STAR

Isanti County Newspaper - Cambridge * Braham * Isanti * North Branch * Rush City * Harri

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October 18, 2006/STAR Midweek

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WHAT'S IN A NAME?

One man feels that the name of the Rum River is a desecration of the Dakota Indian's sacred sites, as well as a reminder of the liquor that brought misery to them. He suggests it once again be called by what the Dakota referred to it as: Spirit River.

By Tesha M. Christensen

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STAR Assistant Editor

Like the voice calling out in the wilderness, Thomas Dahlheimer cannot stand by idly while a people are in turmoil.

Instead he is actively trying to change the name of the Rum River back to what the native Americans called it, Wakan or Spirit River.

He says the name the river is known by, the Rum River, is a perversion of the Dakota name.

"It's a derogatory name and a profane name," Dahlheimer said.

He's been advocating a name change for seven years. This year, the issue will go before the state legislature, thanks to a bill sponsored by Representative Mike Jaros.

Pushing for the name change is a calling to Dahlheimer. "It's a mission I've undertaken," he explained. "It's like someone saying, "I'm being called to go to Africa and be a missionary." "God's calling me to do this work."

He's not the first
Thomas Dahlheimer isn't the first person to think the name of the Rum River should be changed.

During Prohibition there was a movement to change the name by those who saw the addictive and harmful nature of rum upon society.

Looking back across history, Dahlheimer sees the damage rum has caused the native Americans. In exchange for rum, they signed away their lands and allowed themselves to be disconnected from what they valued.

"Rum brought misery and ruin to many of the Indians," he observed.

It was the same in Africa, he pointed out. There tribal leaders sold off their peoples as salves because they were addicted to liquor.

"Rum is like a genocidal weapon," he remarked.

A Catholic social activist, Dahlheimer sees many other things he'd like to see changed. He's vocally against Native American-run casinos. He's pushing for Mille Lacs County to become a dry county, and then he intends to follow the river down to Sherburne, Isanti and Anoka counties lobbying for the change to dry.

Dahlheimer sees the current United States policy of requiring all immigrants to conform to U.S. culture. He questions why the European immigrants didn't assimilate into the Native American culture and language.

Wahkon worldview
Dahlheimer began his life along the Rum River, born in the Anoka hospital. As a child he fished and swam in its waters. Today he still canoes along it.

In the 1960s, Dahlheimer joined the Youth Counter Culture Revolution in Califoria. Although he considered caravanning out to Summertown, Tenn. to be part of a commune being formed out there, instead he returned to Wahkon, Minn. to begin a commune in the town he'd spent much time in as a child. His grandparents had a cabin in Wahkon.

It seems fitting to live in a town named Wahkon. Over the years the half English, one-quarter German, one-quarter French and a little Native American man has fashioned a worldview around the word.

He pointed out that the Hollywood movies often feature Dakota Indians and use the term "Wahkon-Tonka" to symbolize spirituality.

The counter culture revolutionists he knew sought to establish one culture, taking the best of the world's various traditions and creating one all could be a part of. The indigenous people of North American followed a tradition that advocates family values, closeness to nature and communal living. "The indigenous people of the Americas had the most to offer to the global culture, said Dahlheimer.

Later, while attending a Catholic conference, he heard a speaker talk about a universal concept based on the Native American view of Wakan, the Great Spirit.

River considered sacred
The Dakota Indians consider the Rum River and the Lake it sprang from, Mille Lacs Lake, to be sacred.

"They have a creation story that they emerged from the lake." pointed out Dahlheimer.

Thus, the Dakota called both Wahkon, sometimes spelled Wakan.

When the white settlers arrived, they mistranslated the name as spirits or Rum, according to Minnesota Geographic Names written by Warren Upham.

It was upon reading that book published by the Minnesota Historical Society 12 years ago that the idea to change the name was first planted in Dahlheimer's head.

It wasn't the first time a Native American word was crudely translated into English. Dahlheimer noted that many of the names Native Americans had given geographic landmarks honoring the Great Spirit. These settlers translated into "Devil", which is why there are so many Devil's Lakes and Devil's Rivers around. "Its happened all over the United States," he said. "The settlers thought the Native Americans worshiped the Devil and that the frontier was the Devil's territory."

If the legislation written by District 07B Representative Mike Jaros is passed by the state legisture, one of those Devil names will be changed. A lake up north off of Lake Superior was called Manido, or Great Spirit, by the Native Americans. Today it is known as Devil's Track Lake, but it will be reverted back to its old name.

In all, Dahlheimer hopes to see 12 derogatory names changed. The list includes Savage Lake, Redskin Lake and the Snake River which winds though Aitkin, Kanabec and Pine counties.

The Ojibwe name for the Snake River is Kanabec, which means snake, Dahlheimer explained. That's the offence name the Ojibwe used for the Dakota people.

Campaign is gaining momentum
Dahlheimer's campaign is gaining momentum. While he was first approaching each of the four counties along the Rum River to change the name, today he's bypassing that complicated method and going straight to the state legislature. The move isn't without precedence, Dahlheimer pointed out. In 1995, anything with the name "Squaw" in it was changed after a bill was passed by the state.

Along the way, Dahlheimer has gathered the support of the Mdewakanton people in south Minnesota, Archbishop Harry Flynn, Bishop John F. Kinney of the Diocese of St. Cloud, Anoka County Historical Society's President Paul Pierce, American Indian rights activist Don Wedll, the National Environmental Coalition of Native Americans, American Indian Genocide Museum, and Students and Teachers Against Racism.

