Should Faribault Look At Changing The Name Of Teepee Tonka Park?

Henry Sibley High School in Mendota Heights is the latest in Minnesota to be getting a name change. The school is switching over to the name Two Rivers. Lake Calhoun was changed to Bde Maka Ska. So should Faribault look to change the name of Teepee Tonka park to something more 'politically correct'?

In our new 'woke' culture, we look to make amends for past discretion from generations gone by. Would Faribault be getting ahead of the game with the change, rather than waiting for hoards of people to rush in and demand it?

I don't pretend to have answers, I really don't know. We've got counties, roads, towns, and schools named after past Presidents, and influential figures in history on both the winning and losing side of things. Examples of where we get some of our names for places comes from people like:

• Father Louis Hennepin
• Alexander Ramsey
• Henry Mower Rice
• Henry Hastings Sibley
• Franklin Steele

Maybe it's a tweak to the park's name, something more traditionally spelled, Tipi Tatanka, or maybe it's a new name altogether, or perhaps we just keep it the way it is. Maybe it's not a big deal and never will be.

As the name changes come there will be those that react differently, I mean we change names on stadiums, think of our division rivals in the AL Central the White Sox, the stadium they are playing in now has been called 'new' Comiskey Park, U.S. Cellular Field, and now Guaranteed Rate Field and we barely blink.

I do know that there is at least one other place in Minnesota with the same name as Teepee Tonka, but it's spelled differently, and it's a lodge up on Blackduck Lake.