# American Indian names in US geography



## Earl of Ormonde (Sep 5, 2008)

Ok guys, here's one for the hardcore geography and history fans amongst you.

How many states, cities, and waterways are named, either directly or loosely, after American Indian* tribes?

I know quite a few, but y'all know many more, so spill the beans! 


* AIM - American Indian Movement. Not the ridiculous PC term Native American. John Trudell, for example, calls himself an American Indian not a Native American.

In other words, the first person to pick me up on using the term American Indian is going to get a cyber short straight right, delivered John Wayne style, followed by a left hook, a straight right to the solar plexus, a left uppercut and finished off with a kick in the nads :icon_smile_big:


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## Apatheticviews (Mar 21, 2010)

Kansas & Arkansas 
Missouri (state & river)
Sioux (river)
Indiana (indians in general)
Iowa (River & State)

Those are the ones I can think of that are named directly after tribes, however many places & things have language roots.


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## Howard (Dec 7, 2004)

How about Manasquan Inlet?


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

Or the Assawoman Bay?? (Near Fenwick Island DE)

I have no idea if the Lenape's named it thus, I just like to say "Assawoman Bay!!"

Pontiac, Michigan is the most glaring example. 

Many areas and towns in the Mid and North East have Indian derived names but not necessarily the name of the tribe itself.


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## Earl of Ormonde (Sep 5, 2008)

Apatheticviews said:


> Missouri (state & river)
> Iowa (River & State)


With these 2, are those the exact tribal names or adapted to English?


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## tokyogator (Oct 24, 2008)

In Florida there is Seminole County.

There are also many places where the names were taken directly from American Indian words, but not named after tribes.
For example, Itchetucknee River ("River of Grass").
*
*


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## DoghouseReilly (Jul 25, 2010)

Take a look at a lot of Wisconsin city names: Wausau, Kewaskum, Waukesha, and Pewaukee to name a few.


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## Apatheticviews (Mar 21, 2010)

Earl of Ormonde said:


> With these 2, are those the exact tribal names or adapted to English?


Adapted, slightly.

Missouri = Missouris (part of the Sioux tribe)
Iowa = Ioway (also part of the Sioux tribe)


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

Massapequa, NY

Minnetonka, MN


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## jean-paul sartorial (Jul 28, 2010)

In Virginia:

Potomac River, Pamunkey River, Mattaponi River, Chickahominy River, Nottoway River, Rappahannock River, Nansemond River.

What would have been Powhatan River instead became the James. But there is a Powhatan County, as well as a Nottoway County.


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## Mike Petrik (Jul 5, 2005)

jean-paul sartorial said:


> In Virginia:
> 
> Potomac River, Pamunkey River, Mattaponi River, Chickahominy River, Nottoway River, Rappahannock River, Nansemond River.
> 
> What would have been Powhatan River instead became the James. But there is a Powhatan County, as well as a Nottoway County.


The state of Illinois, as any native American like me should know.


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## 32rollandrock (May 1, 2008)

Off the top of my head, with most of these in Washington state, where I grew up:

Puyallup (city and river and tribe in Washington state)
Skykomish River (also in Washington state)
Hoh River
Snohomish County (ditto)
Satsop River
Town of Snohomish (can I get double credit?)
Snoqualmie River
Steilacoom (also in Washington, a town)
Nisqually River (again in Washington)
Chehalis (another town in Washington)
Skookumchuck River (also in Washington, and an Indian term meaning good)
Omaha (a city in Nebraska)
Willapa (a bay and a town in Washington)
Walla Walla (a city and site of Washington's toughest prison)
Nooksack River

There are likely tons more. You can't go anywhere in the United States without finding something named after a tribe.


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## Earl of Ormonde (Sep 5, 2008)

Wow 32 RnR, that is an impressive list.


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## Howard (Dec 7, 2004)

Nantucket Island


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

Siox City, IA

Cheyenne, WY


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

Howard said:


> Nantucket Island


I knew a man from Nantucket...


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## PetroLandman (Apr 21, 2006)

There are thousands and thousands! I will simply list my hometown which accounts for two to them: Waco (Hueco tribe), Texas (Tejas=friendly).


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## TheGreatTwizz (Oct 27, 2010)

May I point out, sir, that you asked 'how many' not 'what'?

I interpret the question to be one of a number, not of nouns. Quickly thinking off the top of my head, hundreds come to mind in the Philadelphia and Florida regions. Going to a local level, locally named places/landmarks, this has to be in the *millions*.


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## Cardinals5 (Jun 16, 2009)

Probably not millions, but hundreds of thousands. Just taking names of states derived from Native American words (sometimes accurate spellings were adopted and at other times phonetic spellings)

Alabama
Alaska
Arkansas
Connecticut
Illinois
Indiana (not really, but clearly refers to Indians)
Kansas
Kentucky
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Nebraska
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Wisconsin
Wyoming


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## Concordia (Sep 30, 2004)

In New England alone, apart from Massachusetts and Connecticut, you have lots of towns like Assonet, Nantucket, Pawtucket, Cochichewick. And in New York, there's Schenectady, and dozens of others.


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## Ed Reynolds (Apr 13, 2010)

As has been mentioned there is Connecticut--The land of the tidal river. There is the Pequot and Mashantucket Tribes which operate the two casinos, Uncasville, where the Mohegan Sun Casino is located and a bunch of borough places with Indian Names: Noank, Wauregan, Pawcautuck, (not to be confused with Pawtucket, RI where the minor league Red Sox play) Niantic, Nipmuc (another tribe),Quinnipiac (Name for a River and School) Housatonic (another big River), just to name a few.


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## hockeyinsider (May 8, 2006)

Including pseudo-Indian words? Michigan is full of geographical names that sound Indian but are really invented words.


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## fishertw (Jan 27, 2006)

Catawba County, River NC after Catawba Indians,
Lumberton, Lumbee River NC after Lumbee Indians.
Cherokee NC After Cherokee Indians
Pasquotank River after Pasquotank Indian
Tuckaseegee River after tribe?
Likely others in NC and Northern GA/upstate SC
Tom


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## Regillus (Mar 15, 2011)

Running through Fort Myers Fl is the Caloosahatchee River; named after the Caloosa (or Calusa) indians. Also city of Miami is named after the tribe of that name.


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