# Journal of American Folk-Lore/Volume 12/Issue 44/American Indian Names of White Men and Women

AMERICAN INDIAN NAMES OF WHITE MEN AND WOMEN.
In connection with an extended study of the interrelations of the white and red races in America, the present writer has noted a considerable number of names given by American Indians to white missionaries, soldiers, and others, the record and interpretation of which are of interest to all folk-lorists. In this preliminary paper the Algonkian and Iroquoian Indians alone have been considered. Exact references to authorities cited are given, and where possible more detailed etymologies than those in the original sources of information. As will be seen by glancing through the lists of names, the nomenclature is very varied: adoption-names, names of deceased celebrities, descriptive names, names suggested by accident or incident, are all represented, besides translations of European names. Many of the missionaries, especially, have several names from different tribes, and sometimes different names from the same tribe, etc. As may readily be understood, some of the names conferred by one tribe are simply translations of a name originally given by some other tribe. Some of the names were conferred by the chiefs with the assent of their fellow-tribesmen, others by the old women, who so often are the name-givers among primitive peoples. Some of the names, also, from being applied originally to individuals (e. g. Onontiio, Kora), have become terms of general application to officials, governors, sovereigns, etc. Others, like Tabahsega, were given in such beautiful fashion as to be in the highest sense poetical. Taken all together, the names considered in this paper open up a very interesting field of folk-thought and folk-speech.
ALGONKIAN.
A. Blackfoot. A far-western tribe of Algonkian stock, whose speech, like that of the Micmacs in the far East, bears traces of foreign contact in its phonetics and vocabulary.
1. Apawakas, "white antelope,"—from ap, "white," and awakas, "antelope." According to Rev. John Maclean ("Canad. Sav. Folk," pp. 63, 361), the Indian name of Mrs. Maclean.
2. Natusiasamin. This name, which Rev. E. F. Wilson ("Our Forest Children," iii. 9) explains as signifying "the sun looks upon him," was given him by the Blackfoot Indians of northwestern Canada. From natōsi, "sun," and assamiaaie, "he looks at him."
B. Cheyenne. An outlying branch of the great Algonkian fam​ily, whose speech has suffered somewhat, as has the Blackfoot, from foreign influences.
1. Dosimiats, "long beard." According to Rev. E. F. Wilson, the name given him by the Cheyenne Indians ("Our Forest Children," iii. 123),—the boys in the Cheyenne school at Darlington, Oklahoma.
D. Montagnais. An Algonkian tribe of northeastern Quebec, with whom the Europeans very early came into contact.
1. Tshitshisahigan, "the broom." The name given, according to Pilling ("Alg. Bibl." p. 281), to J. B. de la Brosse (1724–1782), missionary at Tadoussac. The name is simply a translation of the French la Brosse, "broom, brush."
C. Mississaga. The Mississāgas, a sub-tribe of the Ojibwa, are still resident in various portions of the Province of Ontario,—Rice Lake, Lake Scugog, Grand River, etc.
1. Annonk (anank), "star." Name given to Addie, daughter of Mrs. Moodie ("Roughing it in the Bush," pp. 307, 311).
2. Nogesigook. This name, explained, "northern lights," was given to Katie, another daughter of Mrs. Moodie.
3. Nonocosiqui (nōnōkąsekwa), "hummingbird woman," the Mississaga name of Mrs. Susanna Moodie, the authoress, who lived in the region about Peterboro, Ontario, where dwelt many of these Indians.
4. Pā'mīgī'cīgwáckem, "the sun bringing the day." Name conferred on A. F. Chamberlain ("Miss. Lang." p. 65) in August, 1888, by Mrs. Susan Bolin (Nāwigíckōkē), the doyenne of the Mississāga settlement at Scugog Lake, who explained the name as given above. The name is said to have belonged to a distinguished chief of the olden time, and was conferred with the desire to perpetuate it.
