Glossary Of Indian Names

Places, Persons, Tribes, Etc

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

Click On The Heading Letter To Return Here


Back Home


<A>


Abnoki        -  A nation of 20 Indian Tribes in early Maine
                 history.
Advirondacks  -  Mountains of N.E. New York.
Alabama       - "Thicket Clearers", a State and a Tribe - Texas.
Alaska        - "Great Big Land", our 49th State.
Aleut         -  Indians of Alaska and Aleutian Islands.
Allegheny     - "Fairest River", with Monongohela River forms Ohio
                 River at Pittsburgh, PA.
Algonquin     -  A language, stock name of my tribes of the N.E.
                 U.S., usually allies of the French.
Apache        - "Elk horn fiddlers", a fierce tribe of AZ and NM.
Apalahicola   -  A FL tribe, part of the Seminoles.
Appalachia    -  Appalachia Indians in Eastern U.S.
Appomattox    - "Tobacco Country", Virgina City Va., Lee surrendered
                 here.
Apropaho      - "Mother of Tribes", tribe of Wyoming & Oklahoma.
Arizona       - "Little Spring Place", our 48th State.
Arkansas      - "South Wind People", our 25th State.
Aroostook     - "Good River", a river in Maine.
Assiniboine   -  Tribe in Montana & Canada, River in Saskatchewan.
Aubbeenoubbee - "Looking Backward", Potawatomi chief, Indian.
Au-taw-ataw   -  Miami Chief, Grant County, Indiana.
Aztec         -  Early Indians of Mexico. Conquered by Cortez in
                 1520.

<B>


Blackfeet     -  Indian tribe and reservation in Montana.
Black Hawk    - "Ma-ka-ta-mi-ci-kiah kiak", black sparrow,
                 Hawk: an Illinois Sauk Chief who resisted
                 Americans, 1831-1832.
Black Loon    - "Makahlamongwah", Miami Chief, son of Little
                 Turtle.
Blue Jacket   -  Shawnee Chief who fought at Tippicanoe and Fallen
                 Timbers, Ohio.
Buchongahelas - "Breaker To Pieces", Delaware Chief who fought at
                 Fallen Timbers, Ohio.

<C>


Caddo         - "Real Chiefs", Tribes of Arkansas and Oklahoma.
Cahokia       -  A tribe in Illinois; An Illinois town where
                 Pontiac was killed in 1769.
Calumef       -  Rivers of Northwestern Indiana, Peace pipe,
                 French origin.
Canada        - "Village, Wigwams" (Kamela) Our Northern neighbor.
Catawba       -  An early tribe in the Carolinas.
Cayuga        -  A tribe of Five Nations.
Charley       - "Sleepy" (Retongah) A Miami Chief and village near
                 Wabash Indiana.
Challahooche  - "Pictured Rocks", creek name, river between
                 Georgia and Alabama.
Chattanooga   - "Eagle Nest", city in Tennessee.
Chaulauqua    - "Foggy Place", Lake Choutauqua in N.Y.
Che-chauk-kose-"Little Crane", a Pottawatomic Chief, Indian.
Cherokee      - "Cave People", Large Indian tribe of N. Carolina
                 and Tennessee, 18,000 were removed in 1838 to
                 Oklahoma.  Helped Jackson subdue the Seminoles,
                 "Unto These hills at Cherokee, N.C."
Chesapeake    - "Salty Pond", Great Salt Water", a large bay that
                 is an arm of the Atlantic that divides Maryland
                 River and the Suquehanna James, and Potonos rivers
                 empty into it.
Cheyenne      - "Cut Fingers", a tribe of CO, MT and Wyoming.
Chicago       - "Place Of Wild Onions, Bad Smell", a river; city
                 in Il., founded in 1833, site of Ft. Dearborn.
Chickamauga   - "River Of Death", city in GA, a civil war battle.
Chillicothe   - "Town Or Village", a city of OH on the Scioto River.
Chinquapin    -  A small edible acorn of the oak tree by that name.
Chicopee      -  A city in MA, site secured from Chief Nippunisit.
Chickasaw     -  A tribe of Mississippi & TN now in OK.
Chinook       -  A warm S.E. wind in the winter and spring in the
                 pacific N.W.  A dry wind from Washington blowing
                 dowsing down the Eastern slope of the Rockies, a
                 tribe of Washington.
Chippewa      - "To Pucker Up", a tribe of the area from E. of Lk.
                 Erie to N. Dakota. Also, called Ojibwa.
Choctaw       -  A tribe of Mississippi & now of OK.
Cochise       - "A famous Apache Chief who died in 1874.
Coesse        - "Old Man", a Miami Chief, grandson of Little
                 Turtle, an Indian town.  Miami name "M-tek-kyah,
                 means "woods".
Comanche      - "Snakes", a tribe of TX and OK.
Conestoga     - "Beautiful Magic Land", a tribe of Lancaster
                 County, PA; a creek by that name in PA, here the
                 Conestoga was made.
Connecticut   - "Upon The Long River", 5th state to join union.
Cornstalk     - "Sunshine", Ah-son-zong, a Miami Chief, Thorntown,
                 Indiana.
Coshocton     - "Home of Owls, area in Pennsylvania, Ohio County.
Cree          -  A tribe of Indians in Saskatchewan.
Creek         -  A tribe of Alabama and Georgia, now Oklahoma.
Crow          -  A tribe and reservation on Montana.
Curtis,Charles- A Kow Indian, VP of the U.S., 1929-1933.