In his letter of support, Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Community Chairman Jim Anderson wrote, "I believe that renaming the river 'Wakpa Wakan' or 'Spirit River' is a great stride in mending the circle that we share with all four colors of man. We, as Dakota, are very happy that there are people out there that are trying to understand that by using names like 'rum' and 'devil' to label sacred sites and places is degrading to our children, our elders and also to our ancestors. These places were already named in our language by our people because of their special meaning."

It is demoralizing to us to have to explain why a place is named after the same things that helped to steal our land and language. So, in changing the name back to the Dakota language, it will help in the healing process that our people continue to deal with."

Texas State Judge Steve Russell sees Dahlheimer's crusade as a valuable history lesson.

There have been small victories along the way. All of the 30 churches Dahlheimer has visited over the years have expressed their support and signed a petition.

After the story about his quest was published in the Princeton Union Eagle, a woman opened the Spirit River Craft and Gift Store.

A few years ago, the city of Cambridge, together with the Anoka-Ramsey Community College - Cambridge Campus, named a park the Spirit River Nature Area. The city also intends to rename the section of the County Road 70 inside the city limits to Spirit River Drive, because of its proximity to the Spirit River Nature Area, according to Cambridge City Administrator.

Cambridge Planning Commissioner and Active Living member Bill Carlson sympathizes with the plight of the Dakota people who remain spread throughout the western plains while their homeland is in East Central Minnesota. He advocated naming the nature area the Spirit River Nature Area because of the important history associated with the river.

"We don't have ancient temples or buildings left, but we have places that are considered sacred," he said. "I think they're important for people to know about and understand."

For more, browse www.towahkon.org

~ Tesha M Christensen,
763-689-1181 or e-mail
asst.ed@cambridgemn.com

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PROPOSED NAME CHANGES

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COUNTY................................................. CURRENT NAME................................. PROPOSED NAME
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Anoka
Isanti
Surburne
Mille Lacs.................................................... Rum River......................................... Wakan River
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Mille Lacs
Benton
Morrison.............................................. West Branch Rum River...............
West Branch Wakan River _________________________________________________________________

Lake............................................................. Redskin Lake.......................................
no recommendation
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Itasca......................................................... Cut Foot Sioux Lake...............................
no recommendation
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Traverse........................................................ Sioux River.........................................
Dakota River
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Meeker.......................................................... Sioux Lake..........................................
Dakota Lake
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Jackson...................................................... Little Sioux River...................................
Little Dakota River
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St. Louis..................................................... Indian Sioux River..................................
Indian Dakota River
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Ramsey........................................................... Savage Lake....................................
Gathering Natives Lake
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Aitkin
Kanabec
Pine........................................................... Snake River......................................
no recommendation
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Cook........................................................... Devil Track Lake.................................
Great Spirit Track Lake
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Cook............................................................ Devil Track River...............................
Great Spirit Track River
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OTHER PROFANE NAMES
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St. Louis........................................................ Devils Cascade...................................
no recommendation
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Cook............................................................. Devils Elbow Lake..............................
no recommendation
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Cook................................................................ Devil Fish Lake.................................
no recommendation
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Rice................................................................... Devil Creek......................................
Spirit Creek
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Otter Trail.......................................................... Devils Lake.....................................
Spirit Lake
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Murray................................................................ Devils Run......................................
no recommendation
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Kanabec............................................................. Devil's Lake.....................................
no recommendation
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Goodhue............................................................. Devils Lake.....................................
no recommendation
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Douglas........................................................... ...Devil's Lake....................................
no recommendation
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Anoka............................................................ ......Devils Lake...................................
no recommendation
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Lake..................................................... Hockamin Creek (Devil Creek).........................
no recommendation
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Legislative bill is currently being sponsored by Rep. Mike Jaros, 07B. It is modeled after South Dakota's House Bill No. 1280

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REASON WHY

RUM RIVER, which Carver in 1766 and Pike in 1805 found in use by English-speaking fur traders, was indirectly derived from the Dakota. Their name of Mille Lacs, Mde Wakan, translated Spirit Lake, was given to its river but was changed by white men to the most common spirituous liquor brought into the Northwest, rum, which brought misery and ruin, as Du Luth observed of brandy, to many of the Indians.

SNAKE RIVER gets its name from the Ojibwe word Kanabec, or snake, naming it after their enemies, the Dakota, who lived upriver, and who they later displaced. According to the Minnesota DNR, "White people helped or used the Ojibwe to force the Dakota from their sacred homeland near the source of the river that is currently named 'Snake' River. They then translated the derogatory Ojibwe name for the river (Kanabec) into English, it means snake. The white people then named the river Snake, which is an indirect derogatory name."

DEVIL TRACT RIVER is Manido binadagakowini zibi, meaning the spirits (or God) walking-place-on-the-ice river. The Ojibwe applied this name primarily to Devil Track Lake, and thence, according to their custom, to the outflowing river. The name implies mystery or something supernatural about the lake and its winter covering of ice, but without the supremely evil idea that is given in the white men's translation.

LITTLE AND BIG SIOUX RIVERS, the latter forming the north-west boundary of Iowa, were named for the Dakota or Sioux, who inhabited this region. The name Sioux is the terminal part of Nadouesioux, a term of hatred, meaning "snake, enemies," which was applied by the Ojibwe and other Algonquians to this people.