Editing Devils Lake, North Dakota (section)

==History==
The present site of Devils Lake was, historically, a territory of the Dakota people.  However, the Sisseton, Wahpeton, and Cut-Head bands of the Dakotas were relocated to the Spirit Lake Reservation as a result of the 1867 treaty between the United States and the Dakota that established a reservation for those who had not been forcibly relocated to Crow Creek Reservation in what is now South Dakota.<ref name="History">http://www.spiritlakenation.com/history/ Spirit Lake Nation 2017, accessed July 5, 2017.</ref><ref name="Treaty">February 19, 1867 "Treaty With the Sioux—Sisseton and Wahpeton Bands, 1867," http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/vol2/treaties/sio0956.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061021013433/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/Vol2/treaties/sio0956.htm |date=October 21, 2006 }}.</ref> The name "Devils Lake" is a [[calque]] of the Dakota phrase ''mni wak’áŋ'' (literally translating to spirit water),<ref>Buechel, Eugene. (1970) ''Lakota-English Dictionary''. Pine Ridge, SD: Red Cloud Indian School.</ref> which is also reflected in the names of the Spirit Lake Tribe and the nearby town of [[Minnewaukan, North Dakota|Minnewaukan]].

[[File:Heber M. Creel, circa 1898.jpg|thumb|Portrait of Heber M. Creel, {{circa|1898}}]]

The Dakota called the lake ''mni wak’áŋ'', which separately translates as ''mni'' (water) and ''wak’áŋ'' (literally meaning "pure source" but often translated as "spirit" or "sacred"). The European-American settlers misconstrued this name to mean "Bad Spirit Lake" or "Devils Lake."  The "bad" referred to the high [[salinity]] of the lake, making it unfit to drink, and "spirit" referenced the [[mirage]]s often seen across the water.  The Christian concept of the [[devil]] was not present in the Dakota philosophy and religious practices.<ref name=barnes/>

The [[Hidatsa language|Hidatsa]] name for the lake is ''mirixubaash'' ( meaning "[[Sacred waters|sacred water]]").<ref>{{Cite web
 |title=Hidatsa Lessons Vocab
 |work=Hidatsa Language Program
 |access-date=July 17, 2012
 |url=http://www.neiu.edu/~linguist/hidatsa_lessons_vocab2.html#villages_dwellings_and_towns_i
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606135144/http://www.neiu.edu/~linguist/hidatsa_lessons_vocab2.html
 |archive-date=June 6, 2013
}}</ref>

The first post office was founded November 15, 1882, and was originally named Creelsburg.<ref name=history/> It was founded by Lieutenant [[Heber M. Creel]], a [[West Point]] graduate and topographical engineer stationed at nearby [[Fort Totten, North Dakota|Fort Totten]]. After resigning from the U.S. Army, he surveyed the land and established the townsite.

The surrounding [[Creel Township, Ramsey County, North Dakota|Creel Township]] is named for Mr. Creel. The name was later changed to Creel City and expanded by the [[Great Northern Railway (U.S.)|Great Northern Railway]]. When the village was incorporated in 1884, the name was changed to City of Devils Lake and then shortened to Devils Lake.<ref name=wick/><ref name=barnes/>

During a period of increased rainfall, beginning in the 1990s and unprecedented in the history of North Dakota, caused the [[Devils Lake (North Dakota)|nearby lake]], which has no natural outlet, to rise.  The surface area has quadrupled, and the higher water has resulted in the moving or destruction of over 400 houses.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 22, 2010 |title=N.D. Monster Lake Swallows Land and Buildings |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nd-monster-lake-swallows-land-and-buildings/ |access-date=April 24, 2024 |website=CBS News}}</ref>

[[File:Wea01360 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library.jpg|thumb|left|Weather Bureau building {{circa}} 1900]]