The Water Column

"Ominowakiing" means "Milwaukee"

Welcome to Ominowakiing!

The word “Milwaukee,” as most good Milwaukeeans know, comes from the Algonquian word Millioke, meaning “Good/Beautiful/Pleasant Land,” and a word in the Ojibwe language, Ominowakiing:  “Gathering place by the water.”

These words are all beautiful, and so is the meaning behind them:  water. The essence of life. Water is where we came from; it’s why we survive, along with everything else on earth. Without water, our planet couldn’t sustain life. It’s no coincidence that humanity’s most vibrant civilizations thrived alongside major bodies of water. We need it for commerce, agriculture, health and growth. And Milwaukee is a shining example of the power of water to make a community great.

This column will be a gathering place for Milwaukee to share technical and elemental water developments on the shores of the Great Lakes.

Ominowakiing is a place of opinions, essays and video posts written by myself and other people more knowledgeable in water study than I am. Here, I will try to bridge my passion with the intellects of experts in the field of freshwater studies.

A side note: just as water is integral to our development as a region, it’s integral to my personal development:  “Agua” was my very first word.

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