Virtual Conference Day: Session Room Names

As we come together for our virtual conference, it's important to acknowledge the significance of the land on which we will physically gather for our in-person General Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The naming of our virtual meeting rooms is to recognize the indigenous tribes and the historical importance of this land. Below, you'll find the names and descriptions of the three virtual meeting rooms for our virtual sessions on November 7.

Anishinaabe: The White Earth Nation is the largest band of Ojibwe (also known as Anishinaabe or Chippewa) in the state of Minnesota, with over 19,000 members, and is one of six constituent bands of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.

Bdote: The confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers is one of the most historically significant landscapes in Minnesota, known to many Dakota people as Bdote. Bdote means “where two waters come together.” 

Dakota: Mni Sota (Minnesota) is centered as the birthplace for the Dakota, with Bdote (where the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers meet) and Bde Wakan (Spirit Lake, now also known as Lake Mille Lacs) highlighted in Dakota creation stories.

Minneapolis Room: This virtual room is named for the host city of our 2024 (and 2023) Annual Conference. Minnesota comes from the Dakota name for the area, Mni Sota Makoce — ‘the land where the waters reflect the skies’.

For more information about the context of indigenous tribes of Minneapolis and St. Paul Minnesota, please review the Land Acknowledgement and Minneapolis-St. Paul Syllabus.