by Steve Weston
The Minnesota River Valley Audubon Chapter is exploring dropping the name “Audubon.” Across the country Audubon chapters have been changing their names. The Audubon Chapter of Minneapolis is now the Land of Lakes Bird Alliance, and the St. Paul Audubon Chapter is now the St. Paul Bird Alliance.
While John James Audubon was a naturalist and a revolutionary artist of nature and the founders of the National Audubon Society idolized him as they launched the bird conservation movement, it has come to light that he was a strong supporter of slavery, an enslaver himself, and had other issues abhorrent to society now. His desecration of indigenous graves as pseudo-science is deeply troubling and many of his contributions to science have come into question. Many chapters have found that the association with the Audubon name has been a barrier to younger people joining. We no longer think the Audubon name aligns with our chapter’s incredible work or its values of welcoming everyone who shares our mission.
The board will be studying the issue and seeking members comments over the next few weeks before it makes a decision to ensure that all of our stakeholders have an opportunity to be heard. You can use the green “contact us” button at the bottom of the home page at MRVAC.org to share your thoughts.