Bassett Creek (Mississippi River tributary)

Bassett Creek, also known by the Dakota name Ȟaȟá Wakpádaŋ, is a stream in Hennepin County, Minnesota, in the United States. It is a tributary of the Mississippi River.

The Dakota name, Ȟaȟá Wakpádaŋ, translated to 'Falls Creek', in reference to St. Anthony Falls. The creek's english name is for Joel B. Bassett, a settler who moved to Minneapolis in 1850.^[1]

By 1867, the stretch of the creek located near downtown Minneapolis had started to become an industrial area. By 1876, is was called a 'mammoth sewer'. It continued to suffer from extreme industrial pollution until the creation of the Minneapolis Parks Board. In 1892, the part of the creek flowing through Minneapolis was straightened, and tunneled.^[2] In 1906 Theodore Wirth worked to incorporate part of the creek into the park system.^[3] Prior to colonization, a ferry across the river was operated by a woman named Háza Íŋyaŋke Wíŋ.^[4]

From 2017-2020 a new tunnel was constructed to allow the creek to discharge near the historical discharge location of St. Anthony Falls.^[5] The city of Golden Valley is currently continuing a 'Stream Restoration Project' along the creek.^[6]

The river begins at Medicine Lake, and flows east. It discharges into the Mississippi River near St. Anthony Falls. The last 1.7 miles are in a tunnel.^[7]

The North Branch Bassett Creek originates at Northwood Lake, in New Hope, Minnesota, and meets the main creek in Golden Valley.^[8]

Since 2023, annual water blessing ceremonies for the creek have taken place on Indigenous Peoples' Day.^[9] It is organized by a local presbyterian church.^[10] It has also been attended by representatives of the Ho-Chunk, Dakota, and Anishinaabe.^[11]

• List of rivers of Minnesota
• Nine Mile Creek (Minnesota River tributary)
• Minnehaha Creek