Names Matter: Bde Maka Ska

Introduction

            It was a perfect Minnesotan Sunday afternoon, as my family walked around Lake Calhoun. The surrounding park was alive with people and animals taking in the warm sun. On the water, people were performing many different activities; from relaxing on a pontoon boat to using stand up paddle boards. Sunbathers lay on the sandy beach, while others played frisbee with their dogs or had a picnic. Countless people were out for a Sunday stroll on the three-mile walking path. As I walked past the lake, thoughts of winter crossed my mind as we talked about the Polar Plunge that occurs on the frozen lake each February to raise money for Special Olympics. This lake has been the center of the Minneapolis community for many years.

 On January 29, 2018, Lake Calhoun's original name, Bde Maka Ska (b-day ma-KHA skah), was restored. Bde Maka Ska was the name given to the lake by the Dakota people, indigenous to Minnesota. Until the early nineteenth century, it was known by this name. Former Vice President and Secretary of War, John C. Calhoun, sent a national survey to Minnesota to establish a location for a military fort, Fort Snelling, at the intersection of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers. The surveyors named the body of water Calhoun to recognize the man that sent them on their mission. The Dakota people's land was stolen from them, including Bde Maka Ska, and they were interned at Fort Snelling, the project put in place by Calhoun. Following the War of 1862, the Dakota were executed in large numbers, and the survivors were relocated to land out of Minnesota.

           The surveyors' name made it back to Washington and became the widely used name to describe the lake. What's in a name? Did they have the right to determine the name of something even if it had a preexisting name? Is this anything more than an anecdote of Native American erasure in the United States, or does it mean something more? Some argue that a name is determined by the agreement by people on a name, making the name 'Lake Calhoun' correct for the lake. Others argue that a name is determined simply by time and tradition, 'Bde Maka Ska' would be upheld by the long and rich Dakota history on the land.

Section 1

            Much of written history surrounding the Dakota and other Native American tribes takes the point of view of the whites, but tribal history has been preserved differently, through stories and oral tradition. Since the arrival of Europeans, Native Americans have been quieted and hidden on reservations. For these two reasons, much of the Native's histories have been erased.

The Dakota people are a large band of Sioux who has a long history in Minnesota and the rest of the Great Plains of the United States Midwest. When early Christian missionaries first encountered them, the "Dahkotah people" in the sixteenth century, they were at war with the Algonquins, another tribe of the area. The missionaries discovered that these people's ancestors "came from the North across a great water, being driven in war from their native country" (V, History of Dakota History). They concluded that this meant the Dakota people were descendants from China based on similarities in the language. The Chinese word for slave is shunko, while the Dakota word for dog is shunka. The missionaries saw these similarities to conclude that the original migrants were civilized people whose descendants, the Native Americans that they met, became warlike people over time. 

           The Dakota people of Bde Maka Ska continued living in the area until 1817 when a land surveyor, Stephen H. Long, arrived and decided to name the lake after his supervisor, John C Calhoun. Like the Dakota, he saw the intersection of two rivers--the Mississippi and the Minnesota--as an essential location in establishing possession and asserting dominance over an area. The daily goal of the Dakota people was to survive, interacting with the land, shaping it as it shaped them, so as the United States government looked to take control of this land, the Dakota were ready to fight. They eventually agreed to move onto reservations in exchange for continued ability to use the land for hunting along with provisions from the government. 

Dakota Artwork in the Park

The United States/Dakota Conflict of 1862 began when a band of starving, frustrated men stole eggs from a settler to keep themselves fed. A skirmish between the hen's owner and the Natives followed, leaving the family of five dead. The deaths continued for 2 months, with the settlers gaining more and more strength through each battle. In September, the Dakota were forced to surrender, either fleeing or turning themselves in. The remaining were brought to Fort Snelling where they were interned and tried. On December 26, 1862, 38 Dakota were publicly hanged in Mankato, while the rest were driven to reservations outside of state lines. As the Dakota people were forced out of Minnesota, they were paraded through towns where the citizens acted with hostility, throwing objects and yelling at them.