<D>


Dakota, N & S - "Friends, Allies", 39th ad 40th states.
(North & South)
Delaware      -  Lenni Lenape, "True Men", Wa-pa-naki or
                "Eastlanders".  Delaware is from Lord Delaware.
                 First state to ratify constitution.

<E>


Eel River     -  Ke-na-po-co-mo-co, "Smoke Fish or Eel".  River in
                 Indiana, a tribal branch of Miami in Indiana.
Erie          - "At The Place Of The Panther", a great lake; a
                 tribe who became Senecas.
Eskimos       -  Indians of N. Canada and Alaska.

<F>


Flat Belly    -  Pa-pa-kee-chee, Miami Chief of Indiana. Brother of
                 WaWa-Indian. Fish hatchery named after him near
                 Syracuse, Indiana.
Flat Head     -  A tribe and reservation in Montana; called
                 themselves "Sailfish".
Fort Wayne    -  Rekionga, "Clipped Hair", City in Indiana at the
                 junction of the River St. Joseph and St. Marys to
                 form the Maumee. Site of Harmar's is defeat in 1790.
French & Indian War -  1754-1763, Iroquois large on the side of
                       the English, and Algonquins on the side of the
                       French.

<G>


Geronimo            -  Apache Chief, 1834-1909, surrendered (1886).
Gnadenhutten        -  An OH Indian Mission destroyed by white men,
                       March, 1782.
Godfroy, Clarence   -  1882-1962, Miami (Ko-poh-pwah), "Looking Out
                       Over", Author "Miami Indian Stores", Ed. by
                       Mrs. una McClurg, 1961.
Godfroy, Francis    -  1840, Last war Chief of the Miami's in
                       Indiana.
Godfroy, Gabriel    -  1834-1910, "White Blossom", (Wa-pah-na-ki-kah-
                       pah-lons-wah), son of Francis Godfroy, had
                       trading post at Peru.

<H>


Haiti               - "Mountainous Country", Island country in West
                       Indies.
Hiawatha            -  Chief of the Mohawks who formed the Five
                       Nations, Famous legendary character of
                       Longfellow's epic "Hiawatha".
Hopi                -  Indian tribe of AZ & NM, belongs to Pueblos.
Huntington          -  We-pe-chah-bi-oon-gi, "Place of Flints", City
                       of Indiana.
Hurons              - "Hair Style", the Wyandottes of Canada and MI.

<I>


Idaho               - "It Is Morning", our 43rd state.
Illinois            - "men, Warriors", Confederacy of Kaskaskias,
                       Peorias & Cakokis of IL & WI, our 21st state.
Incas               -  Early Indians of Peru, S.A., highly cultures,
                       conquered by Pizarro in 1531.
Indiana             - "Land Of The Indians", 19th state, Dec. 11,
                       1816.
Indianapolis        -  Chan-tun-oon-gi, "Make A Noise Place", Capital
                       of Indiana.
Iowa                - "Sleepy Ones", "Marrow", Indian tribe, 29th
                       state.
Iroquois            -  Mingo, Maquas, "I have spoken", Real
                       Serpents", the name of the Five Nation
                       Confederacy formed by Hiawatha.

<J>


Joseph Chief        -  Nez Perc outstanding leader and Chief, 1840-
                       1904.

