “big flow” or “big river” in the Newe Taikwa language.

  • Pia: “big” or “large”
  • Okwai: “flow” 

  Newe Taikwa, which means, “the people’s language”, is the Shoshoni language. This language has varying dialects and is spoken by local bands of Sosogoi/Shoshoni and Kutsipiuti/Goshute peoples.

• How do you pronounce “Pia Okwai”?

  There is no one “correct” way to pronounce Pia Okwai.

  Different dialects within the Newe Taikwa language has led to variations of orthographies and pronunciations of names and words.

  We use Miller-Crum orthography, which is used for Kutsipiuti/Goshute and Western Shoshoni dialects.

  • Refering to this one orthography allows us to stay consistent in our spellings and pronounciations of names like Pia Okwai and other words.
  • This orthography is phonetic, meaning it is spelled how it sounds.

  We refer to the University of Utah’s Shoshoni Talking Dictionary, which uses the Miller-Curm orthography, to learn words and their pronounciations.

  • To use the dictionary, follow this link
    • Type in “Pia” to hear pronounciations of this word by native speakers.
    • Type in “Okwai” to hear different prounounciations of this word by native speakers.
• Why are you using this name instead of another one?

  Name is Newe Taikwa language for the river running by Nature Center, used by Sosogoi/Shoshoni and Kutsipiuti/Goshute peoples.

  • Newe Taikwa is closely related to Núuchiu (Ute) and Nuwuvi (Pauite) languages spoken by Indigenous groups in the region.
  • “Pia Okwai” has roots and meanings that many of the local Indigenous groups of the area can recognize in their languages and dialects.

  The Pia Okwai name itself , which means “big flow”, recalls what the land and water of this place looked like pre-settler colonization.

  • Pia Okwai was once 5 times larger than it is today and supported robust aquatic and riparian habitats.
  • Folks native to this area, such as the Timpanogos peoples, were sustained by a fish diet from the river.
  •  This name and the collective memories and relations attached to it makes visible the harm that colonization has done to the Pia Okwai waterway and surrounding ecosystems through processes like damming and diversion. It calls for a re-centering of this name as we learn from first peoples of this place about how to live in good relation to our local environments.

   

   

   

• What has the process been like to change the Nature Center’s name?

  It is important to us that this change is not in name only and  that the self-determination of Indigenous peoples is centered in our decisions around using the Pia Okwai name.

  There have been many steps in the process of the renaming our campus. These include things like: 

  • • Using existing resources to learn more about local Indigenous histories, contexts, and place names.
    • Presenting a proposal for our renaming in front of the Utah Tribal Leaders, asking their permission to use the name, and hosting them for site visits. While our current colonial context does not require approval from Indigenous tribes and nations for renaming processes like this one, Utah’s SB10 does encourage involvement from local tribal governments for changing location names to that which refer to Indigenous/ Indigenous related words.
    • Seeking approval from our Board of Directors.

  Check our our other resources for more information about how you can implement similar changes at your organization.

  Learn more about the Story Behind the Name

• What are some of the other efforts going on related to the name change?

  Outside of renaming our campus, we’ve sought to center Indigenous Ecological Knowledge in our work at the Nature Center at Pia Okwai.

  Here are some of the ways we seek to center Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK) and center the self-determination of native peoples:

  • Inviting Indigenous speakers to hold events and share knowledge at Nature Center.
  • Opening up space at Nature Center for urban Indigenous groups to use.
  • Offering native language classes (Diné Bizaad) taught by native speakers.
  • Engaging in dialogue with Indigenous groups as we envision what the development of the Nature Center will look like and how folks might use this space.
  • Supporting and uplifting the efforts of local Indigenous groups and peoples.
  • Communicating about this work and showing a variety of narratives and perspectives.
  • Offering free admission to members of the Indigenous tribal nations that the Utah territory occupies
  • Engaging in programming, producing educational materials, and hosting events that offer various local and global Indigenous perspectives. Find a more extensive list of these efforts our Indigenous Ecological Knowledges page
• How does this name change relate to the Nature Center/Aviary’s mission?

  Tracy Aviary seeks to build a community-based nature center.

  • For folks who are not Indigenous to this area, a big part of being good environmental stewards and being in good relation to this place is learning from our local Indigenous relatives.
  • The first peoples of this place hold deep knowledge about it. Centering those communities and the perspectives they bring is a way of respecting this elder knowledge and deepening our understandings of and connections to the places we live.
  • The meaning behind “Pia Okwai” (big flow) evokes memories of when the river was five times its current size in our organization’s conservation efforts we aim to center this ecological knowledge in efforts to work against legacies of channelization and pollution that have led to negative symbolism associated with the river’s colonial name.