E. Nipissing. The Nipissing Algonkians of the Lake of the Two Mountains, in the Province of Quebec, speak the language recorded in the Abbé Cuoq's "Lexique de la Langue Algonquine" (Montreal, 1886). From that dictionary the following names have been extracted:—
1. Ekwabitc (p. 30), "the sentinel; the one who watches,"—from akaw, "up, on," and wab, "to look, to see." Name given to Joseph Aoustin (1816–1877), missionary at the Lake of the Two Mountains, 1845–1847, a very eloquent and zealous priest.
2. Kwenatc anibic (p. 189), "beautiful leaf,"—from kwenatc, "beautiful, pretty," and anibic, "leaf." This name, a translation of the French, was given to C. L. de Bellefeuille, missionary at the Lake, 1824–1834,—Bellefeuille ("beautiful leaf")=kwenatc anibic.
3. Metakweckawatc (p. 232), "he whose approach puts them to flight,"—from mitakwen, "to drive off." This name, really a war name, was given to Montcalm and other French generals, also ​to M. Lenoir, missionary at the Lake, 1855–1857. Cuoq tells us that Kijikomanito, ex-chief of the Nipissings, made a song in which he thus explained the giving of the name to M. Lenoir: "The demons of hell are our enemies, and the young priest is come to stay with us to repel them."
4. Nijkwenatcanibic, "beautiful double leaf,"—from nij, "two," kwenatc, "beautiful," anibic, "leaf." This name was given to the Abbé Cuoq when missionary at the Lake. As we learn from the preface of his "Lexique de la Langue Iroquoise" (Montreal, 1882), the "N. O.," which Cuoq signed to two of his earlier publications, stands for Nijkwenatcanibic, his Algonkian, and Orakwanentakon, his Iroquois, name.
5. Nikik, "otter." Cuoq tells us ("Lex. Iroq." p. 214) that M. Thavenet, missionary at the Lake, 1802–1809, was first called by the Iroquois tawine, "otter," suggested by its assonance with Thavenet, and the Nipissings simply rendered this tawine into their own tongue by nikik.
6. Wabonimiki (p. 19), "white thunder,"—from wab, "white," and onimiki, "thunder." Name given to Colonel Napier, a government official of the Indian Department of Canada.
7. Waianadjitehetc (p. 422), "he who has a rich heart,"—from wanat, "rich," teh, "heart." Name given to Pierre Richard (1817–1847), missionary at the Lake, 1842–1846.
8. Wakwi (p. 122), "sky." Name given to J. C. Mathevet (1717–1781), missionary at the Lake, 1746–1778, whose knowledge of the Indian tongue is said to have been very great.
F. Ojibwa (Chippeway). A few only of the many Ojibwa names of white men and women can be given here.
1. Keeshegooqua (kijigūkwa). According to Rev. E. F. Wilson ("The Canad. Ind." i. 347), this name was conferred, July 26, 1891, by Chief Buhkwujjenene of the Ojibwa Indians at Garden River, Ontario, on Mrs. McMurray, the second wife of Archdeacon William McMurray, of Niagara, whose first wife was a cousin of Mrs. H. R. Schoolcraft. The name signifies "sky woman," or "lady of the sky,"—from kijik, "sky," and ekwa, "woman."
2. Misquahbenooqua (miskwābinūkwa), "woman of the rosy dawn; lady of the aurora." This name, according to Rev. E. F. Wilson ("Miss. Work among the Ojebway Indians," London, 1886, p. 249), was given to Mrs. Sullivan, wife of Bishop Sullivan, of Algoma, Ontario, by Chief Buhkwujjenene, of Garden River, August 30, 1884. The name is derived from miskw, "red, ruddy," wāban, "it is light, day," and ekwa, "woman." See No. 7.
3. Nahwegeezhegooqua (nāwēgijigūkwa). Name given by chief of "pagan" Indians at Kettle Point, Ontario, to Mrs. Wilson, wife of ​Rev. E. F. Wilson, missionary. Mr. Wilson ("Miss. Work," p. 33) renders this name "Lady of the Sky," but it evidently signifies "sun in the centre of the sky woman," from naw, "in the middle of," gijik, "sky," and ekwa, "woman." The name was that of a dead Indian woman who was much thought of, and it was the wish of the Indians "that her name should be retained among us."
