Two Rivers will become the new name of Henry Sibley High School, eliminating the affiliation with the early Minnesota pioneer whose reputation in history has come to be seen in a new, harsher light.
The school board of the West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan district voted 5-1 Monday in favor of the name change. The change comes after a year-long process that included a survey of about 4,100 people on the proposed names. The board chose Two Rivers over runner-up West Heights, both of which were the highest rated in the survey, with at least 75 percent support.
The name chosen “represents the union of two big rivers of Minnesota,” said Daymond Dean, a member of the naming committee, at Monday’s board meeting. “The name … has strong support from the community feedback. It’s symbolic of unity and merging of the past and current cultures. It blends itself to other opportunities as we move forward in building the identity of the school.”
About two dozen people attended the meeting Monday night at the Mendota Heights campus, with a few objecting to changing the name at all.
“The majority of the community doesn’t agree,” one woman said, chiming in during board discussion.
John Chandler was the lone board member saying he couldn’t vote for the name selected, adding, “if more people in my circles would have come to me and expressed overwhelmingly enthusiasm about any of the names, I’d feel much better.”
It was unclear when the signage on campus facilities or the Sibley name’s use in other official capacities would change, school officials said.
WHAT NAMES WERE CONSIDERED
Along with Two Rivers and West Heights, the school names considered were: Mni Sota High School, Hillside High School and Ohoda High School.
No official reasoning was given for the five choices, but the district website linked to a West St. Paul Reader article offering rationales like geography, such as the nearby hills; or confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers, Mni Sota, a Dakota phrase meaning where two waters come together; Ohoda being a Dakota word meaning respect; and West Heights combining names of West St. Paul and Mendota Heights.
WHY CHANGE IT AT ALL?
The high school, which serves more than 1,400 students from seven Dakota County communities, was named after Henry Sibley, whose other Minnesota namesakes include a county, a street in downtown St. Paul and the city of Hastings.
Henry Hastings Sibley, who came to what is now Minnesota as a fur trader in 1834, became one of the territory’s leading businessmen and was elected Minnesota’s first governor when it achieved statehood in 1858. His home in Mendota, a state historic site, includes some of the oldest still-standing buildings in the state.
During the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, Sibley led troops against the Dakota in Minnesota and pursued them into neighboring states the following year on a series of “punitive expeditions,” according to the Dakota County Historical Society.
The school board’s policy stipulates that when naming a district facility after “prominent persons of regional, state or national repute,” the board must consider whether that person “demonstrates good character” and has “made significant contributions or achievements.”
At least one recent petition to change the name of Sibley High argued that Sibley flunked the character test, pointing to his participation in the campaign against the Dakota and his role in the mass hanging of 38 Dakota men at Mankato in December 1862.
A past graduate of the high school noted the treatment of Minnesota’s Dakota residents to question the use of Sibley’s name about a year ago. After hearing presentations from the Minnesota Historical Society and American Indian Cultural Liaison, the school board agreed to change the name in early December.
The school nickname for its sports teams is the Warriors, and before adopting a knight as a logo mascot in 1999 used an old “Indian Head.”
HOW THEY GOT THE NAME
School leaders formed a committee in March to delve into a new name.
Criteria were set, which state:
“Facilities names may reflect geographic locations, topographical character, or prominent persons of regional, state or national repute. When considering persons of regional, state or national repute, the following will be considered: 1. Demonstrates good character 2. Has made significant contributions or achievements.”
After the five names were revealed, residents of the district — which stretches south from northern Dakota County to Eagan and West St. Paul — were asked to answer an electronic survey to choose a favorite.