Group is suing to retain the name of Lake Calhoun

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. There are people who regard the name change as nothing more than

trendy "political correctness," but it's probably just thinly disguised racism - How dare those Indians demand to change the name of a lake that "always" has had a nice Anglo name? And the notion that the lake was named after some obscure army lieutenant is just ludicrous. The lake was, in fact, named after John C. Calhoun. When he was the Secretary of War he authorized the construction of Fort Snelling, one of the earliest white settlements in the state, and had the whole area surveyed. The surveyors renamed the lake after him. Naming the lake after him wasn't related to his avid defense of slavery, which came later; nevertheless, that's mostly what he's now known for, and why so many people have advocated for changing the name of the lake back to its original Dakota name.