Indigenous tech group REDsetsukw, a group of Indigenous tech experts, recently sent a letter to the Apache Software Foundation to ask that the organization change its name. The letter presented a request to consider renaming the Apache Software Foundation to better represent and recognize Indigenous people, who have been treated unjustly throughout history in the United States.
The Apache Foundation, which is a volunteer group dedicated to modernizing and maintaining open-source software, was founded in 1999 and named after the Apache Native American tribe. While the organization has created an open-source platform to promote digital standardization and collaboration, REDsetsukw believes that the name of the organization is no longer appropriate in light of the historic injustices experienced by Indigenous peoples.
In their letter, REDsetsukw acknowledges that the Apache Software Foundation has provided many valuable contributions to the tech industry, however, they also strongly feel that the name does not honor Native American tribes and fails to adequately represent their cultural significance. The letter presented two alternatives for the Apache Software Foundation to consider when deciding upon a new name, suggestions being ‘Omaha Software Foundation’, or ‘Open Source Software Foundation.’
Importantly, REDsetsukw also noted in their letter the problems associated with leaving the Apache name unchanged, such as, “A sense that all Natives have been forgotten, unable to have their story acknowledged” and “Unrecognized painful histories survivors, who feel silenced by their experiences and can’t be honored by the group’s purposeful choice.”
The Apache Software Foundation is yet to respond to REDsetsukw’s request, however, the tech group hopes that the Apache Software Foundation will choose to listen to the call to change their name in order to better represent and honor Indigenous peoples. In choosing to rename the organization, REDsetsukw believes that it would make a powerful statement for the tech industry to properly recognize the experiences and cultures of Indigenous people.
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