Placename bumps and potholes
Have you ever heard the name Lake Itasca? It’s a relatively small, not particularly deep glacial lake located in Minnesota. It also happens to be the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Minnesota is both traditional Ojibwe and Dakota territory (Indian Affairs-State of Minnesota, 2007), so it would seem to make sense that Itasca is a name of Indigenous origin. However, Lake Itasca is actually a great example of why we need to be very cautious when working on place names…