DNR Will Appeal Court Ruling Against 'Bde Maka Ska'

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has announced that it will appeal the Minnesota Court of Appeal’s recent decision regarding the naming of Bde Maka Ska in Minneapolis. The DNR will submit its petition for review to the Minnesota Supreme Court by May 29.

In its ruling Monday, the court reversed the DNR’s January 2018 approval of Hennepin County’s request to rename Lake Calhoun as Bde Maka Ska.

The DNR said it based its approval on the longstanding understanding of its authority under relevant state statute, the fact that Bde Maka Ska meets all state naming criteria, and the fact that Hennepin County met all public process and other procedural requirements in asking DNR to approve the name change request.

Minnesota DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen said in a statement Wednesday that the "DNR is very concerned with the implications of the Appeals Court’s ruling for our ability to work with county boards to reflect community standards in how the state’s waters are named. We have long worked with counties in eliminating offensive or derogatory names."

"We are also concerned with another aspect of the Appeals Court’s decision," Strommen added.

"Specifically, it opens the door for people to challenge a range of final agency decisions well after established appeals periods. This presents the potential for considerable disruption in the normal order of government decision making."

A federal official this week confirmed that despite Monday's court ruling, "Bde Maka Ska" is the official name of the lake on a federal level, not "Lake Calhoun."

Lou Yost — the Executive Secretary of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names — says Monday's ruling won't matter on a federal level.

"The name at the Federal level will remain Bde Maka Ska as was approved at the BGN's June 21, 2018 meeting," Yost told KSTP.

After the ruling Monday, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board President Brad Bourn said in a statement he has "no intention of spending any public resources honoring Vice President John C. Calhoun's blood soaked legacy of systemic violence against all our communities."

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.