Both Sides Of Lake Calhoun Name Change Debate Sound Off

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- People voiced their opinions Tuesday night over the proposed name change of Lake Calhoun.

The Minneapolis Park Board voted In May to use the Dakota name, Bde Maka Ska.

The biggest lake in Minneapolis is currently named after John Calhoun, a proponent of slavery who helped establish Fort Snelling in Minnesota.

Opponents say a recent petition shows that most people who live along the lake are against changing the name.

"Changing the name of Lake Calhoun to Bde Maka Ska is a poke in the eye of over 90 percent of the people who live in the lakes area," said one attendee of Tuesday's meeting.

A woman of Native American decent also made her thoughts known at the park board meeting.

"Our hearts have always remained here even though we were removed," she said. "I do not own a home along Lake Calhoun because my grandfather, who did have a home along that lake, was murdered."

There are still several more layers of government that need to approve the name change.