Bde Maka Ska (/bəˈdeɪməˈkɑːskɑː/bə-DAY mə-KAH skah,[2] previously named Lake Calhoun)[3][4][5] is the largest lake in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, and part of the city's Chain of Lakes. Surrounded by city park land and circled by bike and walking trails, it is popular for many outdoor activities. The lake has an area of 401 acres (1.62 km2) and a maximum depth of 87 feet (27 m).
The three beaches are North Beach on the north side of the lake, 32nd Beach on the east, and Thomas Beach on the south. There is Bde Maka Ska Park and surrounding park land offers parking, picnicking, volleyball, and athletic fields. It is also home of sailing, hosting the Calhoun Yacht Club, the Minneapolis Sailing Center, as well as local high school teams and the University of St. Thomas Sailing Team.
The Dakota originally called the lake Mde Maka Ska (standardized Lakota/Dakota spelling Bdé Makhá Ská;[9][1] English approximation: Be-DAY Mah-KAH-Ska)[10] meaning 'Lake White Earth',[11] or 'Lake White Bank',[12] a name that probably was given by the Ioway who inhabited the area until the 16th century. Another Dakota name for the lake may have been Mde Med'oza, which was the name initially adopted by settlers, either as Lake Medoza or in translation as Loon Lake.[13] The Dakota also described it as Heyate Mde, meaning 'the set back lake'.[14]
Calhoun naming
The United States Secretary of War, John C. Calhoun, sent the Army to survey the area that would surround Fort Snelling in 1817. Calhoun had also authorized the construction of Fort Snelling, one of the earliest American settlements in the state. The surveyors named the water body "Lake Calhoun" in his honor,[15] and the Fort Snelling Military Reservation survey map of Lt. James L. Thompson in 1839 shows that name for the lake.[16]
Calhoun–Bde Maka Ska naming dispute
Calhoun's legacy as a slaveowner and pro-slavery politician led critics to question whether he was the best person to be honored. In 2011 the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) visited the issue. Their legal counsel concluded that the board could not legally change the name, as state law gives that power to the Commissioner of Natural Resources, and then only in the first 40 years after the name was designated. Following the Charleston church shooting in June 2015, a fresh drive to change the name started via an online petition and the Park Board indicated it would look into whether they could change the lake's name through state action.[17][18] At the time, the Minneapolis Star Tribune published an article quoting Calhoun's views on the black race (see 1840 census controversy):
The number of deaf and dumb, blind, idiots and insane of the Negroes in the States that have changed the ancient relations between the races [and are no longer slaves] is one out of every ninety-six; while in the States adhering to it [slavery], it is one out of every six hundred and sixty-one; being nearly six to one against the free blacks in the same state
as well as his actions in ordering the flogging of one of his own slaves.[19] In fall 2015 the board added the Dakota name to signage below the official name.[1] In March 2016, an advisory group decided by majority vote to urge the MPRB to restore the lake's former name.[20] There was also a proposal to rename the lake for Senator Paul Wellstone, who is buried in nearby Lakewood Cemetery.[21]
In 2017, the Minneapolis Park Board voted unanimously to recommend changing the lake's name back to Bde Maka Ska[22] and the Hennepin County commissioners agreed.[23] In January 2018, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) made Bde Maka Ska the official name in Minnesota.[24][25] To change it at the federal level, the state submitted materials to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names,[26] which approved the change in June 2018.[27][28][2] Park signs around the lake use only the name Bde Maka Ska.[3][29]
On April 29, 2019, the Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed the decision of the DNR, holding that a name that had been in use more than 40 years could only be changed by the legislature.[30] The MPRB stated they would continue to keep the signage of Bde Maka Ska at the lake and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said, "I will continue to call Bde Maka Ska by its rightful name. That was the lake's name before people who look like me renamed it to honor a slavery apologist and – as far as I'm concerned – that is still its name today".[31] The DNR appealed the court decision, and also released a statement confirming that the federal Board on Geographic Names (BGN) had adopted Bde Maka Ska as the lake's official name.[31] Executive secretary of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names Lou Yost said, "State legislation (or court ruling) is not binding on the Federal Government. The name at the Federal level will remain Bde Maka Ska as was approved at the BGN's June 21, 2018 meeting".[32] The Minnesota Court of Appeals decision was appealed to the Minnesota Supreme Court, which heard oral argument November 13, 2019.[33] On May 13, 2020, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources had the authority to rename Lake Calhoun as Bde Maka Ska, ruling that the law restricting renaming only applied to county boards, not to the DNR.[34]
In 1991, the then-Minnesota state record tiger muskellunge at 33 pounds 8 ounces (15.2 kg) was caught in the lake.[36] The Minneapolis Park and Recreation website lists the lake as one of the best in the city for ice fishing walleye, northern pike, and crappies.[37]
^ abcGreene, Britta (December 4, 2015). "How to say Lake Calhoun's Dakota name: 'Bde Maka Ska'". MPR News. Minnesota Public Radio. Archived from the original on December 7, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2015. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board added "Bde Maka Ska" to signs around Lake Calhoun
^Myrbo, Amy; Murphy, Marylee; Stanley, Valerie (2011). "The Minneapolis Chain of Lakes by bicycle: Glacial history, human modifications, and paleolimnology of an urban natural environment". In Miller, James D.; Hudak, George J.; Wittkop, Chad; McLaughlin, Patrick I. (eds.). Archean to Anthropocene: Field Guides to the Geology of the Mid-Continent of North America. GSA Field Guides. Vol. 24. Boulder, Colorado: The Geological Society of America. pp. 425–437. doi:10.1130/2011.0024(20). ISBN978-0-8137-0024-3. Lake Calhoun, first known by Native Americans as Lake Medoza ("Lake of the Loons"), Mde Maka Ska ("Lake of the White Earth"), or Heyate Mde ("Lake Set Back from the River")...
^Nate Gotlieb (November 22, 2017). "Bde Maka Ska recommended by County Board". Southwest Journal. Minnesota Premier Publications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2017. Retrieved November 23, 2017. The Hennepin County Board on Nov. 21 voted to recommend changing the name of Lake Calhoun to Bde Maka Ska, which means "Lake White Earth" in Dakota.
^Chanen, David (January 19, 2018). "The state officially changes Lake Calhoun to Bde Maka Ska". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. Archived from the original on January 25, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2018. It's official, at least in Minnesota: Lake Calhoun, the biggest lake in Minneapolis, will now go by its original Dakota name, Bde Maka Ska.