Buffalo Soldier Draw Explained

Buffalo Soldier Draw (formerly Dead Nigger Draw and Dead Negro Draw) is a valley in Garza and Lynn counties, Texas, in the United States. When wet, the valley contains a stream which runs until it reaches the Double Mountain Fork Brazos River.^[1]

It was called "Dead Nigger Draw" until 1963, when the then United States Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall mandated that the word "Nigger" in geographic names on federal maps and other products be changed to "Negro".^{[2] [3]} Both names probably commemorate the Buffalo Soldier tragedy of 1877.^[4] On April 9, 2020, the United States Board on Geographic Names approved Garza County Judge Lee Norman's request to rename Dead Negro Draw to Buffalo Soldier Draw.^[5]

See also

• List of rivers of Texas
• Place names considered unusual

Notes and References

1. Book: Water-supply Paper. 1920. U.S. Government Printing Office. 75.
2. Web site: Dead Negro Draw . Texas State Historical Association . The Handbook of Texas . 5 October 2014.
3. Principles, Policies, and Procedures: Domestic Geographic Names, Version 1.0 . United States Board on Geographic Names. 2016. 15. dead. 2017-07-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170712090946/https://geonames.usgs.gov/docs/DNC_PPP_DEC_2016_V.1.0.pdf.
4. Web site: From Negro Creek to Wop Draw, place names offend . NBC News . 26 February 2012 . 6 February 2015.
5. News: Why Do So Many Places In Texas Have 'Negro' In Their Name, Despite A Law Against It?. Reese. Oxner. NPR. December 11, 2020. June 14, 2021.