Officials at Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington state announced they are renaming an on-base housing neighborhood previously named for a 19th century Army officer who fought against Native Americans.
The 92nd Air Refueling Wing's residential neighborhood, Fort Wright Village, and a street, Fort Wright Oval, were both named for Col. George Wright, an Army officer who fought against Native Americans and then later fought for the Union during the Civil War. Officials pointed to the officer's actions during the American Frontier Wars as the reason for the change.
“We considered the significant historical impact Col. George Wright, a 19th century Army officer, had within our local community,” Fairchild Air Force Base posted Monday on its official Facebook page. “His brutal acts have a lasting effect that are still felt today by our friends and neighbors, the tribes of Spokane and Eastern Washington.”
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Early in his military career, Wright fought against the Seminole Native American Tribe in Florida and later led men in the Yakama War against native people in Washington.
Wright's tactics included ordering his men to seize an estimated 700 horses from local tribes and slaughter them, as well as ordering Native Americans to be hanged — some of them in front of their families, according to Washington State University magazine.
The neighborhood and street will be…
