Introduction:
The following article was published in Multicultural Pavilion. Multicultural Pavilion is Paul Gorski's website. Mr. Gorski is a national and internationally renown leader of multicultural education and social activism. I sent this article to him and he published it on his web site.

Mulicultural Activism

By Thomas Ivan Dahlheimer

In Minnesota, "the land of ten thousand lakes," there is a large and beautiful lake named Mille Lacs. Its outlet river is named Rum. The Dakota (Sioux) "name" for the Rum River is Wakan, translated as (Great) Spirit. According to historical documents found in Minnesota Geographic Names (Upham, 1920), white explorers gave the Rum River its current name in the late eighteenth century by way of a "punning translation" that "perverted the ancient Sioux name Wakan" (384). When the white men performed the punning translation, they did so by mistranslating the sacred Dakota name Wakan, turning a word that means Spirit to mean an alcohol spirit, the alcohol spirit rum. Hence the word spirit, which has different definitions, was used in a punning way to mistranslate the sacred Dakota "name" for the river.

Because the sacred Mdewakanton Dakota "name" for the river (Wakan) means (Great) Spirit, the Rum River's current name desecrates the Dakota name for their Great Spirit. In a St. Paul Daily Pioneer article from 1868, the Rum River name is listed, along with other geographic names as "profane." When referring to the Rum River's name, an excerpt from the article reads, "The 'profane name' was already in use by some in the 1861, as was the animosity toward the native people of Minnesota" (Wendel, 1868).

Twenty-five years ago I became aware of the profanation of the Dakota name for the Rum River while researching the worldview behind the word wakan, which since the late 1960s has been embraced by the counterculture as a part of a movement toward global unity and environmental sustainability. In 1983 I attended the Tekakwitha Conference held at Saint John's College in Minnesota. This is a Catholic Native American conference representing hundreds of tribes, and there I heard missionary priest Stanislaus Maudin present a paper on the juncture between the Dakota concept of wakan - the term itself has been adopted by a few other Indian tribes - and the Catholic Church's globalization movement aimed at uniting humanity within a single united culture. Since attending that conference, I have been active within the Catholic Church's countercultural movement to promote respect for indigenous peoples and the environment as well as for the unity of all humanity.

My efforts to show due respect for the sacred word wakan led me to seek a change in the derogatory name of the Rum River. I laid the foundation for establishing my Rum River name-change movement by contacting Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in 1997 as well as by educating citizens in the communities along the river. Officials in the DNR explained to me the name-change process and the need to build a support base. In April 2003, I officially established a nonprofit corporation, Rum River Name Change Organization, headquartered in Wahkon Minnesota, and created a web site at http://www.towahkon.org.

Twenty years of work within the Catholic Church, countercultural organizations, and indigenous communities gave me the experience and contacts I needed to inform my fellow citizens along the river and throughout the state of Minnesota. I first approached the Upper Sioux, a band of Mdewakanton Dakota "Sioux", one of four bands living in Minnesota. The Mdewakanton Dakota bestowed the original name of Wakan to the river. The Upper Sioux group endorsed the name change, as did Cankdeska Cikana Community College, a Dakota college established to bring higher education opportunities to the people of Spirit Lake Sioux; the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Community; Joe Day, the executive director of the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council; internationally known Indian activists Russell Means, Clyde Bellecourt, Charles Trimble, Sequoyah Ade and Dr. Tom Pinkson; Pat Albers, chair of the University of Minnesota's American Indian Studies Department.

I then contacted religious leaders. The first was Rev. Matthew Fox, an internationally known author and lecturer who was the keynote speaker at the 1983 Tekakwitha Conference. He endorsed the effort. Archbishop Harry Flynn of the Archdiocese of Minnesota and St. Paul also endorsed the effort, along with 30 pastors of Christian churches located within the Rum River area. In my efforts to change the river's name, I have found that there is almost unanimous support among Christian leaders of all denominations. Much of this has to do with heightened awareness of the catastrophic consequences of white settlers introducing and selling alcohol to the Indian people. There is an element of "white guilt" in this appeal, along with a desire to make restitution and help indigenous peoples free themselves from the plague of alcoholism. Beyond that, the religious leaders see that the harmful effects of alcohol and alcoholism are a problem not only in Indian communities but also among non-Indian residents of the state.

Finally, I contacted and gained the support of organizations concerned with, multicultural education, human rights, environmental sustainability and historic preservation. These included KOLA, an international Indigenous human rights organization; Pax Chisti USA, the United Nations' Secretarial of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues; National Environmental Coalition of Native Americans; First Nations Environmental Network, Division of Indian Works, Native Earth Works Preservation Group, Alliance for Native American Indians Rights and the Indian Affairs Committee of the Minnesota Historical Society, which endorsed the name change on March 30, 2004. The highly respected Minnesota Historical Society is a powerful ally in the campaign to change the river's name, and its support is crucial to moving local and state authorities on the direction of reverting the river's name back to its American Indian name (Wakan).