<K>


Kaibab              - "On The Mountain", Plateau in WA.
Kalamazoo           - "Otter's Tail", a city in MI.
Kalispel            -  A city in the state of Montana.
Kanawbra            -  A river of WV, tributary of OH.
Kankakee            - "Swampy Country", A river in Northern Indiana.
Kansas              - "South Wind People", 34th state of the Union.
Kaskaskia           - "Hide Dressers", a tribe of IL, now in OK.
Katahdin            - "Great Mountain", Highest mountain in Maine.
Kayak               -  An Eskimo canoe of skins, opening in the
                       middle.
Kearsarge           - "High Place", ship that sank the AL, Civil War.
Kekionga            - "Clipped Hair", Gateway to the W. Indian, name
                       for the site of Ft. Wayne, Indiana.
Ke-na-po-co-mo-co   - "Snake Fish", name for Eel River, North IN.
Kennebeo            - "Long Place Of Water", a chief river of Maine.
Keobuk              - "Watchful Fox", Chief of Sauk & Fox, a city of
                       Iowa, a great dam across the Mississippi
River.
Kenosha             - "Long Fish", a pike, a city of WI.
Kentucky            - "Where rivers start, Potawatomi Chief, town in
                       IN.
Kickapoo            - "he Moves About", "Otter's Ghost", the tribe in
                       IL now in OK, member of the Miami Confederacy.
Killbuck            -  A Delaware Chief on White River, IN.
Kilosquah           - "Sun Woman", granddaughter of Little Turtle.
Kin-ni-ki-nick      -  A mixture of dried sumac leaves smoked by the
                       American Indians.
Kiowa               - "Principal People", tribe of area Montana to
                       Texas, in OK.
Klamath             -  Tribe and name of lake in Oregon.
Kokomo              - "The Driver", Kok-ah-mah, Miami Chief, City in
                       Indiana.

<L>


Lackawanna          - "Stream That Forks", tributary of the
                       Susquehanna.
LaFontaine, Francis - "Topeah", "Frost On The Bush", a son-in-law
                       of Richardville, a town in Wabash County,
                       Indiana. LaFontaine has his headquarters at
                       the Forts of the Wabash.
LeGros              - "Lagro", Oh-za-la-mo-nee, "Blood Root", Miami
                       Chief and a town in Indiana on the Wabash at
                       the mouth of the Salamonie.
Little Turtle       -  Me-shi-kin-no-quah, Greatest war Chief of
                       Miami's, wiped out LeBaume's forces in 1789,
                       defeated Humer in 1790 and St. Clair in 1791,
                       advised against fighting Wayne at Fallen
                       Timbers but fought against him, signed
                       Greenville Treaty, 1795.
Logan Chief John    -  Iroquois orator, lived during the Revolution.
Lycoming            - "Sandy Stream", a river in PA.

