Editing Squaw Lake, Minnesota (section)

==History==
The Squaw Lake area was inhabited by [[Ojibwe]] people prior to the arrival of European colonizers. The land was set aside for the [[Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe]] in 19th century treaties as part of the [[Leech Lake Indian Reservation]]. Early on it was a hub for fur traders and loggers. It was later the site of a [[Great Northern Railway (U.S.)|Great Northern Railway]] station. A post office was established there by 1923 and it was incorporated as a village in 1940.<ref name="The Circle"/>

The lake located to the east of the town was renamed from Squaw Lake to Nature's Lake in 1995 by the Minnesota Legislature following a campaign led by students from [[Cass Lake-Bena Schools|Cass Lake-Bena High School]]. The term "[[squaw]]" is an ethnic and sexual slur.<ref name="MPR">{{cite news |last1=Robertson |first1=Tom |title=Squaw Lake Resists Name Change |url=http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/200104/30_robertsont_squawlake-m/ |work=MPR News |date=April 30, 2001 |archive-date=August 3, 2024 |access-date=January 19, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240803075727/http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/200104/30_robertsont_squawlake-m/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Johansen |first1=Bruce Elliott |title=The Native Peoples of North America: A History |date=2006 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |isbn=978-0-8135-3899-0 |page=442 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Native_Peoples_of_North_America/yiKgBuSUPUIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22squaw%20lake%22%20minnesota&pg=PA442&printsec=frontcover |language=en}}</ref> The Leech Lake Name Change Committee attempted to introduce a referendum on changing the town's name in November 2000, but did not have enough valid signatures for its petition.<ref name="MPR"/>