For 100 years from the 1860s to the national civil and women's rights movements of the 1960s, the voices of the Dakota people were hidden from society and were ignored by the majority of the country. Inspired by the rights movements of the 1960s, the Dakota people fought for their rights as well. The American Indian Movement was formed in Minneapolis in 1968. It advocated for Natives and aided in the fight for education and child welfare, among other things.[2]  The Dakota people continue to resist against the silencing and fight for a voice.

Kate Beane is a descendant of the Dakota people of Bde Ota, (what Calhoun's governing descendants call "Minneapolis"). While she was in school, she became frustrated by the ignorance and avoidance of Native history. She, along with her twin sister Carly, dropped out of high school and relocated to Minneapolis to learn the Dakota language and about their family's history. Carly went on to become a lawyer, while Kate earned her Ph.D. in American Studies, writing her dissertation on the Dakota people. She always knew that she wanted to fight for the restoration of Lake Calhoun's name. The sisters showed up to countless public meetings to present their argument and, more importantly, to educate Minneapolis residents about the past that history books skip over. People were generally open to the idea of a name change, except for a small (but well funded) group of Calhoun supporters named 'Save Lake Calhoun.' This group argued that the lake was not named after John C. Calhoun, but rather Lieutenant James Calhoun (no relation) of the US Army. In their opinion, they saw this Calhoun as a man who fought with honor and patriotism even though he fought and spoke out against the Native people. He died alongside General Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn, a US war hero.

Section 2

       Since the beginning of recorded history, stories have been written from the view of the people with power- usually wealthy white men like either of the Calhouns. In history books and in the names of our country, we sometimes do not even recognize the extent to which history is being hidden. In the United States, many times we are living on stolen land whose well-known names hide a long history. Bde Maka Ska is one of them.

        Native Americans, as well as other minority groups, through their many years of fighting, have only recently been given a voice in society where they can speak up for the change that they believe in. Having a location renamed from their native language is an indirect way of hiding their history from the rest of United States history and can make the affected people frustrated and belittled. The first documented movement to restore a name came in 1975 when Rev. George Pierce suggested renaming Mount Harney- a mountain that was stolen from the Sioux and then named after the General that sought to kill them. The suggestion was to change it to 'Mount Hope.' Harney was a military leader that played a significant role in the effort to remove the Sioux people by any means necessary. Pierce stated, "we are more interested in seeing this name removed than in the choice of a new name" (Mt. Harney). Even though this movement did not lead to a name change, almost forty years later, another movement caught attention and led to the mountain being renamed "Black Elk Peak."

           In Minnesota the same year, the Minnesota Indian Affairs Commission was set up to bring attention to and advocate for the voice of the Minnesota Natives. Formed shortly after the height of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, the Commission pledged to "devote itself to hearing the voice of the Minnesota Indian community" and to give them "an opportunity to air their grievances" (Hear Indians). 

Denali, Alaska

            One widely known movement in which the Natives and their sympathizers fought for the restoration of a name was for Mount McKinley in Alaska. Mount McKinley was known and recognized by the locals as Denali, but the effort to restore that name was initially unsuccessful due to Congressman Ralph Regula. Regula repeatedly made small movements in Congress to discredit the fight for renaming. Even after the McKinley National Park was renamed to Denali National Park, the mountain remained McKinley. It wasn't until August of 2015 that the name Denali became recognized nationally. This recognition encouraged the supporters of "Bde Maka Ska" in their fight for the restoration of its original name.

            Each of these landmarks--Mount Harney, Mount McKinley, and Lake Calhoun--have represented the fight to restore places in the United States to their original glory by establishing Native Americans voices.

The group 'Save Lake Calhoun' sees the fight for the restoration as a movement to hide parts of United States history instead of a move to give Natives a voice and to restore its original historical name--that the name Calhoun clouds. They argue that the distinction between the different Calhouns gives them the right to retain the current name of the lake, while they are missing the point of the Dakota and Natives fighting for name changes worldwide.

Vice President John C Calhoun

The first Calhoun, John C. Calhoun, a slaveholder, member of Congress, and eventually the 7th Vice President of the United States, was one of the most ardent defenders of slavery pre-Civil War, claiming that "The existence of slavery was good to both [sides]" (Star Tribune). Elijah Green, one of the men that dug Calhoun’s grave after his death in 1850, stated that “no man was ever hated as much as him by a group of people.”

