List of Michigan placenames of Native American origin

Many places throughout the state of Michigan take their names from Native American indigenous languages. This list includes counties, townships, and settlements whose names are derived from indigenous languages in Michigan.

Map of Native American populations of the Northwest Territory. Most of Michigan's Native American-derived place names come from the languages spoken in these groups.

The primary Native American languages in Michigan are Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi, all of which are dialects of Algonquin. Some other places names in Michigan are found to be derived from Sauk, Oneida, Wyandot, Abenaki, Shawnee, Mohawk, Seneca, Seminole, Iroquois, and Delaware, although many of these tribes are not found in Michigan.

Municipalities

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State

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Michigan – derived from Ottawa "mishigami" meaning "large water" or "great water" in reference to the Great Lakes.[1][2]

Counties

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Some of Michigan's counties have names invented by the ethnologist Henry Schoolcraft, usually adapted from parts of Native American words, but sometimes having parts from Greek, Arabic and Latin roots.[3]

Other settlements

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Natural features

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Bodies of water

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Islands

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Other

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See also

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References

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b "Freelang Ojibwe Dictionary".
  2. ^ a b "Michigan in Brief: Information About the State of Michigan" (PDF). Michigan.gov. Retrieved November 28, 2006.
  3. ^ Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University, Bibliography by county and region, including origin of county names
  4. ^ "Bibliography on Alcona County". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  5. ^ Powers, p. 94
  6. ^ Romig, Walter (1986). Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8143-1838-6.
  7. ^ Vogel, Virgil J. (1986). Indian Names in Michigan. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. pp. 244, 8 B&W photographs & 3 maps. ISBN 978-0-472-06365-9.
  8. ^ Powers, Perry F. (1912). A History of Northern Michigan and Its People. Vol. 3. Chicago: Lewis Publishing – via Google Books.
  9. ^ "Bibliography on Alpena County". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  10. ^ Romig, Walter (1986). Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities. Great Lakes Books Series. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0814318386.
  11. ^ Herron, Catherine (1962). Herron, Nelson R. (ed.). "A History of the Place Names of Alpena County". Wilderness Chronicle (19–21) (published 1991–1992). Archived from the original on July 15, 2004.
  12. ^ "Michigan government on place names". Archived from the original on July 28, 2009. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  13. ^ "Arenac County Michigan History Information". outdoor-michigan.com. Archived from the original on June 22, 2010.
  14. ^ Michigan County names per the Michigan government. Archived July 28, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Compare History of the name "Sheboygan" Archived June 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine and List of Michigan county name etymologies.
  15. ^ "Bibliography on Cheboygan County". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  16. ^ Skenandoah (December 1847). "Letters on the Iroquois". The American Review: A Whig Journal of Politics, Literature, Art and Science. Vol. 6, no. 6. New York: George H. Colton. pp. 626–630 – via Google Books.
  17. ^ Kelton, Dwight H. (1884). Annals of Fort Mackinac. Library of Congress. pp. 146–147.
  18. ^ "Bibliography on Keweenaw County". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  19. ^ "Bibliography on Leelanau County". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
  20. ^ "Bibliography on Lenawee County". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
  21. ^ Michigan History, Arts and Libraries on sources of County names. Archived July 28, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ "Bibliography on Mackinac County". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  23. ^ County place names Archived March 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  24. ^ "Manistee County, Michigan". 50-State Learning Resource Guide. Archived from the original on March 2, 2012. Retrieved April 7, 2009.
  25. ^ Michigan History, Arts and Libraries on sources of County names. Archived March 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  26. ^ "Missaukee County, Michigan". infomi.com.
  27. ^ a b Michigan History, Arts and Libraries on sources of County names.
  28. ^ "Bibliography on Ogemaw County". Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
  29. ^ "Ontonagon River Assessment" (PDF).
  30. ^ Otsego County history page. Archived February 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  31. ^ "Clarke Home - Central Michigan University". cmich.edu.
  32. ^ Michigan Counties. DNR. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
  33. ^ Michigan government on origin of county names
  34. ^ Han, Lila; Society, Shiawassee County Historical (May 15, 1987). "Echoes of Yesteryears: Bennington and Shiawassee Townships". Crest – via Google Books.
