Rum River

The Rum River is a slow, meandering channel that connects Minnesota's Mille Lacs Lake with the Mississippi River. It runs through the farming communities of Milaca, Princeton, Cambridge, and Isanti before ending at the Twin Cities suburb of Anoka, roughly 20 miles northwest of downtown Minneapolis.

Name history

The Dakota name for the river is Wakpa waḳaŋ (Spirit(ual)/Mystic River), after Mille Lacs Lake ("Mde waḳaŋ", Spirit(ual)/Mystic Lake). In 1702, d'Isle's map recorded the name of the river as Riviere des Mendeoüacanton (River of the Mdewakanton). On the 1733 Henry Popple map, the Rum River is shown as R. Nendivaocanton. Upham notes that both Carver in 1766 and Pike in 1805 found the name "Rum River" in use by English-speaking fur traders.cite book| last =Upham| first =Warren| authorlink =Warren Upham| title =Minnesota Place Names, A Geographical Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition| publisher =Minnesota Historical Society| date =2001| location =Saint Paul, Minnesota| | isbn =0-87351-396-7] However, the 1778 Mitchell Map by John Mitchell records the river as Fiume del Lago ("River of the Lake"), with Samuel Mitchell reproducing the map in 1880, with the river recorded as Lake R.; Mille Lacs Lake, though, was recorded in the reproduction as Red Lake or Mustiacalsan ("Mustiacalsan" being a mis-recording of "Miſsiſacaigon"). By 1832, Tanner's map recorded the name of the river as Missisagaigon or Rum River. Today, two different Ojibwe names can be found this river: one indicating the lake of its origin (Misi-zaaga'igani-ziibi, Grand Lake River) and the other reflecting the English (Ishkodewaaboo-ziibi, Fire-water River).

Naming Controversy

The current English name is a mistranslation of the one given to it by the Mdewakanton Dakota (see Dakota) tribe. Though "Wakpa waḳaŋ" (Spirit(ual)/Mystic River) in Dakota, by the late 18th-century Europeans interpreted the Mdewakanton Dakota name for the river not as "Spirit" denoting a mystical force, but instead as "spirit" denoting alcohol and ever since it has been known as the Rum River.

There is an international movement to return the river to its previous "name"Fact|date=April 2007 on the basis that the current one as a "corruption" of the name's original intent.Fact|date=April 2007 It's seen an affront to native sensibilitiesFact|date=April 2007 (the modern-day Dakota word for "Great Spirit" is, for instance, Waḳaŋ Taŋka). [ [http://fmdb.cla.umn.edu/dakota/FMPro?-db=dakota.fp5&-format=definition.htm&-lay=entry&-sortfield=entry&-op=cn&definitions=spirit&-recid=33224&-find= "Great Spirit"] . The Dakota Dictionary Online. Retrieved 2007-04-11] The movement has the endorsement of many tribal and native organizations, human rights organizations, multicultural organizations, the United Nations' Secretariat of the Permanent Forum On Indigenous Issues, the Minnesota Historical Society's Indian Advisory Committee, a Minnesota State Legislator and religious leaders, including Archbishop Harry Flynn and Bishop John Kinney.Fact|date=April 2007 However, some people still believe it is doubtful that such a change will be affected because the modern usage is so entrenched with communities along the river.Fact|date=April 2007

History

The early Explorer Father Louis Hennepin is credited with being the first European to lay eyes upon the Rum. He was taken to see it during the spring of 1680, while under the captivity of a party of Dakota. He referred to it as the St. Francis river in his published journals, although obviously the name didn't stick. The current river bearing the name St. Francis River, located 12 miles west of the Rum, parallels the flow of the Rum.

The Rum River makes a sharp turn southward at Cambridge, Minnesota. During the Spring floods, the Rum River forces itself through a wetland complex west of Cambridge as the sharp bend constricts the river's floodwaters. In the 1825 Treaty of Prairie du Chien, the outlet of this natural diversion channel located near Isanti, Minnesota, known as "Choking Creek", became a treaty boundary separating the Dakota from the Ojibwe.

In Princeton, Minnesota, the Rum divides between the Main Branch and the West Branch. When Mille Lacs County, Minnesota was created from Benton County, Minnesota, the West Branch of the Rum served as the Counties' boundary. Today, Mille Lacs County's western boundary instead follows a survey line.

The Bogus Brook, which flows into the Rum River, was known to have been a refuge for moonshiners during the Prohibition.

References

ee also

*List of Minnesota rivers

External links

* [http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/maps/canoe_routes/rum.pdf Minnesota DNR: A Canoe and Boating Guide to the Rum River]