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Minneapolis' West Calhoun neighborhood considers name change

It's expected to head to the full council and Mayor Jacob Frey next week.

By Liz Navratil

August 21, 2020 at 12:09AM

Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) workers install new placards changing East and West Lake Calhoun Parkways to East and West Bde Maka Ska Parkways. (Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Minneapolis is considering changing the name of its West Calhoun neighborhood to West Maka Ska as a nod to the area's Dakota heritage.

A City Council committee gave its approval Thursday afternoon.

The proposal is expected to head to the full council and Mayor Jacob Frey next week.

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

If approved, the change would be consistent with a recent trend of renaming places that carry the name of John C. Calhoun, a 19th-century politician who was an ardent supporter of slavery and removing American Indian people from their lands.

The name change was recommended by the West Calhoun Neighborhood Council, which spent about a year collecting feedback from residents in surveys and at community meetings.

Council Member Linea Palmisano, who represents the area, said she supports the change.

"While we cannot change the past, our neighbors in this neighborhood did not want to honor the legacy of Mr. Calhoun," Palmisano said during the committee meeting.

She added that she sees the change as a "small but potent symbol, I think, of our city's values."

In 2017, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board voted to change the name of Lake Calhoun to Bde Maka Ska, its Dakota name. After a court challenge, the Minnesota Supreme Court decided earlier this year to uphold the name change.

about the writer

Liz Navratil

Reporter

Liz Navratil covers communities in the western Twin Cities metro area. She previously covered Minneapolis City Hall as leaders responded to the coronavirus pandemic and George Floyd’s murder.