  35. ^ Henry R. Schoolcraft (1855). Information Respecting the History, Condition and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States. p. 624. ISBN 9780665404498.
  36. ^ Richmond, Rebecca L. (1907). "The Fur Traders of the Grand River Valley". Publications of the Historical Society of Grand Rapids. Vol. 1, no. 2. pp. 35–47. Retrieved January 23, 2013 – via Google Books. Ojibwe etymology of the word: Wash-ten-ong".
  37. ^ "Origins - Old Place Names". Berrien County Genealogical Society. Archived from the original on March 13, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  38. ^ "Welcome to Cohoctah Township". www.cohoctahtownship.org. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  39. ^ Howard S. Rogers (1875). History of Cass County, from 1825 to 1875. W.H. Mansfield, Vigilant Book and Job Print. p. 113.
  40. ^ "Escanaba Michigan History". Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  41. ^ "Escanaba | Michigan, United States". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  42. ^ "Ojibwe-English translation :: Ishpiming :: Dictionary".
  43. ^ R., L. N.; Stevens, James (September 1932). "The Saginaw Paul Bunyan". The Mississippi Valley Historical Review. 19 (2): 309. doi:10.2307/1891506. ISSN 0161-391X. JSTOR 1891506.
  44. ^ "Geocaching with NaviCache - Cache Details: K is for Kenockee". www.navicache.com. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  45. ^ "ID Not Found Lighthouse". LighthouseFriends. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  46. ^ "The Naming of the Ossawinamakee | Schoolcraft County Historical Society". Schoolcraft County Historical Society. June 4, 2016. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  47. ^ Ettawageshik, Frank (December 4, 2015). "Old Indian Trail – Cadillac to Traverse City". Cadillac, Michigan Travel and Tourism Blog - Northern Michigan Outdoor Recreation Blog. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  48. ^ "Profile for Munising, Michigan, MI". ePodunk. Archived from the original on August 29, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  49. ^ "Ojibwe People's Dictionary, "minis"". University of Minnesota. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  50. ^ Exploring The North (2021). "Upper Peninsula Lighthouses Open to the Public on Lake Michigan and Lake Superior". Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  51. ^ Walters, Christine. "Grand Traverse County Michigan History & Genealogy". genealogytrails.com. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  52. ^ "The History of Wasaga Beach" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 16, 2014.
  53. ^ Campbell, Mike. "User-submitted name Onawa". Behind the Name. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  54. ^ "History of Ontwa connected with natives - Leader Publications". Leader Publications. October 30, 2008. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  55. ^ "About Oshtemo | Oshtemo Township". www.oshtemo.org. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  56. ^ A History of the Place Names of Alpena County
  57. ^ Beauchamp, William Martin (1907). "Aboriginal Place Names of New York". New York State Museum Bulletin. Vol. 108. New York State Education Department. pp. 148–149. ISBN 9781404751552. Retrieved June 6, 2015 – via Google Books.
  58. ^ Vogel (1986), p. 45-46.
  59. ^ Pewamo, Village of. "History". villageofpewamo.com. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  60. ^ Pinconning Township Main Page http://bjmi.us/bay/pinconning/index.html
  61. ^ "City of Pinconning—Cheese Capital of Michigan: History".
  62. ^ "Historic Community of Ponshewaing". Michigan Water Trails. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  63. ^ Chicago and North Western Railway Company (1908). A History of the Origin of the Place Names Connected with the Chicago & North Western and Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railways. p. 116.
  64. ^ Johnston, John (1858). Vocabularies of the Shawanoese and Wyandott Languages, etc. Retrieved February 27, 2017. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  65. ^ Day, pp. 248-249.
  66. ^ "SAUGATUCK". navy.memorieshop.com. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  67. ^ "Tecumseh". ePodunk. Archived from the original on February 28, 2014. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
  68. ^ Elliott, Michael A. (2008). Custerology: The Enduring Legacy of the Indian Wars and George Armstrong Custer. University of Chicago Press. p. 75. ISBN 9780226201481.
  69. ^ Vogel (1986), p. 127.
  70. ^ "townwauceda". genealogytrails.com. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  71. ^ Cleland, Charles E., Rites of Conquest: The History and Culture of Michigan's Native Americans (The University of Michigan Press, 1992) p.138
  72. ^ "Berrien County Genealogical Society - Origins - Old Place Names". bcgensoc.com. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  73. ^ Bright (2004), p. 576.
  74. ^ 100 Years of History: L'Anse/Skanee Centennial. Ishpeming, Michigan: Baraga County Historical Society Pageant Division. 1971.
  75. ^ Bright (2004), p. 120.

Sources

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  • Bright, William (2004). Native American Place Names of the United States. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 9780806135984.
  • Vogel, Virgil J. (1986). Indian Names in Michigan. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-06365-0.