<M>


Mackinac            - "Turtle Island" in Mi.
Ma-con-a-quah       -  Also Muk-kuns-kwa, "Little Bear Woman", Miami
                       name for France Slocum 1774-1847, as a
                       captive lived with Indians 69 years.
Majinica            - "Big Body", name of Miami Chief who lived in
                       Huntington County, Indiana who contested
                       Francis Godfroy in the naming of the Chief of
                       the Miami's. Name of town and creeks in
                       county.
Manhattan           -  Manahala,Menatey, "Island", main part of NY
                       City.
Manitou             - "Spirit", Kiji Manitou means "God", the Good
                       Spirit. Potawatomi words.
Mankato             - "Green Earth", the name of a town in
                       Minnesota.
Massachusetts       - "Large Hill Place", settled in 1620, 6th
                       state.
Massaqua            -  A rattle snake.
Massasoit           -  Wampamoag Indian Chief who attended the
                       Pilgrim's Thanksgiving.
Maumee              - "Standing Rocks", a river flowing into Lake
                       Erie.
Maxinbuckee         - "Big Stone County", an Indiana Lake.
Mayas               -  Early Indians of Yucatan with high culture.
Menominee           - "Wild Rice Eaters", a Potawatoms tribe and
                       Chief of Northern Indiana, moved west by
                       government, 1838, "River Of Death".
Merrimac            - "Swift River", river of New England.
Me-shin-go-me-sia   - "Large Leaf Burr Oak", Chief of last village
                       of Miami's in Indiana near LaFontaine.
Mesquabuck          - "Copper Of Red Color", "Color At Sunrise Or
                       Sunset", Village of Potawatomis near Oswego
                       Laken Indiana, Potawatomi Chief.
Metea               - "Kiss Me", Potawatomi Chief of Indiana.
Metocinyah          - "The Living", Miami Chief, son of Ozandia and
                       father of Meshingimesia, name of creek and
                       village Campbell, burned in 1812.
Miami               - "All Beavers, All Friends, Cry Of The Crane,
                       People Who Live On The Peninsula", all are
                       meanings given to this tribal name, name found
                       on more places in the USA than any other
                       Indian name. A tribe and confederacy which
                       included: Miami, Weas, Kickapoos, Pianheshaws,
                       Delaware, Shawnees, Potawatomi, Twightwees,
                       Chippewas, Wyandottes and Munsees.  Name of
                       county and town in Indiana, city in FL, etc.
Michigan            - "Big Sea Water", name of great lake, 26th
                       state.
Milwaukee           - "Rich Land", city in WI.
Mingo               -  A name for the Iroquois.
Minnehha            - "Laughing Waters", names of waterfall,
                        Longfellow's heroine.
Minnesota           - "Sky-tinted Water", our 32nd state.
Mishawaka           - "Country of Dead Trees", name of Shawnee
                       princess, city east of S. Bend, Indiana.
Mish-i-kib-a-kwa    - "Little Turtle", one spelling of this name.
Mississinewa        - "Much Fall In The River", famous river in
                       Indiana. On this river lived the Godfroys,
                       Frances, Slocum  -  an Metocinyah.
Mississippi         - "Father Of Waters", name of river and 20th
                       state.
Missouri            - "Great Muddy", Indian tribe, river and 24th
                       state.
Mohawk              - "Man Eaters", one of the Iroquois Confederacy
                       tribes.
Modoc               - "Enemy", "Southerners", an early tribe in
                       Oregon.
Mohave              -  A tribe of AZ, name of a desert.
Mahican             - "Wolf", an early tribe in Connecticut and
                       Pennsylvania, Cooper wrote of them.
Monon               - "Tote", Potawatomi word, town in Indiana.
Monongahela         - "Falling Bank", river in PA joins Allegheny at
                       Pittsburgh, PA.
Montezuma           -  Ruler of Aztecs, defeated by Cortez.
Mota                - "Big Bottle or Jug", Potawatomi word, from
                       Indiana.
Muchkatahmoway      -  Potawatomi Chief of Indiana who signed
                       Greenville Treaty.
Mugwump             -  One who acts independently, 1884, Mugwump
                       Republicans.
Muncie              - "People On The Stony Country", city in Indiana,
                       Delaware Co.
Munsee              -  A tribal division of the Delawares, NY,
                       Delaware, Pennsylvania, OK.
Muskabuck           -  See'Mesquabuck.
Muscotaluck         - "Drift Wood In Water", a park in Indiana.
Musky               - "A Swampy Marsh".
Muskegon            - "Plenty Of Fish", a city in MI.
Mukelange           - "The Great Pike", a lake in Indiana.
Muskingum           - "Moose Eye River", a city in OH.

<N>


Nantucket           - "Far Away Light", sound island, town and light
                       in Massachusetts.
Nappanee            - "Flour Mill", Miss-i-sanga-na-pa-ni, town in
                       Indiana.
Narragansett        -  A tribe of Rhode Island, friendly to Roger
                       Williams.
Na-swaw-kee         - "The Feather Arrow", Potawatomi Chief, an res.
Notchez             - "Warriors Of The High Bluff", a tribe of the
                       lower Mississippi.
Navajo              -  Largest tribe and reservation in AZ and N.
                       Mexico.
Nealongquah         - "Big Leaves", a chief of the Miami and
                       reservation.
Nebraska            - "Flatwater", 37th state.
Nez Perc            -  Tribe brought from Oregon and Idaho with the
                       Chief Joseph to reservation in OK.
Niagara             - "Roaring Waters", a river and fall, NY &
                       Canada.
Niskayuna           - "Field Of Corn", an area in NY.
Notawkah            - "He Hears", Potawatomi Chief from Meniminee
                       reservation who signed treaty 1836, giving up
                       final lands.