James Calhoun, the soldier

The second Calhoun, James Calhoun, a soldier, and far less well known than his Vice Presidential namesake, fought alongside General Custer in the US Army during the Black Hills War. He believed that Native Americans were “heathens” and pictured the day that white civilization would wipe them from existence. 'Save Lake Calhoun’s' argument that the lake was named after this Calhoun opposed to the other does not make a difference in the justification of stealing the original name; both were outspoken racists.

The Beane sisters worked for two years to create a movement to restore the name Bde Maka Ska. They knew that they would face obstacles, but even if they were to fail, the sisters would have succeeded in raising awareness and teaching the community about the lake's history. They did not care whether or not the lake was named after a slavery supporter or after someone else. What they did care about was the stealing of the name of a lake that did not belong to the people that 'named' it.

PLACE HEYATA LIFE KATE from Bde Maka Ska Media on Vimeo.

Section 3

Native Americans are familiar with name changes. They have not only dealt with their names being stolen, but they practice renaming and name changes within their tribes and families. When a child is born, they are given a descriptive name which may change one or more times to reflect their accomplishments and life accomplishments. Pocahontas, a well known historical figure and daughter of the Chief Powhatan, was born as Matoaka. She was later given the name Pocahontas (meaning 'playful one'). She acquired a third name, Rebecca, when she was baptized by a priest during her captivity in Europe.

           Chad Ochocinco and Metta World Peace are evidence that name changes still happen today. Often times, when immigrants land in the United States, they will choose to take an 'American' name. Seamus will change to Sean and Alejandro will become Alex to better fit into the American workforce or culture and to be 'more American.' These transitions from an original, native name to an American name can be seen in the example of Bde Maka Ska. The contrast in this example is that the Natives did not agree to the name change and were proud of the authenticity and history of the name. 

The US Board of Geographic Names has worked to standardize the names on official government maps for the past 125 years. The BGN is made up of members from many departments of the federal government and has created a database of over 2 million names nationally. They do not get to choose what a name could be, they only respond to proposals like the one made in the argument for Bde Maka Ska and the recent proposal from 'Save Lake Calhoun' to bring it back to Calhoun.

In the late nineteenth century, during the height of westward expansion, there was a great deal of discrepancy in the names that were being given to new places. T. C. Mendenhall suggested the establishment of a group focused on creating consistency in geographical names. They aren’t focused on being politically correct, but rather what the majority of the local population calls the place. When the board decided to restore the name Bde Maka Ska, it wasn’t a decision to respect a culture or a history, but rather a reflection of local usage.

Since the beginning of the movement, Bde Maka Ska has been about the restoration of the rightful and historical name of the lake.

In Plato’s Cratylus, he presents an argument about language, specifically names. The dialogue follows Hermogenes and Socrates, deciding whether names are conventional or not. Hermogenes argues that because names differ across languages like lago and lake, they are just a convention and therefore there is no right or wrong way of naming things. This viewpoint is similar to the private language argument made by Wittgenstein, that no matter what the object is if we classify it in the same way, we are naming it. It seems that Hermogenes would lean towards Calhoun in the argument over Bde Maka Ska. He would argue that people should have the ability to call the lake whatever they desire it to be called. 

            Socrates, a man who was continually using questions to build reality, disagreed with Hermogenes. He thought that names were instruments to teach and separate being itself; there is a 'rightness' to naming. He then comes to the question of the teacher, the person given the authority to name things. What if they were confused or misunderstood? How did they learn enough to be capable of naming? In the Bible, Adam named each of the animals on the day that they were created. It is curious to think about how he had the knowledge to do so without any prior experience. Socrates believed that names aren't the end or the answer, but rather the beginning of an inquiry. Knowing this, Socrates would likely question both of the name-givers, the original Dakota people along with Calhoun's surveyors. 

