Native American legend and practice holds that white animals, such as deer and buffalo, are sacred. They are considered good omens.
Our directors videos of white deer near the Wakan/"Rum" River are presented below.
Click white deer to watch video of white buck.
Click white deer to watch video of white deer.
Click white deer to watch another video of white deer.
Click white deer to watch another video of white deer.
About the effort to change the name of a bar and liquor story in Wahkon, Minnesota
Picture of Wahkon Inn
Out of respect for the Mdewakanton Dakota people, the City of Wahkon, Minnesota, a city located on the south end of Mille Lacs Lake, was named after the sacred Mdewakanton Dakota [traditional] name for Mille Lacs Lake [Wahkon]. But, unfortunately, a bar and liquor store in Wahkon, Minnesota was given a derogatory and offensive to the Mdewakanton Dakota name, that name being "Wahkon Inn". The badly named "Wahkon Inn" received its current name by way of its owner performing a punning and desecrating misuse of Wahkon, Minnesota's sacred Dakota name [Wahkon]. And did so, by changing the real meaning of [Wahkon] (Spirit or Great Spirit) to "walk on".
According to this bar and liquor store's owner, "Wahkon Inn" is, in a "joking" way, suppose to mean "walk on in". The owner of the so-called "Wahkon Inn" produced advertising tee shirts and sweaters that display an image of a prospector walking into her bar and liquor store along with a display of the descriptive words "Wahkon Inn", meaning "walk on in", to describe what the prospector is doing, he is pictured walking into the so-called "Wahkon Inn". And then below that image and descriptive words, there is a display of that same image of the prospector, but he is now pictured drunk and crawling out of the bar. And then the owner of this bar and liquor store displayed, on these tee shirts and sweaters, the words describing this despicable scene with the words "and crawl on out". Hence, the owner of "Wahkon Inn" used Wahkon, Minnesota's sacred Dakota name [Wahkon] to promote alcohol abuse. And in doing so, she radically desecrated Wahkon, Minnesota's sacred Dakota name [Wahkon], as well as radically desecrated both the sacred Mdewakanton Dakota name for Mille Lacs Lake [Wahkon] and the sacred Mdewakanton Dakota traditional name for their Great Spirit [Wahkon]
The image of a prospector on these tee shirts and sweaters is the same image that is displayed on an advertising sign located on the front of "Wahkon Inn". And this advertising sign with the image of a walking prospector displayed on it, in a "joking" way, changes the real meaning of Wahkon (Spirit or Great Spirit) to mean "walk on". Hence, this advertising sign located on "Wahkon Inn" also desecrates both Wahkon, Minnesota's sacred Dakota name [Wahkon] as well as indirectly desecrates the sacred Mdewakanton Dakota name for Mille Lacs Lake [Wahkon]. And when this advertising image of a prospector was used on "Wahkon Inn's" advertising tee shirts and sweaters it was used as a lead-in to an advertising "joke" that even further desecrated Wahkon, Minnesota's sacred Dakota name [Wahkon], the sacred Mdewakanton Dakota name for Mille Lacs Lake (Wahkon) and the Mdewakanton Dakota people's traditional name for their Great Spirit [Wahkon]. The Rum River Name Change Organization, American Indian Genocide Museum and Archbishop Harry Flynn of the Archdiocese of Minneapolis and Saint Paul want the owner of "Wahkon Inn" to quit demeaning the real meaning of not only Wahkon, Minnesota's sacred Dakota Native American name [Wahkon] but also (though in an indirect way) both the real meaning of the sacred Mdewakanton Dakota name for Mille Lacs Lake [Wahkon] as well as the sacred Mdewakanton Dakota [traditional] name for their Great Spirit [Wahkon]. And the only way to do so, is for her to change the offensive and derogatory name of her bar and liquor store. An article about several other Mdewakanton Dakota rights activist initiatives can be found at: Mdewakanton rights activist initiatives
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Current support base for this initiative:
Rum River Name Change Organization, Inc.
Archbishop Harry Flynn of the Archdiocese of Minneopalis and Saint Paul
The American Indian Genocide Museum
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On October 16, 2001, I received the following letter from Archbishop Harry Flynn. In this letter, Archbishop Flynn gave his support for my effort to inform and then influence the City of Wahkon to stop demeaning the real meaning of Wahkon, Minnesota's sacred Mdewakanton Dakota name (Wahkon).
Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
October 16, 2001
Mr. Thomas Dahlheimer
485 West Broadway Street
Wahkon, MN 56386
Dear Mr. Dahlheimer
Thank you for your letter of early October in which you described your efforts regarding the Wahkon Inn. I agree with you that efforts to advertise this establishment through tee shirts and sweaters that demean the real meaning of Wahkon are at very least distasteful. I am sure that your work to engage the public through educational efforts will be helpful. It does seem appropriate for the Tribal Council to take a stand in this regard since it is their culture and their language that is being demeaned. I encourage you to continue working with them and applaud your request of them to assist the members of Sacred Heart Church to come to a greater understanding and appreciation of their culture.
With best wishes in Christ,
Most Reverend Harry J. Flynn, D.D. Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
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On July 26, 2005 we recieved the following letter of support from the board of directors of the American Indian Genocide Museum.
To Whom it may concern:
The board of directors of the American Indian Genocide Museum lends our support to change the Rum River's derogatory name to its sacred name of Wahkon. This would be a just and honorable thing to do. We have struggled for years to throw off the negative, stereotypical, and fictional image of Indians. We, as American Indians, do find it offensive and disrespectful. One of the greatest lessons adults can teach our children is the lesson of "Respect". We are not people that have passed into history, we are still here. We must stress to our children the importance of respecting our culture and those of others. It's our heartfelt prayer that the City of Wahkon, Minnesota will be one of the first in setting a precedence of doing the right thing.
Thank you.
Respectfully,
Steve Melendez - President
A statement about why the board of directors of the American Indian Genocide Museum mentioned the City of Wahkon in their letter of support is presented below.
In an e-mail that I (Thomas Dahlheimer) wrote and sent to the board of directors of the American Indian Genocide Museum, I presented some information about why I and the other members of my organization, as well as Archbishop Harry Flynn, believe that the City of Wahkon, Minnesota is (currently) being disrespectful toward the Mdewakanton Dakota people. And doing so, by not being aware of, and then showing due respect for the special Mdewakanton Dakota sensitivities associated with the City of Wahkon being named after the scared Mdewakanton Dakota name for Mille Lacs Lake (Wahkon).
Note: The City of Wahkon is located on the south shore of Mille Lacs Lake. And this lake's outlet river is the badly named Rum River. And the sacred Mdewakanton Dakota name for the "Rum" River is Wahkon, sometimes spelled Wakan.
We believe, as does also the board of directors of the American Indian Genocide Museum that if the City of Wahkon, Minnesota (especially Wahkon's City Council) would become aware of, and then start showing due respect for Mdewakanton Dakota sensitivities associated with the sacred Mdewakanton Dakota name for the city, then the City of Wahkon, Minnesota would most likely also give its support for the effort to revert the "Rum" River's derogatory name back to its sacred Mdewakanton Dakota name (Wahkon). And in doing so, be one of the first cities, if not the first city, "to set a precedence of doing the right thing".
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To view an Isanti County newspaper article that mentions the American Indian Genocide Museum click Star article.
To view more Mdewakanton rights activist initiatives click Mdewakanton Rights Activist Initiatives Rum River Name Change MovementHome
