Dakota descendants seek new name, reclaimed history at Calhoun

Few Minneapolitans have heard of Cloud Man, but the name of one of the city’s earliest recorded inhabitants may soon achieve better recognition.

That’s because three of his Dakota descendants sit on a citizen panel advising the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board on renovations at lakes Harriet and Calhoun.

They want to restore the lake’s original name of Bde Maka Ska (White Earth Lake) instead of honoring John C. Calhoun, a once-powerful political figure who backed slavery and proposed the Indian Removal Act, an effort to relocate tribal nations.

http://www.startribune.com/dakota-descendants-seek-new-name-reclaimed-history-at-calhoun/323387191/