Section 4

            This is not a new issue; in 1994 there was an open discussion where the Minneapolis Citizen's Water-Quality Committee voted 17-4 to restore the original Bde Maka Ska in an attempt to reassert solid values over transient, political ones. It appeared to this group that the first renaming of the lake, to Calhoun, was above the authority of the land surveyors. This event also broke several laws, including altering a property without paying for it, using alcohol to persuade the Natives and cheat them out of money that they deserved.

The movement was first readdressed in 2015, after a church shooting in South Carolina. The shooter targeted a primarily black church, which sparked a nationwide campaign to abolish monuments and landmarks named after racists and supremacists. A group of activists created a petition and brought attention to the issue. The lake that the citizens of Minneapolis and its surrounding suburbs loved was named after a hateful man. Though this petition brought attention to the grander issue, it solved little. The city took action to add Bde Maka Ska to the signs surrounding the park but left Calhoun's name on top.

As the conversation continued, some homeowners and local business owners argued that eliminating Calhoun from the lake's name would cause issues for other landmarks with the same name. Nevertheless, in May of 2017, the Minneapolis Park Board voted in favor of restoring the lake's indigenous name. The city's decision was reaffirmed by the county in November of the same year when the Hennepin County Commissioners also voted for restoration. In January of 2018, the state came aboard, when the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources voted to restore the name statewide, leaving a final decision to be made at a national level. The national decision came down in July of 2018 when the restoration of the indigenous name was approved by the US Board Of Geographic Names. With this decision, new signage around the park would read only Bde Maka Ska, but the old signs, honoring Calhoun, would stay until they need replacing.

Sign at Entrance to the Park, 2018

At each stage of the process, there were arguments against the change. Jeff Johnson, one of the Hennepin County Commissioners that voted against the name change, agreed that Calhoun should not be honored in any way, but voted no because of a fear of the domino effect that might occur with a name change like this.

The idea of the domino theory, or the domino effect, surfaced during the Cold War (1945-1991). After World War II, the Third Reich fell, and the Soviet Union gained control of many Eastern European countries. In 1946, the Truman Doctrine was established after the Soviet Union refused to withdraw from the Iranian territories it occupied. This doctrine established that the United States would support countries under the threat of communism. Greece and Italy soon received financial aid to help in the prevention of the spread of communism. Containment soon reigned the actions of the US government. In 1950, the US aided France in the Viet Minh war; however, by 1954, the French were failing to re-establish control over Indochina. In a conference on April 7, 1954, President Eisenhower coined the term "the domino theory," as he said the loss in Vietnam would lead to widespread communism in neighboring countries, like the chain reaction in falling dominos.

Even though Eisenhower coined the term in the twentieth century, the concept had been demonstrated before. From 1812 to 1860, the United States was a relatively new country in a 'new' region of the world. They were the first established country free from their motherland and saw it as their destiny to settle and control the land from the east coast to the west coast. What they didn't know, or at least didn't acknowledge, was that the region was well lived in by many different tribes of Native Americans. The settlers saw it as their mission to convert and assimilate the Native peoples into Christian, European society. As they moved west, they encountered different Native tribes, who they saw as obstacles standing in the way of their manifest destiny.

            The concept of the domino theory was brought to attention again in the late 1990s in fear of economic implosion. This time, it was supplemented with the word contagion. It was used to explain the worry that the crash of one economy would cause other economies to crash. A market crash in the United States would affect banks worldwide.

Vandalism on Statue of Robert E Lee

            Most recently, the changing of names and removal of Confederate monuments in the Southern part of the United States has brought up fears of the domino effect. On August 11 and 12, 2017, a white supremacist group held a rally in protest of the removal of a statue of Robert E Lee. The year before, the mayor of Charlottesville had proposed the removal, stating that "it disrespected parts of the community" and that several people "refused to step foot in that park" because of the statue and what it represented. On August 12, another crowd was gathered to peacefully counter-protest in support of the removal of the statue. In the early afternoon, a car sped through the counter-protest, killing one and leaving others injured. In the year following this attack, over 30 confederate monuments had been removed. 

