List of Illinois placenames of Native American origin

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The following list includes settlements, geographic features, and political subdivisions of Illinois whose names are derived from Native American languages.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Algonquian languages</span> Subfamily of the Algic languages of North America

The Algonquian languages are a subfamily of the Indigenous languages of the Americas and most of the languages in the Algic language family are included in the group. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Indigenous Ojibwe language (Chippewa), which is a senior member of the Algonquian language family. The term Algonquin has been suggested to derive from the Maliseet word elakómkwik, "they are our relatives/allies".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illinois Confederation</span> Group of 12–13 Native American tribes

The Illinois Confederation, also referred to as the Illiniwek or Illini, were made up of 12 to 13 tribes who lived in the Mississippi River Valley. Eventually member tribes occupied an area reaching from Lake Michicigao (Michigan) to Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas. The five main tribes were the Cahokia, Kaskaskia, Michigamea, Peoria, and Tamaroa. The spelling Illinois was derived from the transliteration by French explorers of iliniwe to the orthography of their own language. The tribes are estimated to have had tens of thousands of members, before the advancement of European contact in the 17th century that inhibited their growth and resulted in a marked decline in population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potawatomi</span> Native American people of the Great Plains

The Potawatomi, also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie, are a Native American people of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquin family. The Potawatomi call themselves Neshnabé, a cognate of the word Anishinaabe. The Potawatomi are part of a long-term alliance, called the Council of Three Fires, with the Ojibway and Odawa (Ottawa). In the Council of Three Fires, the Potawatomi are considered the "youngest brother" and are referred to in this context as Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and refers to the council fire of three peoples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Peace of Montreal</span> 1701 peace treaty between New France and First Nations

The Great Peace of Montreal was a peace treaty between New France and 39 First Nations of North America that ended the Beaver Wars. It was signed on August 4, 1701, by Louis-Hector de Callière, governor of New France, and 1300 representatives of 39 Indigenous nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaskaskia</span> Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands of North America

The Kaskaskia were one of the indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands. They were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation, also called the Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in the Great Lakes region. Their first contact with Europeans reportedly occurred near present-day Green Bay, Wisconsin, in 1667 at a Jesuit mission station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Algonquian peoples</span> Native North American ethnic group

The Algonquians are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups. They historically were prominent along the Atlantic Coast and in the interior regions along Saint Lawrence River and around the Great Lakes. This grouping consists of the peoples who speak Algonquian languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wea</span> Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana

The Wea were a Miami-Illinois-speaking Native American tribe originally located in western Indiana. Historically, they were described as either being closely related to the Miami Tribe or a sub-tribe of Miami.

Miami-Illinois, also known as Irenwa or Irenwe, is an indigenous Algonquian language spoken in the United States, primarily in Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, western Ohio and adjacent areas along the Mississippi River by the Miami and Wea as well as the tribes of the Illinois Confederation, including the Kaskaskia, Peoria, Tamaroa, and possibly Mitchigamea. The Myaamia (Miami) Nation of Indiana still practice and use their native heritage to teach young and old so they can keep their traditional language alive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands</span> Native peoples in Eastern Canada and Northeastern United States

Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands include Native American tribes and First Nation bands residing in or originating from a cultural area encompassing the northeastern and Midwest United States and southeastern Canada. It is part of a broader grouping known as the Eastern Woodlands. The Northeastern Woodlands is divided into three major areas: the Coastal, Saint Lawrence Lowlands, and Great Lakes-Riverine zones.

The Mascouten were a tribe of Algonquian-speaking Native Americans located in the Midwest. They are believed to have dwelt on both sides of the Mississippi River, adjacent to the present-day Wisconsin-Illinois border, after being driven out of Michigan by the Odawa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mackinaw River</span> River

The Mackinaw River is a 130-mile-long (210 km) tributary of the Illinois River in the U.S. state of Illinois. Its watershed covers approximately 1,136 square miles (3,000 km2), and contains some of the most productive agricultural land in the United States. The river itself maintains some of the highest quality streams in the state and provides habitat for 60-70 native fish species and 25-30 species of mussels. Its name, also spelled Mackinac, is derived from the Ojibwe word mikinaak meaning "turtle".

Watersheds of Illinois is a list of basins or catchment areas into which the State of Illinois can be divided based on the place to which water flows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kankakee River State Park</span> State park in Illinois, USA

Kankakee River State Park is an Illinois state park on 4,000 acres (1,619 ha) primarily in Kankakee and Will Counties, Illinois, United States. Originally, 35 acres (14 ha) of land was donated by Ethel Sturges Dummer for the creation of the state park in 1938. Another 1,715 acres (694 ha) was donated by Commonwealth Edison in 1956, which again donated more land in 1989. The islands of Smith, Hoffman, Langham, and Willow are all located inside the park on the Kankakee River.

The Central Algonquian languages are commonly grouped together as a subgroup of the larger Algonquian family, itself a member of the Algic family. Though the grouping is often encountered in the literature, it is an areal grouping, not a genetic grouping. In other words, the languages are grouped together because they were spoken near one another, not because they are more closely related to one another than to other Algonquian languages. Within the Algonquian family, only Eastern Algonquian is a valid genealogical group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow River (Indiana)</span> River in Indiana, United States

The Yellow River is a 62.3-mile-long (100.3 km) tributary of the Kankakee River in the Central Corn Belt Plains ecoregion, located in northern Indiana in the United States. Via the Kankakee and Illinois rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 427 square miles (1,110 km2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shabbona</span>

Shabbona, also known as Shabonee and Shaubena, was an Ottawa tribe member who became a chief within the Potawatomi tribe in Illinois during the 19th century.

References

Citations

  1. "Comments by Michael McCafferty on "Readers' Feedback (page 4)"". The KryssTal. Archived from the original on 2006-10-31. Retrieved 2007-02-23.
  2. "Illinois". Dictionary.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2007-02-23.
  3. Bright (2004), p. 181.
  4. Callary, Edward (2009). Place Names of Illinois. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. p. 15. ISBN   978-0-252-03356-8
  5. "Illinois Central Magazine". 1922.
  6. "The People of the Prairie", Charles Warwick, The Illinois Steward, vo. 16, no. 2, 2007
  7. "What's in a Name?". Chicago Tribune . Archived from the original on 2021-10-31. Retrieved 2021-01-26.

Sources