Star Tribune
Little Canada may change name of Savage Lake, considered offensive to Native Americans
You might not know it, but if you’ve driven the eight lanes of Interstate 35E cutting through Little Canada, you’ve crossed a lake — hardly visible behind the retaining walls — whose eastern shoreline was once home to a Dakota summer hunting camp.
Once French Canadian trappers arrived in the area, it became a rendezvous point for the two groups in about the 1830s, according to “Little Canada … A Voyageur’s Vision,” a book published by the Little Canada Historical Society. The French Canadians gave the lake the name “Lac au Sauvages,” which inelegantly translates to Savage Lake.
Now, that name might not be long for the maps.
The Ramsey County Board has set a public hearing for Jan. 23 to discuss a proposal to rename the body of water, technically a wetland, as Lake Métis — a name that local historical society officials say better honors Little Canada’s history.
Rocky Waite, a longtime Little Canada resident, has been lobbying to change Savage Lake’s name for a decade. Waite, who has Chickasaw and Choctaw ancestry, said he has never liked the name and that he decided to push to change it when he retired.
The idea hasn’t always been popular, especially with some Little Canadians descended from families that have been there for generations, Waite said. But a recent shakeup in some of the city’s leadership has helped the idea gain traction, he said.
Curt Loschy, executive director of the Little Canada Historical Society, said inertia was an issue. But he thinks conversations surrounding revisions of the state flag and seal have opened people’s eyes to the need for changes elsewhere.
“I think most people want it changed and they don’t care much what it’s changed to,” Loschy said. Still, not everybody in town agrees, he said: “I think it’s more because they just don’t think it should be changed because it’s always been that way.”
Under Minnesota law, the process to change Savage Lake’s name is a tiered one. The first step was taken when the Little Canada Historical Society submitted a petition to Ramsey County requesting a change. The petition must include the signature of at least 15 voters registered in the county.
In August, the Little Canada City Council passed a resolution on a 3-0 vote in support of renaming the lake. It was a step, City Administrator Chris Heineman said, that county officials asked them to take to get council input in the process.
Last week, the Ramsey County Board set the public hearing date for January to gather public comment on the proposal to change the lake’s name to Lake Métis.
Name changes
The hunting camp on the shore of Savage Lake was a day’s travel in the 1800s from Kaposia, the Dakota village on the Mississippi River, according to the Little Canada book.
Whether the French Canadians were referring to the Dakota when they called the lake “Lac au Sauvages,” or the name was meant more as a nod to the lakes, woods and streams in the area — “Sauvage” also means “wild” in French, said Jon Tremblay, a Little Canada Historical Society board member — the English translation poses problems.
“It’s a bad name for the lake in a 99.9 percent English-speaking community,” Tremblay said.
While the lake’s name is generally considered offensive to Indigenous people, it’s not the same for the city of Savage in Scott County. Formerly known as Hamilton, it was renamed for Marion Willis Savage, best known as the owner of race horse Dan Patch.
Waite said he hasn’t been able to find a historic Dakota name for Savage Lake. In light of that, he and others want to name it Lake Métis, a nod to the people of mixed Indigenous and European ancestry who permanently settled the area.
“Metis just comes from the French verb, ‘métisser,’ which means to mix, socially or blood,” Tremblay said. “If you know the origin of the word, it’s not difficult to see the connection.”
If the County Board agrees the name should be changed to Lake Métis, the proposal would go to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for Commissioner Sarah Strommen’s consideration, said Pete Boulay, who handles naming requests at the DNR. If Strommen approves, the name would go to Ramsey County to be recorded and then to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names for federal consideration.
“If they approve it, then you’ll see it on Google,” Boulay said.
Minnesota’s most high-profile lake name change in recent years was Bde Maka Ska in Minneapolis, formerly known as Lake Calhoun after 19th-century pro-slavery statesman John C. Calhoun. Name changes usually aren’t that controversial, and there are typically a few that happen more quietly in the state every year, Boulay said.
If proponents succeed in changing the name of Lake Savage, it could raise the question of what to do about Savage Lane, which runs south of the lake. That decision would rest with the city, and Waite said they’ll cross that bridge when they come to it.
