Court: 'Bde Maka Ska' Must Go Back To 'Lake Calhoun'

MINNEAPOLIS — A court ruling Monday means that the name of a popular Minneapolis lake recently renamed to "Bde Maka Ska" will switch back to "Lake Calhoun." The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that Tom Landwehr, the previous Department of Natural Resources commissioner, did not have the power to change the name of the lake.

Last year, the DNR approved changing the name of Lake Calhoun to Bde Maka Ska, which translates to "White Earth Lake" in Dakota.

"The DNR respects the role of elected county boards in determining name changes for geographic features,"then-DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr said in a January 2018 statement.

"In this instance, I am confident the Hennepin County Board carefully considered community values and citizen perspectives in determining that this was the right action to take. DNR's role is to ensure the county followed the proper process."

But on Monday, a three-judge panel said unanimously that the move to rename a lake more than 40 years old was outside of Landwehr's power.

The ruling now means that only the Minnesota Legislature can change the name of the lake, according to the Star Tribune.

Lake Calhoun was named after John C. Calhoun, the South Carolina senator who became vice president in 1825. Supporters of the change want to distance the lake from Calhoun, a documented supporter of slavery.

In 1837, Calhoun gave a speech on "the positive good" of slavery. He also authored the Indian Removal Act.