            Another great philosopher, Saul Kripke, discussed the purpose and explanation of naming. He gives one theory about names which explains that to every name there is a cluster of properties, some of which pick out the object uniquely. For example, one could describe Abraham Lincoln as a tall leader, the president during the civil war, or the 16th president of the United States. The only property listed above that can ensure that Abraham Lincoln is being talked about is the last one. In the same way, one could speak about Bde Maka Ska. It is a lake in Minnesota, the former home of a Dakota tribe, and the gathering place for citizens of Minneapolis. The combination of these identities makes up the name, whether Bde Maka Ska or Calhoun. This does not have anything to say about which name is correct.

Section 5

           Kate Beane continues to speak out for the Native populations, bringing attention to their histories in the places we call home. Minnesota Public Television is currently airing a dozen series' telling Native Americans' stories. Businesses are becoming more and more receptive to the new name, some are even considering changing names containing "Calhoun" to "Bde Maka Ska"

These positive steps haven’t completed the restoration or eliminated Calhoun’s praise; the pathways to the lake still echo his name with street names like Calhoun Boulevard West, East Calhoun Parkway, and Calhoun Drive. The national recognition cemented Bde Maka Ska, but it is hard to fully eliminate Calhoun’s name from the community that it has represented for over a century.

The thoughts from philosophers leave us to wonder which name is correct. It seems that there is no clear answer. While names are important in teaching and understanding, as long as people are in agreement, the name shouldn't matter. One argument, based off of Hermogenes' reasoning could be that both names are appropriate, but they are just the different names in different languages. They would probably argue that since the land is situated in the United States, where English is widely spoken, Lake Calhoun is more appropriate. Someone with a Socratic view of the debate would question the authority of each group to name the lake, and would probably ultimately side with Bde Maka Ska. Finally, someone with Kripke’s view of naming would view the classifications that fit each name. Using the classifications of the lake and the knowledge of the general public, they would likely lean towards Calhoun- the way that others would identify the body of water.

Conclusion

The decision that was made in 2018 that should have cemented the decision in the national landscape has caused ripples in the city of Minneapolis. The group 'Save Lake Calhoun' filed a claim in the court of appeals stating that the DNR had exceeded their authority when they made the decision to change the name. When the court of appeals ruled in favor of 'Save Lake Calhoun's argument, the Minneapolis Park Board decided to change their path of action. While the lake's name is still up in the air and involves a complicated legal battle at all three levels of government, park and street names are under complete their complete authority. On May 15, 2019, the Minneapolis Park Board voted unanimously to pursue the changing of the park's name along with the surrounding streets including Calhoun's namesake. Kate Beane was present at the meeting, voicing her disappointment in the decision at the court of appeals but encouraging the new movement.

The board has made clear their support and alignment with Beane's cause. For them, even if the name of the lake cannot be changed, it is about the concept of recognizing the past and honoring the people that shaped Minnesota into the place that it is today.

Both sides of the argument have strong reasoning and support behind their proposed name, but when you take a step back, why does it matter? When talking about the genocide of the Dakota people and trauma that was caused, even the most elegant argument can't hide the horror. The Dakota people have suffered over the years and the people opposed to their argument, while they may have a strong case themselves, are backing a history that promotes abuse and hatred. As a society, the United States is moving to remove the hatred of the past, by continuing to respond to the cries for justice from marginalized groups. If we want to stay on this path, we must also respect the people of Bde Maka Ska.

At the Minneapolis park board meeting on May 15, Kate Beane was present with her three-year-old daughter. When the meeting was opened up for comments, Kate was the first to speak, "With the name restoration under attack and our language and our very existence under attack. My daughter said, 'if they don't use the name Bde Maka Ska are they going to forget us again?'".

It all comes down to names. Do they only matter in society because we have made them matter? Is there any real meaning behind a name? What is the proper way to determine a name? Tradition and popularity argue that Calhoun is the rightful name of the movement while originality and time would argue for Bde Maka Ska.

Beane mentioned, “Our history here is so incredibly important. And everyone's history here is important. And I think it's important for the public to understand that we as Dakota people are simply asking to be recognized and respected.” The lake will continue to be the center of the Minneapolis community regardless of name, and until there is unanimity in the conversation, we will call the lake by two names.