<O>


Ocelot              -  A cat-like S.American animal.
O-gi-maw-kee        -  Mit-i-gwa-ki, "Queen Of The Woods", the name
                       Simon Pokagon gave to his wife Lonidaw in his
                       autobiography bearing that name, she drowned
                       trying to save her young daughter.
Oglaba              -  A tribe of Sioux, one chief was "Sitting
                       Bull".
Ohio                - "Beautiful River", an Iroquois word, river, and
                       our 17th state.
Ojibwa              - "Those Who Draw Pictures", same as Chippewa.
Okeechobee          - "Grassy Lake, a lake in FL, north of
                       Everglades, also a town on this lake.
Oklahoma            - "Land of Red Man", name given our 46th state by
                       Choctaw Chief Allen Wright in 1866 in the
                       treaty of that year.
Omaha               - "Upstream", a city in Nebraska.
Ontario             - "Beautiful hills, rocks, rivers", Wyandotte was
                       a great lake and a province of Canada.
Oregon              - "Beautiful Water", our 33rd state.
Osage               - "The Neutral", a tribe of the plains, an Indian
                       village in Indiana where an Indian treaty was
                       signed and where Tecumeh tried to form a large
                       confederacy. Near Peru Indian on the
                       Mississinewa.
Osceola             - "Medicine Drink", Chief of the Seminoles, town
                       in IN.
Oshkosh             - "Claw Marking Or Scratches", a city in
                       Wisconsin.
Oswego              - "Flowing Out", lake and town in each NY and
                       Indiana.
Ottawa              - "Traders", a tribe in MI and Canada, capital of
                       Canada.
Ouiatanon                  - "Place Of An Eddy In River", Miami town on the
                       Wabash.
Ozandia             -  A Miami Chief, father of Metocinyah, signed
                       treaties, OH.

<P>


Paiute              -  A tribe of Nevada and Colorado.
Papakeechee         - "Flat Belly", brother of Wawasee, N. Indiana,
                       Lake, Miami.
Patoka              - "How Deep", a Fox Chief of IL.
Pagago              -  A tribe in New Mexico
Passaic             - "Peaceful Valley", a river in NJ.
Passamaquoddy       -  A tribe and bay in Maine.
Paune               - "Horn People", a tribe in West, Kansas &
Nebraska.
Pemmican            -  Dried meat pounded into a paste and mixed with
meal.
Penn's Treaty       -  1682, treaty made with Indians by William Penn
                        on a site now in Philadelphia, Never broken.
Penobscot           - "Rocky River", a tribe and longest river of
                       Maine.
Pensacola           - "Hairy People", a tribe and city of FL.
Peoria              - "Place Of Fat Beasts", a tribe and city in IL.
Pequot              -  An early tribe in eastern Connecticut, name of
                       war in 1637 in which they were wiped out.
Peru                -  The Miami word means "A Straight Place In The
                       River", a city in Indiana, county seat of
                       Miami County.
Peshewa             - "Wild Cat", name for Miami Chief, Richard
Ville.
Petosky             -  Indian family name which a city in MI bears.
Phillip King        -  Wampananoag son of Massasoit who waged war and
                       was defeated by Massachusetts colonists,
                       1675-1677.
Piankeshaw          - "Those Who Formed A Tribe", a tribe of Miami,
                       Indiana.
Pima                -  A tribe of Az.
Piqua               - "Ashes", a city of OH.
Pocahontas          - "Shield", daughter of Powhaton, married John
                       Rolfe, saved life of Captain John Smith in
                       Vas, died in 1614 in England.
Pokagon             - "Shield", Leopold, a Potawatomi Chief who sold
                       the land on which Chicago stands to the white
                       man, father of Simon Prokagon. A state park
                       named after him in Indiana.
Pokagon             - "Shield", Simon, son of Leopold lived in N.
                       Dakota and S. Michigan, wrote autobiography,
                       see Ogimawkwa Mitigwaki, spoke at the 1893
                       Chicago World Fair, (Picture on book jacket).
Ponca               - "Scared Head", a tribe in the Dakotas and OK.
Pontiac             -  An Ottawa Indian who formed an unsuccessful
                       "conspiracy" in 1761-1763, killed at Cohakia,
                       IL in 1796.
Potawatomi          - "Maker's Of The Fire", tribe in Canada, MI and
                       Indiana.
Potlatch            -  A festival and distribution of gifts, a
                       feast.
Potomac             - "Burning Pines River", a river between
                       Maryland & VA.
Powhattatan         -  Father of Pocahontas, a tribe in Virginia.
Prophet, The        -  Shawnee brother of Tecumseh, lost battle
                       Tippecanoe.
Puccoon             -  Red or yellow dye from a puccoon plant, like
                       blood root.
Pueblo              - "Village Dwellers", in homes of stone or adobe
                       in southwest, Some Indians are called
                       Pueblos.
Punk                -  Decayed wood or dry fungus used to build
                       fire.

<Q>


Quapaw              - "Down Stream People", an Arkansas tribe found
                       by DeSota.

