Misi'zaaga'igan

Misi-zaaga’igan, “the lake that spreads all over,” is the Ojibwe name for Mille Lacs. Its wide waters and surrounding forests have been home to both Dakota and Ojibwe communities. The Dakota knew the lake as Mde Wakan, Spirit Lake, and regarded it as an important place. Its outlet runs south along the Rum River, eventually reaching the Mississippi.

A Dakota village known as Isanti stood near the southwestern shore from the seventeenth century until around 1750. In the eighteenth century Ojibwe people established permanent homes around the lake after conflict with the Dakota. Their seasonal life drew on the resources of the lake and woods, including fish, wild rice and game. In 1837 the Mille Lacs Ojibwe joined other communities in a treaty with the United States concerning lands in the region.