Map Monday: Dakota and Ojibwe Place Names in Minneapolis

Via Nick Magrino’s Twitter feed, here’s a map of Minneapolis with some indigenous place names. Dakota and Ojibwe languages are different. Minnesota and Minneapolis both feature the same root, the  word “mni”, which means “water.” (E.g. the Lakota phrase mni wiconi, or “water is life” one of the slogans from the Standing Rock movement.)

Here you go:

 

It’s also cool to see the trails. While they must have shifted a lot over the centuries, it’s interesting that some of the routes are still main pathways through the city. (See also the Red River Trail.)

If you have other maps showing Native American places or names in Minnesota, please share them in the comments.

Bill Lindeke

About Bill Lindeke

Pronouns: he/him

Bill Lindeke has writing blogging about sidewalks and cities since 2005, ever since he read Jane Jacobs. He is a lecturer in Urban Studies at the University of Minnesota Geography Department, the Cityscape columnist at Minnpost, and has written multiple books on local urban history. He was born in Minneapolis, but has spent most of his time in St Paul. Check out Twitter @BillLindeke or on Facebook.