Rice Creek was known in Dakota as "Psin ta wak pa dan" or Psiŋta wakpadaŋ, meaning "Wild Rice Rivulet". Early surveys conducted by Joseph Nicollet record the name of Rice Creek as "Ottonwey River" or Atoonowe-ziibi in the Ojibwe language meaning "River for making Canoes."
Rice Creek was known in Dakota as "Psin ta wak pa dan" or Psiŋta wakpadaŋ, meaning "Wild Rice Rivulet". Early surveys conducted by Joseph Nicollet record the name of Rice Creek as "Ottonwey River" or Atoonowe-ziibi in the Ojibwe language signifying "River for making Canoes."