The head of the Minneapolis Park Board says he has no intention of changing the name of Bde Maka Ska, even after a Minnesota appeals court ruled that the name should not have been changed from Lake Calhoun.
The following statement is from Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board President Brad Bourn:
- “The most beautiful lake in Minneapolis has been called Bde Maka Ska for generations before white settlers stole it from the Dakota. It will continue to be Bde Maka Ska for generations to come. I take heart in the fact that every democratically elected body and the Commissioner of the DNR has supported the name restoration.While it saddens me that 318 property “owners” on stolen Dakota land around Bde Maka Ska calling themselves “Save Lake Calhoun” have prevailed at this stage, I know that we’re standing on the right side of history and that its arc bends towards justice. In the meantime, as president of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, I have no intention of spending any public resources honoring Vice President John C. Calhoun's blood-soaked legacy of systemic violence against all our communities."
While not party to the lawsuit, the park board is encouraging the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to appeal the ruling.
Bourn says they will not change the signage around the lake.
In a statement issued Monday afternoon, the DNR says it is considering an appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court, and has 30 days to do so. But the DNR says the lake is and will continue to be recognized as Bde Maka Ska by the federal government.
- "Absent an appeal, the Appeals Court’s decision means that, at a state level, the name of the lake would revert back to Lake Calhoun. However, it is important to recognize that the federal Board on Geographic Names has adopted Bde Maka Ska as the official name of the lake. Absent a change by the Board of Geographic Names, the federal name for the lake will continue to be Bde Maka Ska."
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey also says he will continue to call the lake by it's Dakota name:
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. https://t.co/EK9tCzwcQ8
— Jacob Frey (@Jacob_Frey)
April 29, 2019
