Wisconsin Counties with Native American Names
From WikiName
What’s up with all the Native American names of Wisconsin’s counties, cities, towns, parks, etc.? It seems nothing in that state is too small to bear one of those incomprehensible names, and don’t even think about trying to pronounce them. It’s enough to make you cross Wisconsin off your list of fantastic vacation destinations, but…
WAIT! Never fear; we’re here to help. Let’s take a tour of the Wisconsin counties which have names taken from various Native American languages...
[edit] WHAT DO THEY MEAN?
Chippewa: The Chippewa are also known as the Ojibwa; both names mean “to roast till puckered up,” referring to the puckered seam on their moccasins. They call themselves Anishinabe, which means “original person.”
Kenosha: Kenosha, or maskenosha, means “pike” (the fish) or “place of the pike.”
Kewaunee: In the language of the Pottawottami Indians, kewaunee means “we are lost.” They would call out “kewaunee-kewaunee” if they were engulfed by fog on Lake Michigan; those on land would respond by yelling, and the sound of their voices would guide the lost ones safely back to shore. In the Chippewa language, kewaunee means “I cross a point of land by boat;” it can also mean "prairie hen."
Manitowoc: Manitowoc, a derivation of the Chippewa word munedoo-owk, means “place of the good spirit,” or “spirit land.”
Menominee: The Menominee Indians called themselves Mamaceqtaw, meaning “the people.” The Chippewa called them Menominee, which means “the people of the wild rice,” because wild rice was a substantial part of their diet.
Oconto: The Menominee Indians inhabited the area of the Oconto River. In their language, oconto means “red ground” or “black bass.”
Oneida: Oneida, from Onyota'a:ka, means “people of the stone,” or “people of the standing stone,” because of a large boulder near the site of one of the Oneida tribe’s ancient villages.
Outagamie: Outagamie is the name the Chippewa gave their old enemies, the Fox. It’s translated as “dwellers of either shore,” or “dwellers on the side of a stream.”
Ozaukee: Ozaukee, derived from the name of the Sauk tribe, means “yellow earth.”
Sauk: The name Sauk (or Sac) comes from the word Asakiwaki, meaning “yellow earth people.”
Shawano: The name of the Shawano (or Shawnee) tribe is derived from the word shawanwa, which means “southern” or “southerners.”
Sheboygan: The word sheboygan has been translated a number of different ways by a number of different scholars. It could mean: “a perforated object,” “a hollow object,” “a river disappearing underground,” “a noise underground,” “send through,” or “a drum.”
Waukesha: Waukesha is a Potawatomi word meaning “little foxes.” The most popular theory about how Waukesha got its name is that when the county was formed, the people wanted to give it an Indian name, and they chose Waukesha. However, some claim it’s an Anglicized form of Wauk-tsha, the name of an Indian chief who lived in the area.[1][2]
Waupaca: Waupaca from the Indian words wau-buck seba means “clear water,” “white sand bottom,” or “tomorrow river.”
Waushara: Waushara means “good land.” Like waukesha, it’s simply a word chosen by white settlers and has no connection to local history.
Winnebago: The Winnebago called themselves Hotcangara, “the people speaking the original language,” but today they say Hochunk. The Chippewa called them Winipig, meaning “filthy water,” and the Sauk and Foxes called them Winipyagohagi, meaning “people of the stinking water,” because they lived near Lake Winnebago which smelled strongly of fish in the summer.
[edit] PRONOUNCIATION
Learning the meanings of all these words is only half the battle; pronouncing them correctly is the other half. No problem. Simply go to misspronouncer.com, “A pronunciation guide for everything Wisconsin” where you can hear them. It’s that easy!
Now you can visit Wisconsin with confidence, and as a bonus, you’ll be able to awe your family and friends with your impressive ability to say all those Native American words.
[edit] NOTES
<http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/29764/the_ebb_and_flow_of_historic_waukesha.html/> <http://books.google.com/books?id=e74ZAAAAMAAJ&q=Wau-tsha&dq=Wau-tsha&pgis=1/> <http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/tribes/nations/index.htm/> <http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/tp&CISOPTR=1265/> <http://www.native-languages.org/home.htm/> <http://www.wisconsin.gov/state/core/wisconsin_counties.html/> <http://www.wisconsinhistory.org//>
Author: Madeleine Wieder
