Environmental Activism
By Thomas Dahlheimer
I am an American Indian rights activist who is spearheading an international movement to change the profane and derogatory name of a Minnesota river,
the "Rum" River. My website is located at: www.towahkon.org. This river received its current profane name by way of a faulty translation that
desecrated the sacred Mdewakanton Dakota name for the river (Wakan), it is translated as (Great) Spirit. In April 2003, I established a non-prophet
organization to help me change this river's derogatory name. My organization's name is Rum River Name Change Organization, Inc.. And I, along
with the other members of this organization, have established an environmental committee that is in the process of establishing an environmental
movement with a mission to help clean up this beautiful but badly named river.
Russell Means, an internationally renowned American Indian activist, sent me the following Nov. 04, 2003 letter of support. "To Whom it may
Concern: I hereby support the movement to change the derogatory name of a Minnesota River, the White Man named Rum River. In my language, "Wakan"
is Holy. I support the effort to return this Minnesota River to its rightful name Holy Water. Perhaps it will quit being polluted as well.
David Gonzales, an American Indian environmental activist once wrote an article and then managed to get it published in Minnesota's best selling
state-wide daily newspaper. It promoted the formation of a group of American Indian environmental activists who would then canoe from Mille Lacs
Lake down the badly named "Rum" River to its confluence with the Mississippi River. And do so, in an effort to change the dominant culture's
collective attitude toward the rivers in particular and water in general. In his article he presented his groups plan to take a canoe journey
down the Wakan/"Rum" River to its confluence with the Mississippi River and while doing so, stop along the way and set up colorful tepees and
camps at key environmental locations along the river as "environmental schools" to promote American Indian environmental awareness.
In his article, David Gonzales wrote: "The environmental crisis necessitates that we speak for the rivers and water as a place to care for,
make safe, and enjoy." The environmental crisis also necessitates that the Rum River Name Change Organization's envisioned Wakan/"Rum" River
environmental movement becomes manifest and that it too speaks for the Wakan River, as well as for other bodies of water, as places to care
for, make safe, and enjoy.
If this envisioned environmental movement becomes manifest, its activists, in an attempt to change the collective attitude, will canoe from
Mille Lacs down the Wakan River to the sacred two-rivers area where the river meets with the Mississippi River in Anoka, Minnesota.
And during this canoe journey, these environmental activists will come in contact with riverside communities, and this will symbolize their
theme that the Wakan River, and all other rivers, are sacred arteries for life. And they will set up colorful tepees and camps at key
environmental locations located along the Wakan River as environmental schools to promote public awareness.
And they will make use of American Indian language to change attitudes. During their canoe journey they will be promoting respect for the
sacred American Indian word wakan, the sacred Mdewakanton Dakota name for the "Rum" River. This sacred American Indian word wakan not only
means sacred, holy and spirit, it is also used as a Dakota/Lakota/Nakota name for the (Great) Spirit.
In the late 1700s, white men took the sacred Dakota name for the "Rum" River (Wakan), and then, by way of a "punning translation", translated
the sacred Dakota name for the "Rum" River (Wakan) to mean an alcohol spirit, the alcohol spirit rum. They then, unfortunately, named the river
"Rum". By doing so, the sacred Dakota name for the river was desecrated.
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 Indians.
The Rum River Name Change Organization's environmental activists who will be canoeing down the Wakan/ "Rum" River will be promoting the effort
to revert the name of the "Rum" River back to its sacred American Indian name Wakan. And they will, by means of promoting respect for the sacred
American Indian "name" for the "Rum" River (Wakan), attempt to change the collective attitude, so that our nation's cultural mainstream people
become eco-conscientious protectors of the Great Spirit's rivers and other bodies of water. And as these environmental activists search for a
way to change attitudes toward rivers and water - and of course the earth - American Indian language will become more and more important to
them, hence they will become more diligent in their mission to revert the badly named "Rum" River back to its sacred American Indian "name"
Wakan.
Near Summertown, Tennessee there is a large and very successful youth of the 1960s hippie countercultural commune with a world-view around the
word wakan. This hippie countercultural commune's founder and leader is Stephen Gaskin. Gaskin was a Green Party candidate for President in the
year 2000. And in the 1960s, another leader of the hippie countercultural revolution, who occasionally met and spoke with Stephen Gaskin,
visited me in Wahkon, Minnesota , the headquarter of the Rum River Name Change Organization. His name is Richard Carter. And he is now an
bi-nationally known environmentalist and one of the Governor of Arizona's top environmental advisers. Note: The word wakan is sometimes
spelled wahkon.)