<R>


Richardville,       -  Pinjewah or Peshewa, "Wild Cat",
Jean Baptiste          son of Tah-kum wah, sister of Little Turtle
                       who was the daughter of Ackquenacque (Old
                       Turtle),
                       Richardville was the last head Chief of the
                       Miami, lived 1761-1841, had many trading
                       posts.
Rappahannock        - "Quick Raising Water", a river of Virginia.
Red Cloud           -  A chief of the Sioux, 1822-1909.
Red Jacket          -  A chief of the Senecas, 1756-1830.
Roanoke             -  Indian name for shell money, city in
                       Virginia, town in Indiana, home of Kilsoquah.
Rogers, Will        -  Cherokee humorist, died in Alaska in plane
                       crash, 1935.

<S>


Sacagowea           - "Bird Woman", woman guide for Louis and Clark,
                       1804-6.
St. Joseph River    -  Sagwasibi, "Coming Out River", portage, river
                       emptying into Lake Michigan, had portage to
                       the Kankatee.
St. Joseph River    -  Kotaisasipi, "Bean River", Miami for river at
                       Ft. Wayne.
St. Mary's River    -  At Fort Wayne, Mahmaywahsepeway, Miami for
                       Sturgeon Creek, unites at Fort Wayne with the
                       St. Joseph to form the Maumee River.
Salamonie           - "Blood Root", Miami word, a tributary of the
                       Wabash, see Lagro, On-za-lamo-mi.
Samoset             -  A pernaquid friend of the Pilgrims, 1590-
                       1658.
Sandusky            - "Large Pools Of Water", river and city in OH.
Saratoga            - "Sparkling Place", a city in NY, Battle of
                       Revolution.
Saskatchewan        - "Swift River", province of Canada.
Sauk & Fox          - "People Of The Outlet", allied tribes of the
                       Great Lakes area, allies of Tecumseh, led by
                       Black Hawk, 1831-2.
Savannah            - "Grassy Plains", a city in Georgia.
Schenectady         - "End Of Trail", a city in NY.
Schaykill           - "Hidden Crek", a tributary of the Delaware
                       creek in PA.
Scioto              - "Hairs In The Waters", a river in OH.
Sebogo              - "Landlocked", a lake and park in Maine were
                       Camp Fire Girls began.
Seminole            - "Run Away People", tribe in FL, some removed
to
                       OK.
Seneca              - "People Of The Standing Stone", largest tribe
                       of NY, the Five Nations of the Iroquois
                       Confederation.
Seminole Wars       -  1817-Under Jackson, 1835-1838 see Osceola.
Sequoia             - "Guessed At", Cherokee Chief who invented an
                       alphebet.
Shabbona            -  An Ottawa adopted by the Potawatomis and made
                       Chief, called "White Man's Friend", lived in
                       IL and N. Indiana, went with the Potawatomis
                       to Kansas.
Shawnee             - "Southerns", a tribe of TN and OH.
Sheboygan           - "Starts From Springs", a city in WI, "Place Of
                       Ore".
Shemacamah          -  Miami Chief at Thornstown, Indiana.
Shenandoah          - "Hillside Stream", river in the valley of
                       Virginia.
Shepahcannah        - "Deaf Man", Miami chief, husband of Frances
                       Slocum, village of the Misissinewa.
Shoshone            - "Sheep Eaters", Linguistic stock, a tribe,
                       river and lake, WY.
Silver Heels        -  Shawnee Chief at Fallen Timbers, 1794.
Sioux               - "Cut Throats", a large tribe of the Dakotas,
                       also called Dakotas.
Sitting Bull        -  Outstanding Chief of the Sioux, 1834-1890.
South Bend          -  Sakiwagungi, Miami word for "Coming Out
                       Place" or portage to the Kankee from the St.
                       Joseph, city in Indiana.

