PORTLAND — Portland Audubon has changed its name to the “Bird Alliance of Oregon,” in the latest example of a local chapter to do so because of John James Audubon’s views on slavery and his desecration of Native American graves.
The organization shared its decision Tuesday after soliciting community feedback in the past year on a new name, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
“Our adoption of a new name is one of many steps in our yearslong equity journey to create a more welcoming place,” said Stuart Wells, executive director of the Bird Alliance of Oregon.
The National Audubon Society, the nonprofit dedicated to protecting birds and their habitats, took its original name from Audubon, an American artist, adventurer and naturalist best known for his stunning watercolors of American birds.
But Audubon was also a slaveholder who opposed abolition and desecrated the graves of Native Americans, a legacy which still causes harm today, Wells said.
