Minnehaha

For other uses, see Minnehaha (disambiguation).

Hiawatha and Minnehaha sculpture by Jacob Fjelde near Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Minnehaha is a mythic Native American woman documented in The Song of Hiawatha an epic poem written in 1855 by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Minnehaha is the lover of Hiawatha. The name is often incorrectly said to mean "laughing water", though in reality it translates to "waterfall" in Dakota^[1].

Her name is connected to many things in Minnesota, such as Minnehaha Falls, Minnehaha Park, Minnehaha Creek, Minnehaha Academy, and the name of a boat once operated by Twin City Rapid Transit on Lake Minnetonka, which has now been restored, and is now at the Museum of Lake Minnetonka. Minnehaha Avenue and Hiawatha Avenue are both major thoroughfares that run parallel to each other, heading southeast from downtown Minneapolis.

Her name is also linked to the name of a town called Minnehaha Springs, located in Pocahontas County, West Virginia. There is also a Lake Minnehaha on the Clermont Chain of Lakes in Clermont, Florida, one of the Outstanding Florida Waterbodies.