4. Neegig (nīgig), "otter." Rev. E. F. Wilson ("Miss. Work," p. 99) informs us that Chief Buhkwujjenene conferred this name in England on Rev. E. F. Wilson's brother Arthur,—the word sounding like "otter," hence the translation. This is an interesting pendant to the tawine of the Iroquois elsewhere noted.
5. Pashegonabe. Name conferred by Chief Buhkwujjenene on the father of Rev. E. F. Wilson, by whom it is said (p. 99) to mean "great eagle."
6. Puhgukahbun (pagakāban), "bright, clear day; broad day-light,"—from pakak, "clear," wāban, "it is day." The name of a much respected chief (long since dead), conferred by Chief Buhkwujjenene on Rev. E. F. Wilson, the missionary ("Miss. Work," p. 33).
7. Tabahsega. Name given by Chief Buhkwujjenene to Bishop Edward Sullivan, of Algoma, August 30, 1884,—said to mean "spreading or radiant light." Rev. E. F. Wilson gives the following interesting account of the naming of Bishop and Mrs. Sullivan by the Indian chief ("Miss. Work," pp. 248, 249): "[The chief] proceeded in highly poetic strains, and with a fervid, impassioned manner, to which no description could do justice, to picture the glory of the rising sun; how at first the night is dark, very dark, and the darkness clears a little, and the light looks through, and the great sun appears, creeping up slowly higher and higher, from east to west, till the whole heaven is filled with his bright, making all things glad: 'so,' said the old chief, turning to the bishop, 'has your teaching been, and our hearts are glad because of the new light, and henceforth you will be called Tabasega, i. e. spreading or radiant light.' … The old chief then beckoned to the bishop's wife to come forward, and, going back to his former figure, to bring out the idea of the soft, roseate hue that overspreads the sky before the rising of the sun, announced that her name should be Misquahbenooqua."
This is one typical mode of naming among the Ojibwa and other Algonkian Indians.
8. Wabausenooqua (wābāsenūkwa). This name, conferred by Chief Buhkwujjenene on a sister of Rev. E. F. Wilson, was explained by the giver as signifying "a little spot cleared by the wind" ("Miss. Work," p. 99). Probably "wind-cleaning woman."
​9. Wazawawadoong. This name, explained as the "yellow beard," is said (Pilling, " Alg. Bibl." p. 403) to have been given to the Rev. J. H. Pitzel, missionary for some years (1848–1857) among the Ojibwa Indians of Lake Superior.
G. Ottawa. A branch of the Algonkian stock in parts of the Province of Ontario and the State of Michigan.
1. Mânókékétòk', "he that speaks good words." Given in Pilling ("Alg. Bibl." p. 352) as the Ottawa Indian name of Rev. Jonathan Meeker (1804–1854), missionary to the Ottawas on the Grand River, Ontario. Derived from māno, "well," and kikit, "to speak, to talk."
IROQUOIS.
The Iroquois Indians in Canada, especially, have been long under the influence of European missionaries, and have come into more or less political contact with the French and English settlers of the region about the Great Lakes and southward to Virginia.
1. Anonchiase. According to the Abbé Cuoq ("Lex. Iroq." p. 212), the Hurons gave this name to the first governor of Montreal, Maisonneuve; the Mohawks of the Lake of the Two Mountains (Cuoq's "Iroquois") called him kanonsase (kanonsa="house"). Both Huron and Iroquois names are translations of the French Maisonneuve ("new house").
2. Asira. This name, given to Guillaume Couture, one of the companions of Père Iogues, in his captivity, signifies, according to Cuoq ("Lex. Iroq." p. 212), "blanket, cover," and is a translation of the French Couture=couverture.
3. Awennenhawi, "word-bearer." Name given to the celebrated François Picquet (1708–1781), missionary among the Iroquois. It was also conferred on Nicolas Dufresne (d. 1863), another missionary among the Indians (Cuoq, p. 214).