And at the 1983 Tekakwitha Conference, a conference that represented hundreds of tribes, I was interviewed by the conference's keynote speaker
(Matthew Fox). Matthew Fox is an internationally know environmentalist. And during that interview, I informed Fox about my "world-view around
the word wahkon" environmental mission. And during that interview, Matthew Fox told me that he would like for me to keep in touch with him,
so as to keep him informed about the progress of my "world view around the word wahkan" environmental mission. And after sending a letter to
Matthew Fox, wherein I informed him about my movement to change the derogatory name of the "Rum" River, he sent me a letter of support for my
effort to change the river's name.
And National Environmental Coalition of Native Americans and First Nations Environmental Network have also given their support for the effort
to change this river's derogatory name.
And Tom Wisner, a nationally renowned singer, song writer and environmentalist who supports the effort to regain the Mdewakanton Dakota name
for the Wakan River now known as the "Rum" River made the movement to regain the sacred Mdewakanton Dakota name for the river the centerpiece
of his 2005 Winter Solstice radio broadcast for "Chesapeake Country", a two hour show that was broadcasted on the internet. Mr. Wisner is
known nationally for his song "Chesapeake Born". "Chesapeake Born" became the title song for the 1986 National Geographic Special on the Bay
region. Wisner's classroom techniques were filmed by Washington-area NBC-TV and other stations, and he received national, state, and local
awards for excellence in teaching. He was given citations by two governors and was named a major figure in land-conservation work by
President Reagan's Commission on the Out-of-Doors.
I am hoping that the envisioned Wakan River environmental movement will soon become manifest and that its participants will then fulfill our
environmental committee's initial mission, by canoeing from Mille Lac Lake down the badly named "Rum" River to its confluence with the
Mississippi River; and in the process stopping along the way and setting up colorful tepees and camps at key environmental locations as
"environmental schools" to promote American Indian environmental awareness.
And I am also hoping that there will soon be a formation of a group of America Indian environmental activists, who will then canoe from Mille
Lacs Lake down the badly named "Rum" River to its confluence with the Mississippi River, and in the process also stopping along the way and
setting up colorful tepees and camps at key environmental locations as "environmental schools" to promote American Indian environmental
awareness.
Video of the confluence of the Wakan/"Rum" and Mississippi rivers
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Tom Wisner’s commentary on the Environmental Activism article is presented below.
Dear Tom Dahlheimer
Thanks for including the affirmation for my support of the Wakan River cause in your recent writings about the Rum River name change! I am
pleased, (although I note in these testy political times with federal survielance of all causes, one might cringe a little in the fear of
being in a list of advocates alongside of the courageous Russel Means or even with the gentler Matt Fox). I might also add that though
somewhat concerned with being portrayed as any part of the Reagan "Preyer" circle, I am never-the-less very proud to be listed in this
advocacy of your work! I will continue to think through and to refine commentary as time goes on! More will be included in this coming
cycle of programs and broadcasts about the Year of the River! I think the idea of a Native American canoe journey down any River could
be beneficial to the political interest to legislate for clean water. I'm not as sure about the placement of "Colorful Teepees" as I
am sure about the presence of powerful men like Banks or Means or the native voice like that of Winona La Duke who recently was quoted
saying, "we don't need sustainable development we need sustainable community!"
About the PR on this issue, I think that the imagery in the earlier phrasing of "The Mouth of the Sacred Waters" can be a vital part of the
imagery. I know that this name "Mdoteminiwakan" or "Mouth of the Sacred Waters" has now been abandoned in favor of the simpler phrase, WAKAN.
I support that idea as I think it will be an easier sell. I do recall that there was a comment in earlier exchanges by one tribal councilman
about that image of "the mouth of the sacred waters" serving as the symbolic imagery of the watershed. The image of the whole watershed is
an important ecological piece in the story. I'm aware that the more complex phrase has been abandoned for good reason. I am still aesthetically
inspired by the vision of the "Mouth of the Sacred" and I recommend weaving that aspect into the 'sales pitch' or 'hook' in any writing about
the name of the region. I'll continue to conjure on that. Thanks for the work you are doing! I believe the work of bringing integrity to the
naming of place, issue and cause is a legitimate part of the work to clarify our place in building a better world.
BLESSINGS TOM,
PS I am sending a number of folks in my circle with this letter...........I have corrected the reference to the Natl Geographic Special to
"1986" instead of 1987 and clarified the connections to the web for that show.
More articles by Thomas Ivan Dahlheimer can be found at:
articles
Thomas Dahlheimer's e-mail address: Wahkon@scicable.com