Geographic name change efforts like this one parallel recent efforts to rename team mascots. Some of those have succeeded, though the more high-profile ones, like the Cleveland Indians baseball team, have failed. Our strategy for getting the river's name changed is similar to the strategies of those who seek to change an offensive name of a high school team, for instance - assemble a base of support among Indian activist and organizations, educators, and community groups - though the individual groups approached may differ. In terms of community groups, the Rum River Name Change Organization has concentrated on religious groups for a variety of reasons, including my own background working with the Catholic Church, the important place of the Catholic Church and other churches in the area, and the controversial nature of a river named for a frequently abused alcoholic beverage.

None the less, obstacles remain. It might take a while for this campaign to attain its goal. Initially, the Wahkon City Council opposed our efforts on fiscal grounds, citing the cost of changing signs during a statewide economic crisis. The Mille Lacs band of Ojibwe violently forced the Mdewakanton Dakota out of their ancient homeland centuries ago, and some Mille Lacs band members fear that the name change would cause the Mdewakantons to acquire a renewed appreciation of their heritage, leading to demands that the Mille Lacs band share the Mille Lacs area with them. Getting the support of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe for the name change will take time. In fact, the entire process takes time.

There are two methods to pursue for changing a geographic feature's name. There's the county level method, wherein a resident can try to have a place name changed by getting a petition signed by at least 15 registered voters in each county where the natural resource is located (in this case the Rum River runs through four counties, and the West Branch Rum River through three counties), each county board would have to decide to schedule a public hearing in which all four boards would meet together in a single place, with approval of a name change contingent on approval of a majority of the county boards. (The name change of the West Branch Rum River would require a separate meeting of three county boards.) The state legislative (or state bill) method is the other way a resident can try to have a place name changed. At this time, I am pursuing the legislative method. And because there are several other derogatory geographic place names in Minnesota, I decided to add them to my proposed state bill, believing that my proposed bill would stand a better chance of getting sponsored and pasted if all of Minnesota's derogatory geographic place names were on the bill. Added note: My "proposed bill" is now a Minnesota bill. It can be found at by clicking bill.

In the past few decades, many people like me have become active participants in our nation's multicultural movement on a variety of levels - in local communities as well as in academia. Through multicultural education and activism people learn to understand and appreciate others more, and in doing so, they grow as people. Those who have been introduced to other cultures through multicultural education have acquired a respect for the culture and history of the diverse groups that make up this nation, and many have become the leaders of movements to redress the problems of the past like derogatory names. I believe that it is primarily due to our nation's popular multicultural movement located in schools, churches, and community organizations that many derogatory team and place names have already been changed, and because of this process we have become a better nation.

As people of the dominant culture learn more about American Indians they often gain an understanding of the deep respect they have for mother earth. Hence, environmental organizations are prone to endorse name-change initiatives that are trying to influence people of the dominant culture to more fully appreciate American Indian cultures.

An American Indian environmental activist wrote an article for the best-selling Minnesota newspaper (the StarTribune) wherein he advocated the formation of a group of American Indian environmental activists who would then canoe from the mouth of the "Rum" River to its confluence with the Mississippi River. And do so, in an effort to change the dominant culture's collective attitude toward rivers in particular and water in general. The author of this StarTribune article (David Gonzales), envisioned (in part) a future "Rum" River canoe journey wherein a group of American Indian environmental activists would 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.

And just recently the Rum River Name Change Organization established an environmental committee that is in the process of establishing an environmental movement with a mission to clean up the badly named Rum River.

The Rum River name change movement is dedicated to promoting environmental activism on the river the Mdewakanton Dakota know as Wakan. Our Wakan River environmental activism agenda in some ways parallels David Gonzales's envisioned American Indian environmental activism agenda.

The environmental crisis necessitates that the Rum River Name Change Organization's envisioned Wakan River environmental movement becomes manifest and that it 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 the mouth of the Wakan River to its confluence with the Mississippi River. During this canoe journey, 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. We will set up colorful tepees and camps at key environmental locations located along the Wakan River as 'environmental schools' to promote public awareness. And we will make use of American Indian language to change attitudes. During our canoe journey we will be promoting respect for the sacred American Indian word/name Wakan. The Rum River Name Change Organization's environmental activists who will be canoeing down the "Rum" River will be promoting the effort to revert the badly named Rum River back to its American Indian name Wakan. And they will, by means of promoting respect for the sacred multi-tribal American Indian word/name Wakan, attempt to change the collective attitude so that 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 American Indian name Wakan.

