The following letter was published in the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe's Lake Traverse Reservation newspaper, a newspaper named Sota. Lake Traverse Reservation is located in South Dakota and is home to 10,840 Sisseton-Wahpeton people. The Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux (Dakota) Tribes on-line newspaper can be found at: http://www.earthskyweb.com/news.htm.

Open letter to the Oyate

Greetings from Wahkon, Minnesota. I am spearheading a local, national and international movement to revert the derogatory name of Minnesota's "Rum" River back to its sacred Mdewakanton Dakota name (Wakan). And I am also spearheading a movement to change several other Minnesota geographic place names that are offensive to American Indians.

On July 25, 2006 I received a letter from Tiffany Eggenberg, Acting Secretary for the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Community. In the July 25 letter she let me know that the Tribal Council had a chance to look over a couple of letters I had sent the Tribal Council and that they decided to give their support for the effort to change the name of the "Rum" River to Wakan River. And they also decided to give their support for "the movement to change other offensive names in Minnesota". In addition, they offered to help me change all of Minnesota's offensive to American Indians geographic place names. And they also asked that I let them know what they "may do to help."

I have made some progress toward gaining the support of two Mille Lacs Lake area organizations that are supposed to be trying to uncover and dismantle racism in the Mille Lake area, or at the headwaters of the "Rum" River.

Sue Lyback-Dahl, voluntary co-chair of the Voices of Unity on Mille Lacs, expressed in an e-mail to me that she did not have time/room in her job description that allows her to devote any significant work to uncover and dismantle racism that is hurting Dakota/Lakota/Nakota people in the Mille Lacs area.

However, Father Dave Gallus, a prominent member of not only Voices Of Unity In Mille Lacs but also a prominent member of the Mille Lacs Human Rights Organization told me that these two organizations need to be all inclusive and that he would promote my Mille Lacs Lake area Dakota/Lakota/Nakota rights inclusive campaign to change the "Rum" River's racist name. And Bahwahsung Merrill, a prominent member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe who has a Lakota wife and eight Lakota/Ojibwe children, told me that he would like to go with me to meet and talk with Rev. Dave Gullas about this issue. And Bahwahsung also told me that some of the members of his family would be happy to speak to these Mille Lacs Lake area organizations that are "trying" to uncover and dismantle racism in the Mille Lacs area.

It seems like most members of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe as well as most white people in the Mille Lacs area are still not facing up to their ancestors' past oppressive behavior toward the Dakota people on the headwaters of the "Rum" River, nor are they trying to put an end to their present-day oppression and suppression of the Dakota/Lakota/Nakota people in the Mille Lacs area. Mary Sam, the director of the Mille Lacs Human Rights Organization and the Mille Lacs area PR director for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe will not even answer or return my telephone calls to her. And Father Dave Gallus, a Missionary Priest, let me know in an e-mail that he would not meet with Bahwahsung Merrill, his Lakota wife nor any of their Lakota/Ojibwe family members. There is going to be a "Voices of Unite In Mille Lacs" workshop this fall and Sue Lyback-Dahl e-mailed me to let me know that she would share my writings about racism against the Dakota/Lakota/Nakota people in the Mille Lacs lake area with the workshop presenters.

A booklet of mine about racism against the Dakota/Lakota/Nakota people in the Mille Lacs Lake area can be found at:
Mdewakanton Rights Activist Initiatives.

Sincerely, Thomas Dahlheimer,
Director of Rum River Name Change Organization, Inc.
Rum River name-change website