<T>


Teepee              - "Dwelling", skin covered cone-like dwellings
                       of the Mohawks, became a famous, became a
                       famous Catholic nun of Montreal.
Tekawitha, Catherine-  1680, Lily of the Mohawks, became a famous
                       Catholic nun of Montreal.
Temiskwotowa        -  Name for the prophet, brother of Tecumseh,
                       also Lawlewasikaw.
Tennessee           - "Cherokee Village", Cherokee Chief was
                       Tannassic, 16th state.
Terrapin            -  From the Delaware tortoise or turtle.
Teton               - "Nipple", on a land without trees, western
                       Sioux division, Grand Teton are mountians in
                       WY, a county in Idaho.
Texas               - "Friendly Allies", our 28th state.
Thayendanega        - "He Sets Two Bits", Joseph Brant, a noted
                       Mohawk Chief.
Thorpe, Jim         -  1888-1953, outstanding Sauk athlete. He was a
                       great-great grandson of Black Hawk. Statue at
                       Cartisle, PA.
Thunderbird         -  Indian concept of a great bird in the sky
                       that causes the lightning and thunder.
Tillamook           -  Importnant Chinook tribe in Oregon, a county
                       in Oregon.
Tillicum            - "Friend", Chinook word.
Tioga               - "Where I Forks", a trail in Pennsylvania
                       crossing Bradford Co., counties in
                       Pensylvannia and NY.
 Tippicanoe         -  Kithtippeconmuck, "Bufalo Fish", river and
                       town in Indiana, site of battle between
                       Harrison and the Prophet, near present
                       Lafayette.
Tlingit             -  Indians of the west coast of Alaska & Canada.
Toltecs             -  Indians of Mexico, contemporaries of the
                       Aztecs.
Tomahawk            -  The Indian war axe or club.
Tomochichi          -  A creek chief who was a friend of Oglethorpe
                       in 1733.
Tonawanda           - "Confluent Stream", Senicca, settlement and
                       reservation in NY.
Topeak              -  Indian name for Frances LaFontaine, son-in-
                       law of Richardville.
Topeaka             - "Potato Country", city in Kansas.
Topinebee           - "Quite Setting Bear", a Potawatom Chief,
                       friend of white man, signed many treaties
                       (1795-1821), died from over drinking.
Toronto             - "Meeting Place", a city in Ontario, Canada.
Tranois             -  A pole drag pulled by ponys.
Tuscon              - "Black Area Or Rock", city in AZ.
Tupelo              -  A southern gum tree, a Mohican word.
Tuscaloosa          - "Black Warrior", a city in AL.
Tuscarora           - "Hemp Gatherers", a tribe of N. Carolina who
                       went North to join the Five Nations in 1772.
Tuscarawas          -  River and valley in OH, a settlment of the
                       Wyandotte.
Tuskegee            - "Warriors", a tribe, city & institute in
                       Alabama.
Tutelo              -  A Siorian tribe, now extinct, visited by John
                       Smith in Virginia and N. Carolina.
Tuxedo              - "Place of beans"
Twightwees          -  An English name for Miamis at Kekionga.

<U>


Unalachtigo         - "People Who Live Near The Ocean", one of the
                       main division of the Delawares who lived in
                       Delaware and N.J.
Umatilla            -  A tribe on the Umatilla River in Washington.
Umtak               -  Eskimo woman's boat.
Umpqua              -  A tribe in Oregon on the Umpqua River.
Unami               -  Delawares along the Delaware River in what is
                       now Pennsylvania.
Uncas               - "The Circler", a Mohegan ally of the English
                       against King Philip, name of the "Last Of The
                       Mohicans" by Cooper.
Utah                - "Higher Up", our 45th state.
Ute                 - "Dark Skinned", restless warriors of the tribe
                       of Colorado and Utah.

<V>


Venango             -  A Sencca village and fort held by both French
                       and English in Pennsylvania.
Vermillion          - "Yellow, Red River", Kickapoo division, county
                       in Indiana.

