Minneapolis Lake Will Officially Change To 'Bde Maka Ska'

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — After 197 years, the name of a popular Minneapolis lake will be removed. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources approved changing the name of "Lake Calhoun" to "Bde Maka Ska" Thursday. The DNR’s decision follows a Hennepin County Board resolution requesting the change.

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.

Residents in Hennepin County brought three different petitions to rename the lake to Bde Maka Ska, Lake Maka Ska and Lake Wellstone. The board voted four to three to change the name to Bde Maka Ska, the lake's original Dakota name which means "White Earth Lake."

The names of Calhoun Parkway, East Calhoun Parkway and West Calhoun Parkway will not change in the interest of public safety, according to city officials.

Bde Maka Ska Facts

• Pronounced "b-day ma-kha skah" according to the Dakota Language Society
• Translates to "White Earth Lake" in Dakota

“The DNR respects the role of elected county boards in determining name changes for geographic features,” DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr said in a 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.”

The DNR will submit the Hennepin County resolution, along with the state approval, to the U.S. Board of Geographic Names, which will approve or deny the name change for federal use. As far as Minnesota goes, the change will be official.

In considering county requests to name a geographic feature or change a feature’s name, the DNR’s role is to consider

1. Whether the county followed a proper public process prior to taking its action, and
2. Whether the county-approved name complies with naming conventions. For example, names must avoid confusion with similarly named features, and names may not commemorate a living person.

Photo credit: AP Photo/Jim Mone