4. Awennisete. This name (the Huron form is aondechiete) has been conferred upon several missionaries, especially upon Etienne de Carheil (1633–1726) and H. Giien (d. 1761), both missionaries at the Lake of the Two Mountains. The name is derived from tekennistons, "to absent one's self for a time, to make a journey."
5. Dakarihhontye, "flying messenger,"—the name of Major Hayter Reid (Deputy Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Canada), as honorary chief of the Ontario Iroquois. This name is given as spelled above in Major E. M. Chadwick's "The People of the Long-house" (Toronto, 1897), p. 99, and the other names cited from his book in this article are given in the original spelling.
6. Deorounyathe, "bright sky." The name of the Earl of Aberdeen, Governor-General of Canada (1896), as honorary chief of the Ontario Iroquois (Chadwick, p. 98).
​7. Kahnedogonah, "among the pines." Name of Lieutenant-Colonel R. L. Nelles as honorary chief. The name has reference to the bearer's tallness (Chadwick, p. 100).
8. Kajijonhawe, or Katijonhawe, name given to Mrs. Chadwick, wife of Major E. M. Chadwick, as oyaner of the Iroquois, also as ordinary name to Mrs. K. F. Kerby. The word signifies "bouquet carrier" (Chadwick, pp. 102, 103).
9. Kanoronhkwa, "one who loves." Name of Mrs. Merritt, wife of Captain W. H. Merritt (Chadwick, p. 102).
10. Karakondye, "flying sun." Name of H. R. H. Prince Arthur (Duke of Connaught), as honorary chief of Iroquois (Chadwick, p. 98).
11. Kariwiyo, "good news; satisfactory business,"—from kari "new, speech, affair, matter, business," and wiyo, good, beautiful, satisfactory." Name of Mr. Allen Cleghorn, of Brantford, Ontario, as honorary chief of the Iroquois. He is sometimes called also karihowane, "great good news" (Chadwick, p. 98).
12. Ka-tcĭ'-tcĭs-tā'kwăst, "the beautiful flower." According to S. L. Lee (J. A. F.-L. v. 337), the name given to Mrs. Erminnie A. Smith, "the first white woman adopted by a tribe of the Six Nations, having been formally adopted by the Tuscaroras in 1880, as sister to their chief."
13. Konwahendeks, "a leader." Name of Mrs. M. P. Cameron, as oyaner of the Iroquois (Chadwick, p. 102).
14. Kora. This word, which with the Iroquois of the Lake of the Two Mountains now signifies "governor, superior officer," has a very interesting history. According to Ferland and Cuoq ("Lex. Iroq." p. 167), it is merely the Indian pronunciation of the name of Corlaer, the celebrated Dutch governor. From the Dutch governors of Orange and New Amsterdam the name was extended to the English governors of Albany and New York, to the governors of New England, the governor-general of Canada, and the Queen of England, the last two also receiving the epithet kowa, "great." See Onontiio.
15. Onontiio. The history of this word, whose present meaning is "king," is a little different from that of kora. Cuoq tells us ("Lex. Iroq." p. 176) that this name was first applied to C. H. de Montmagny, the successor of Champlain in the government of Canada, and that the missionaries were responsible for it, "the Indians not suspecting at all that the Iroquois word onontiio was intended to translate Montmagny ("the great mountain "). The translation is rather free, however, as Cuoq points out, for in Iroquois onontiio signifies "beautiful mountain," not "great mountain," which would be onontowanen. From Montmagny, the name came to be applied ​to all his successors, up to the time of the conquest in 1760, and, with the adjective kowa, to the kings of France (but not of England) as well.
16. Orakwanentakon, "a fixed star." The name given to the Abbé Cuoq by the Iroquois of the Lake of the Two Mountains ("Lex. Iroq." p. v.).
17. Oronhiatekha, "burning sky." According to Cuoq (p. 212), the name given to Major de Lorimier. It is also the name of Dr. Oronyhatekha, the most celebrated of living Mohawks, in Canada.