In 1983, I attended the Tekakwitha Conference held at St. John's College in Minnesota. The Tekakwitha Conference is a Catholic Native American conference representing hundreds of tribes. And at this conference, a missionary Priest (Stanislaus Maudin) addressed the conference and said: "There is a whole world-view behind the word wakan".

During this Tekakwitha Conference, I was interviewed by Matthew Fox. At the time, Fox was the international leader of the Catholic Church's indigenous peoples rights/environmental movement. And at the beginning of the interview, Fox told me that the late internationally renown Catholic monk and author Thomas Merton, a person who had a lot of influence on the youth of the 1960s environmental movement, had asked him to reach out to the youth of the 1960s countercultural revolution with the intent to help them find the truth and live holy lives. And then Fox asked me, a countercultural revolutionary, what I thought about this connection with Merton. I responded by telling him about my strongly influenced by Merton countercultural world view movement behind the word/concept wakan, translated as sacred or holy, and sometimes used as a name for the Dakota's (Great) Spirit. And near the end of the interview, Fox asked me to keep in touch with him, so as to keep him informed about the progress of my countercultural world view movement behind the word/concept wakan.

And during a Mr. & Mrs. I. C. Rainbow family reunion, a reunion that took place not long after my meeting with Matthew Fox my uncle Don Rainbow addressed the seventeen families gathered at that Rainbow family reunion and said: " A Rainbow is a sign of God's salvation plan and I believe that we may be used to glorify God more than any other family in the world." He made this very grandiose statement after I spoke to him about both my meeting with Rev. Matthew Fox and my vision of our family coming together in kinship tribalism in order to promote the tribal way, American Indian environmental awareness and my expression of the counterculture's world view behind the word wakan movement.

And then years later, I met and became friends with Chris McCloud, an internationally renown song writer who in the 1960s socialized with Paul McCarthy and other world-wide known countercultural leaders. When McCloud was socializing with McCarthy he, like myself, was of the strongly influenced by Thomas Merton expression of the counterculture's environmental and world unity movement and he is still of this expression.

Near Summertown, Tennessee, there is a 250-member and very successful youth of the 1960s countercultural community with a world-view behind the word wakan. Its founder and leader (Stephen Gaskin) is internationally known and his community has gained national recognition as a creditable environmental organization. And Stephen Gaskin was a Green Party candidate for President in the year 2000.

In the 1960s, I met and became friends with Richard Carter. At the time, Carter was a San Francisco Bay area leader of the countercultural revolution and he occasionally met with Stephen Gaskin. When Gaskin and his commune moved to Summertown Tennessee, Carter his wife (Louis) and myself moved to Wahkon, Minnesota. The move was temporary for the Carters but permanent for myself. Now-a-days, Richard Carter is a binationally known environmentalist and one the Governor of Arizona's top environmental advisors. (Note: The Dakota word wakan was spelled Wahkon when it was used to name the mentioned above city.)

The "Sioux" (or Dakota/Lakota/Nakota) are used to portray all Native American tribes in Hollywood, anyone wanting to see a "real Indian" wants to see a war bonnet and a tipi. Therefore, I believe that the world psychic views all Native Americans as "Sioux"; and that when people watch the traditional Hollywood movies about Native Americans they often hear the "Sioux" using the word wakan (sacred), or the combined words Wakan-Tonka (Spirit-Great). Hence, a lot of people throughout the world believe that the word wakan and the name Wakan-Tonka are used by all Native Americans. Stephen Gaskin once wrote: "The word wakan has a strong and universal concept and people all around the world know something about it."

I am hoping that the Rum River's derogatory name will soon be changed, my Rainbow family relatives will soon come to Wahkon, Minnesota and form into a tribe and then promote my expression of the counterculture's world view behind the word wakan movement; and also hope that the envisioned Wahkon River environmental movement will soon become manifest. In addition, I hope that there will soon be a formation of a group of America Indian environmental activists who will canoe from Mille Lacs Lake down the badly named Rum River to promote American Indian environmental awareness.

References

Upham, W. (1920, repr. 1969). Minnesota Geographic Names. Minnesota Historical Society Press.

Wendel, V. (1868, January 22). St. Paul Daily Pioneer: 1.

Thomas Ivan Dahlheimer is the founder and director of the Rum River Name Change Organization, located in Wahkon, Minnesota. He may be contacted at wahkon@scicable.com.

Another article that is related to this article can be found by clicking on Enviromental Activism
Tom Wisner is a nationally renowned enviromentalist and in this Environmental Activism article a statement of his about environmental activism on the Wakan/"Rum" River is presented.