Wakan, "Rum" River
photos by Thomas Dahlheimer
Wakan, "Rum" River, is a sacred geographic place. It is an outlet river of Mille Lacs Lake, a lake that the Mdewakanton Dakota people named Mde (lake) Wakan (sacred).
The ancient and sacred Dakota name for the "Rum River" is Wakan, Sacred (or Spirit). In the late 1700s, white men took the sacred Dakota name for the "Rum River", Wakan, and then, by way of a desecrating "punning translation", translated the sacred Dakota word wakan in their name, Wakan, to mean an alcohol spirit, the alcohol spirit rum. They then, unfortunately, named the river Rum. By doing so, the Dakota name for the river was, "perverted", or desecrated. And because the Dakota word wakan is derived from the Dakota name for their Great Spirit (Wakan-Tonka), we believe that the Rum River name indirectly desecrates the Dakota name for the Great Spirit. And what makes the white men's naming the river Rum even worse is the fact that...at the time when the river was named Rum, Rum was bringing misery and ruin to many of the Indigenous People.
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photo by Thomas Dahlheimer
"TOWAHKON.Org is the "Rum River" name change organization, an international movement to revert the profane name of Minnesota's "Rum River" back to its sacred Mdewakanton Dakota name, WAKAN.
"We believe that if we are successful at changing the derogatory "Rum River" name, we will have succeeded in elevating the dignity of Minnesota by showing, in respect to one of our state's geographic place names, due respect for Native Americans. In our efforts to change the derogatory name of the 'Rum River', we believe that we are contributing to our country's popular multicultural movement. Through multicultural education and social/political activism we appreciate and understand others more. By doing so, we can change to be better people. We equate our efforts to rename the river to other name change efforts, such as schools dropping mascot names such as "Redmen" and "Indians".
—Thomas Dahlheimer, Director, TOWAHKON.Org
photo by Thomas Dahlheimer
Changing Offensive Names
"My international movement to rename Minnesota’s Rum River is steadily gaining more and more support. Recently, several Minnesota legislators sent me letters wherein they thanked me for the work that I am doing to change this river’s derogatory name."
—Thomas Dahlheimer, Director, TOWAHKON.Org
photo by Thomas Dahlheimer
Thanks to Thomas Dahlheimer of TOWAHKON.Org for information and photos, and Jeanne Chadwick of MYTWOBEADSWORTH.COM.