18. Rarihwagasdas, "a thing that lasts." This name, in allusion to his work, was given to Percy Wood, of London, England, the sculptor of the Brant Memorial, at Brantford, Ontario.
19. Rasennase (the Huron form is achiendase), the name formerly applied to several of the old Jesuit missionaries. It literally signifies "he has a new name," or "his name is new" ("Lex. Iroq." pp. 107, 212).
20. Rawendio, rawenniio. According to Cuoq (p. 212) this was the name given to M. Lemaître, priest of St. Sulpice, who was killed by the Indians in 1861. It is a translation of Le maître ("the master, lord"). The name was given later to N. Du Faradon (d. 1759), the superior of the seminary at Montreal. In the sense of "master, lord," rawenniio (Huron, rawendiio) is now applied to God, the Supreme Being.
21. Rohehhon, "energetic man." The name of Captain W. G. Mutton, of the 2d Queen's Own Rifles (Chadwick, p. 100).
22. Roronoungowane, "man of great feathers." Name of Captain W. H. Merritt, as honorary chief (Chadwick, p. 99).
23. Sakonikonhriiostha, "he consoles them." The name of A. Mercier, missionary at the Lake of the Two Mountains, 1861–1868 ("Lex. Iroq." p. 214).
24. Sakoienteres, "he knows them." This name has been conferred on several officials of the Canadian Department of Indian Affairs—Colonel Napier in particular (Cuoq, p. 212).
25. Shadekareenhes, "two trees of equal height." Name given to the late Archdeacon Nelles, principal of Mohawk Institute, Brantford (Chadwick, p. 101).
26. Shagoyahle, "one that beautifies men." Mohawk name of Rev. E. F. Wilson ("Our Forest Children," iii. 9).
27. Shagotyohgwisaks, "one who seeks a gathering of the people [into bands]." Name given to Major E. M. Chadwick, as honorary chief, in allusion to his " advocacy of the formation of a Six Nations regiment of militia (p. 100)."
28. Taiorhensere, "dawn; the day comes." The name of J. C. Mathevet (d. 1781), missionary at the Lake of the Two Mountains; ​also of another missionary at the same place, R. M. Gay (Cuoq, "Lex. Iroq." p. 213).
29. Tawine, "otter." The name of M. Thavenet, missionary at the Lake of the Two Mountains, 1802–1809. His Algonkian name nikik is likewise a translation (through the Iroquois) of the French loutre. Tawine is a name suggested by assonance with Thavenet (Cuoq, "Lex. Iroq." p. 214.)
30. Tehotwistaron, "trimmed; decked out." The name of Captain Ducharme, son-in-law of Major de Lorimier (" Lex. Iroq." p. 212).
31. Tentenhawitha (for tewentenhawitha), "day-bringer, morning star, Venus." Name given at St. Regis to J.-B. Roupe, missionary at the Lake of the Two Mountains in 1813; also, at Caughnawaga, to R. P. Antoine, missionary there in 1851 ("Lex. Iroq." p. 214).
32. Tharohiakanere, "he looks at the sky." Name given to several missionaries, especially to A. M. de Terlaye (d. 1777) and J. Marcoux (d. 1855), etc. ("Lex. Iroq." p. 113).
33. Thorigowegeri, "the evergreen brake." Name given as honorary chief to Hugh, second Duke of Northumberland, who, as Earl Percy, served in the American Revolutionary War. The allusion is to the possession of an hereditary title, which resembles "a tree whose leaf falls only as a new one grows" (Chadwick, p. 101).
34. Yalewahnoh, "our watcher." Name given to Mrs. H. M. Converse, on her election as a chief of the Six Nations (J. A. F.-L. v. 1892, p. 147).
The present writer's knowledge of the Algonkian languages being greater than his acquaintance with the Iroquoian tongues, the details given above as to etymology are correspondingly greater with the names belonging to the former.
Alexander F. Chamberlain.
Clark University, Worcester, Mass.