Vancouver school board members voted to rename two elementary schools at their Tuesday meeting, citing the violent histories of their namesakes. Starting next school year, Harney Elementary (named after Gen. William S. Harney, former commander of Vancouver Barracks) will be called Edgewood Elementary, and Peter S. Ogden Elementary (named after the Canadian fur trader) will drop the “Peter S.” “Both men have reported and documented acts of violence that they did. Each of them murdered a Native American person,” Andre Hargunani, Vancouver’s director of equity, told the board. “And so there was concern about having our names of our schools reflecting that past and that was brought to our attention.” Among other violent acts, Harney massacred a village of 250 Indigenous people after the Mexican War of 1846. Ogden slashed his rivals’ clothes, smashed their fingers and slapped them. In 1816, he murdered tribal man who insisted on trading with Ogden’s rival company, according to History Link.

For each school, the board was presented with five potential new names and reasons why students, staff and Vancouver community members wanted the names. The five names considered for Harney included Edgewood, Esperanza, Bridges, Vancouver School of Hope, and Freedom. “One thing that I think is unique to Harney, (is that) it’s the first elementary school in the state of Washington, and it therefore, just has a point of identification,” board member Kyle Sproul said before voting on a name. “I really like the idea of Edgewood Elementary because it reflects the neighboring Edgewood Park, and so it still feels very anchored in that very local neighborhood community.” The board then unanimously voted to approve Edgewood as Harney’s replacement. For Peter S. Ogden Elementary, the name suggestions were Ogden, Ogden Meadows, Rosa Parks, Sequoia and Horizon.

The school’s associate principal, Nick Davies, said every part of the 2019 building only says Ogden because leadership at the time “didn’t believe that Peter S. Ogden, the man, matched the values of Ogden.” Board member Tracie Barrows teetered between Ogden and Ogden Meadows. She said Ogden Meadows would be a noticeable difference in the name. Ultimately, she agreed with her fellow board members, and Ogden was unanimously approved. “This update honors the strong ties we have to our neighborhood and to one another,” stated a message from Davies and Ogden Principal Matt Kauffman to the school’s community. “Ogden has become more than a name — it’s a symbol of our unity, resilience and pride in our school community.” Editor’s note: This story was updated with the correct board meeting day and add historical information.