“One battle at a time,” he said.
About 50 Ukrainian refugees have signed up to donate blood on Saturday in Minneapolis as a way to give thanks to Americans for welcoming them to this country and for support in the face of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine.
The donated blood will then be given to the Children’s Hospital of Minnesota.
The Ukrainian American Community Center, located at 301 NE Main St. in Minneapolis, has organized the event. The blood drive will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, said Iryna Petrus, community outreach manager at the center.
“It’s a sign of gratitude to Americans for supporting Ukraine and saving children’s lives in Ukraine,” said Yosyf Sabir, speaking on behalf of the blood drive.
It’s also a way to say “thank you to the United States for welcoming us so warmly,” said Petrus. She said there will be a program at 10 a.m. Saturday when several leaders of the Ukrainian American Community Center will speak. She said the center is hopeful that Ukrainian groups in other parts of North America will do similar blood drives.
Those who are unable to give blood have been asked to donate cash, which will be used to purchase tourniquets that will sent to Ukraine to be used by persons who have been injured in the war. Every $50 raised will purchase one hemostatic tourniquet, the Ukrainian Center said in a news release.
If approved, that approach would drop the district’s fund balance to 6% of general fund expenditures. The current board policy is to maintain a fund balance of at least 10% of general fund expenditures.
Anoka-Hennepin’s current operating referendum brings in about $1,154 per student, but the state-allowed cap is about $2,200 per student. If increased to the cap amount, a referendum would bring in another $40 million, McIntyre said.
According to community feedback collected through surveys and community meetings over the last month, nearly 90% of respondents said they supported a referendum. Parents and families also expressed concern about growing class sizes as a result of cuts.
The two options have already been revised based on board members’ requests to reduce cuts that would mean fewer teachers at schools, McIntyre said.
At one point in the discussion, the district floated changes to middle and high school class schedules to save money, but that was removed after board member feedback. At the board’s meeting last month, several board members thanked district staff for transparency about potential cuts and responsiveness to board and community feedback.
“I would encourage people to keep asking questions,” Board Member Michelle Langenfeld said at the September board meeting, “because as we unfold more information, the opportunity becomes greater for us to make the most informed decision under these very, very difficult circumstances.”
On Monday morning, contract workers began snipping razor wire and removing it from fencing that was propped atop concrete barriers along the perimeter of the former Third Precinct police station, which was set ablaze during the uprising over George Floyd’s police killing.
Finally, the concrete barricades will come down, after 4.5 years. As private security guards looked on, contractors began removing the security measures put in place to secure the building at 3000 Minnehaha Av. after it became a focal point of protests.
For the past three years, Third Precinct police officers have been based out of a city building in downtown Minneapolis, with plans to eventually bring them back to a south Minneapolis Community Safety Center just down the street at 2633 Minnehaha Av.
What to do with the former police station – home to what has been called a “playground” for renegade cops – has been the subject of heated debate, with the Minneapolis City Council and Mayor Jacob Frey at odds.
While the city debated its future, some conservatives jumped at the chance to use the charred building as a backdrop to hold press conferences and news reports in which they blasted the city and its leaders. Most recently, vice presidential nominee JD Vance made a campaign stop in front of the building earlier this month to blast his opponent, Gov. Tim Walz, for his handling of the 2020 riots and portray Minneapolis as a city overrun with crime.
GOP vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance speaks outside the former Minneapolis Police 3rd Precinct building in Minneapolis on Oct. 14. (Leila Navidi)
After that, several council members expressed frustration at the city’s failure to clean up the site. Despite signs saying “cleanup efforts are underway,” concrete barriers, fencing and razor wire remained all summer.
Council Member Aurin Chowdhury said earlier this month that the blight makes people feel uncared for and gives opportunists a backdrop to manipulate the scene for political gain.
Council Member Linea Palmisano blamed some of her council colleagues for the delays, accusing some members of being “desperate for any objection” to Frey’s proposal. The council passed a resolution saying that the building should not be used for any law enforcement functions again. Palmisano called it disgraceful that the building remains, scarred and secured, over four years later.