<W>


Wasbash             - "White Flat Rocks", a main tributary of the
                       Ohio in Indiana, a town and county in
                       Indiana, also called Wabashiki.
Wabemine            - "White Pigeon", a Potawatomi chief of MI, a
                       city there name after him.
Wabakieshiek        - "The White Cloud", prophet advisor of Black
                       Hawk.
Wachusett           - "At The Small Mountain", a mountain in
                       Massechusetts.
Waco                -  A tribe in TX, a town named after them there.
Wahoo               -  Cork elm tree used for rope, Indian arrow
                       head.
Wakaruso            - "Hip Deep In Mud", town in Indiana.
Walam Olum          - "Pointed Record, Red Score", Delaware
                       pictograph record of the origin of the
                       Delawares from Siberia across the strait.
                       Translated by Eli Lilly from the French
                       version of Rafineque, 1954.
Wahapo              - "Pine Tree Folks", a Yuman tribe along the
                       Colorado River.
Walla-Walla         - "Many Waters", a tribe and city in Washington.
Wampanoag           - "Eastern People", Massachusetts tribe of
                       Massasoit and King Philip.
Wampum              -  String of shells used as money and gifts.
Wanatah             -  Town in Indiana, a site of a Potawatomi
                       village.
Wapiti              -  Shawnee name for the American elk.
Wasatch             - "Beautiful Mountains", a mountain range in
                       Utah.
Wasco               - "Cup Or Bowl", Chinook tribe along the
                       Columbia.
                       River in Oregon.
Washakie            - "Shoot The Buffalo Running", 1804-1900 a
                       Shoshoni Chief who was a friend and
                       negotiator for his people with the Americans.
Watauga             -  A Cherokee name used in the name of a town
                       and a county in TN.
Waupecong           - "White Bones", a town in Indiana.
Wawasee             - "Full Moon", a leading Chief of the Miamis in
                       Indiana, signed many treaties, lived first on
                       Lake Wawhee and then with his brother,
                       Papakeechee on what came to be know as Lake
                       Wawasee.
Waxham              -  A tribe of the Carolinas, practiced head
                       flattening.
Wea                 - "Bend of The Stream" Tribe of Miami Confedercy
                       Indian Ohio.
Weatherford, William-  Creek leader who lost to Jackson in Creek
                       War.
Weiser, Conrad      -  A noted agent for the colonists and
                       ambassador for the Indians of Pennsylvania
                       and NY, lived from 1696-176?, came to America
                       as an immigrant in 1710, married Ann Eve Fick
                       in 1720, had fourteen children, one of whom
                       Anna Maria, married Henry Melchior
                       Muhlenberg. The Indians called Weiser
                      "Torachiawagon", he who holds the heavens.
Wenatchee           - "River Coming Out Of A Canyon", a river, lake
                       and city of the state of Washington.
Wesaro              - "Animal, Gallbladder", a Miami Chief in
                       Indiana.
White River         -  Wapihani, Miami for white waters, a river in
                       Indiana.
 Wichita             - "A Big Arbor", a tribe in OK on TX mountains
                       in OK, a river and city in Kansas bear the
                       name.
Wickiup             -  A brush shelter form of a house.
Wigwam              -  An Abnaki word for a dwelling made from bark,
                       saplings or brush.
Willamette          - "Running Water", a river in Oregon.
Winamac             - "Cat Fish", a Potawatomi Chief, friend of the
                       Whites, visited Washington, died in 1821,
                       earlier Winamac fought with Tecumseh and
                       claimed to have caused the massacre at Fort
                       Dearborn.
Winnebago           - "People Of The Stinking Water", a tribe in WI.
Winnipeaukee        -  A tribe, river and lake in N. Hampshire.
Winona              -  Sioux term for first born female child.
Wisconsin           - "Where Waters Gather", our 30th state.
Wissahickon         -  A stream in Pennsylvania flowing through
                       German Town southward.
Woodchuck           -  A Cree word for ground hog.
Wowoka              - "Mesiah", a Pouitte who led Indians in a new
                       religion that caused the uprising of 1880-
                       1890 in the Dakotas.
Wright, Allen       -  1825-1885, A Choctaw preacher and statesman
                       of his people in Mississippi and OK,
                       suggested the name OK for the territory, an
                       outstanding scholar and leader.
Wyalusing           -  A tributary of the White River in Indiana.
Wyandotte           - "Islanders", a tribe called Hurons by the
                       French, lived from Quebec to Green Bay, WI.
Wyoming             - "Large Prarie Place", our 44th state, a valley
                       in Pennsylvania which was the scene of a
                       massacre on July 3, 1778. From this valley
                       Frances Slocum was stolen on November 2,
1778.

<X>


                                 No Entry

<Y>


Yakima              - "Runaway", a tribe of Washington, a river and
                       city of Washington.
Yalobusha           -  A tributary of the Yazoo River and a county
in
                       Mississippi.
Yamasee             -  A Muskegean tribe along the coast of Florida
                       and Georgia.
Yankton             - "At The End", one of seven, divisions of the
                       Sioux.
Yaqui               - "Chief River", a tribe of Northern Mexico.
Yozoo               -  A river and an extinct tribe of Mississippi.
Yellow River        -  Welhamamik, Potawatomi word for "Yellow
Yokut               -  A name of a Mariposa band of Indians.
Yosemite            - "Grizzly Bear", a valley, falls and park in
CA.
Yucca               - "Silk Grass", a plant used for food, sandals,
                       rope, nets, soap, dye, point brushes, tread
                       to sew robes.
Yukon               -  A large river in Alaska.
Yuma                -  A tribe and language groups of the Southwest
                       of the USA.
Yurok               - "Downstream", a tribe on the lower Klamath
                       River in CA.

<Z>


Zapotecs            -  Indians of Mexico, contemporaries of the
                       Aztecs.
Zuni                -  Pueblo Indians along the Colorado River in
                       New Mexico.

"More Indian Lore"
By: E.W. Lamb and L.W. Shultz, 1968

Return To Top