09/07/2026
๐ช๐ต๐ "๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฑ"?
Excerpt from the book by Major Stephen Long recounting his journey to Fort Pembina in 1823. The Red Fork River is the Red Lake River, and the reasons for the many places and water named "Red" is given below.
"๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ง๐ , ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐, ๐๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐จ, ๐๐จ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ข๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐ง๐๐ฃ๐๐, ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐จ ๐๐ฉ๐จ ๐ฃ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ข ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐, ๐๐ฃ ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฉ ๐ง๐๐จ๐๐จ. ๐ฝ๐ค๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐ฃ๐จ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ข๐จ ๐๐ก๐ค๐ค๐๐ฎ, ๐ช๐จ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐จ, ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐จ ๐๐ค๐ช๐๐ฉ๐ก๐๐จ๐จ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ข ๐จ๐ค๐ข๐ ๐จ๐ก๐๐ช๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐๐ค๐ข๐ข๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฉ๐ฎ; ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฉ, ๐๐จ ๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฎ ๐ค๐ฉ๐๐๐ง ๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ก๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ, ๐๐ง๐ค๐ข ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ก๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐."
- ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ (1824)
Red Lake: translated from the Ojibwe language Miskwaagamiiwi-zaaga'igan: Lake with its liquid [water] colored red.
The Dakota once controlled almost all of what is now Minnesota. Although many decades of peace and intermingling of the two tribes existed, many battles were fought for control.
The Ojibwe migrated into present-day Minnesota from the northern Great Lakes area during the 17th century. They established villages and sought to expand their territory. In the 18th Century, the Ojibwe battled the Dakota to gain control over the Red Lake region. These conflicts were crucial in establishing Ojibwe dominance in the area.
To discover more about why the Red Lake, Red Lake River, and Red River are "red" I searched for literature, coming across a book published by Dr. Charles Eastman in 1916. Dr. Eastman, a physician, was pure blood Dakota (Sioux), raised in the wilderness of Canada until age 15 when he went to Nebraska to school in 1868, attending five schools until receiving his Doctorate at Boston University in 1893, possibly the first full blood Native American to be endowed with that degree. His life story is fascinating.
In 1910 Eastman was visiting the Red Lake Tribe, who at that time shunned all "civilization" and subsisted entirely the old way - hunting - fishing - gathering. Visiting with the tribal council this story was recounted:
"๐ผ๐ฉ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ข๐๐ฃ ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐ง๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ง๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ข ๐ ๐จ๐ช๐๐๐๐จ๐จ๐๐ช๐ก ๐ข๐ค๐ค๐จ๐ ๐๐ช๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ก๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ช๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฎ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ข๐ ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐ก๐ฎ ๐๐ฉ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐จ๐ค๐ข๐ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ค๐ก๐๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ง๐๐ค๐ง๐จ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ก๐ก๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐จ๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ข๐๐๐๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐๐ค๐ง๐๐๐๐ง๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ค๐ข๐๐ฌ๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ข๐๐๐ง๐ง๐๐จ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ง๐๐จ๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ค๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ค๐ช๐ญ ๐ซ๐๐จ๐๐ฉ๐ค๐ง.
๐๐ค๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฃ ๐ฅ๐ง๐ค๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ก๐ฎ ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ง๐ค๐๐ช๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ค๐ง๐ข๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ค๐ ๐ค๐ก๐ ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ค๐ข๐จ ๐ง๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐๐ก ๐ข๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐๐จ ๐ ๐จ๐๐๐ช๐ง๐๐ ๐จ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ก ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ข๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐จ๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ข๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ข ๐จ๐ค๐ข๐ ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ ๐ค๐ก๐ ๐จ๐ฉ๐ค๐ง๐๐๐จ.
๐๐ฉ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐๐ง๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐ค๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ช๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ค๐ช๐ญ ๐ฃ๐๐๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ข๐ค๐ช๐ฉ๐ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐ข ๐๐๐ก๐ก๐๐ ๐ฝ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ก๐ ๐พ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐ข ๐ง๐๐ฃ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ก๐ค๐ค๐, ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ก๐ค๐ง ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐จ๐๐๐ง๐ฃ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ช๐ฅ๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐๐ค๐ง๐๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ก๐๐ ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐จ ๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐จ๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฃ ๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ๐ฃ ๐๐จ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐. (๐๐ค๐ฉ๐: ๐ฝ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ก๐ ๐พ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐๐จ ๐ฝ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ง, ๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ ๐ก๐ค๐ฌ๐๐ง ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐. Not to be confused with Battle Lake MN).
๐๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ก๐ก๐ฎ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ช๐๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ฃ ๐ค๐ ๐ค๐๐๐ช๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐๐ฉ ๐๐จ ๐จ๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ก๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ช๐๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐ก๐ ๐จ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ค๐ก๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฎ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐๐๐๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐ข๐๐๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ง, ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฎ ๐ก๐ค๐จ๐ฉ ๐จ๐ค ๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ก๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ข๐จ๐๐ก๐ซ๐๐จ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐จ๐ค ๐๐๐จ๐๐๐๐ง๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ก๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ข ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐ค๐ง๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐ก๐๐๐, ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ญ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐ค๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ง๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ช๐๐๐๐ก๐ค."
- ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐บ๐ฆ๐ด๐ข, ๐๐ณ. ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ณ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด ๐๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ (1916) "๐๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ป๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ"
And thus, the rivers and lake are Red.
