List of Minnesota placenames of Native American origin

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The following list includes settlements, geographic features, and political subdivisions of Minnesota whose names are derived from Native American languages or are popularly known by a Native-language name.

Contents

Placename linguistic origins

The primary Native languages in Minnesota are Dakota and Ojibwe. Some Dakota and Ojibwe placenames are based on Iowa language, a people that had significant presence in the Southern portion of the state until the 16th century. [1] [2]

Many [1] Minnesota placenames are translations or mistranslations, mispronunciations, or Romanized transcriptions of Native placenames and descriptions. Dakota, Ojibwe, and Iowa people had no written language at the time these names were popularly adopted.

One of the most common mispronunciations is that of the Dakota-language consonant "b", which is a combination of "m" and "b" consonants in English. In English there is no equivalent. Placenames were often recorded verbally and textually by European colonizers with the English consonant "m" in place of the Dakota consonant "b". In modern Dakota language, "b" is typically the correct consonant for words such as Bdóte , whose deprecated form in the historical record is mdóte. Cities such as Mendota, Minnesota take their name from Bdóte with the European colonizer mispronunciation of the Dakota "b" consonant. [3]

State name

Native names by county

Native names by municipality

Bodies of water

Landforms

See also

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References

Citations

  1. 1 2 Upham 2001 , p. x: Upham records that 34 out of 87 Minnesota counties have Native or Native-derived names.
  2. ↑ Brandt, Steve (October 12, 2015). "Dakota name for Calhoun probably originated with predecessor tribe". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on May 13, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  3. ↑ Riggs 1992 , p. 2
  4. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 23
  5. ↑ Bright 2004 , p. 42
  6. ↑ Kane & Aiken 2005 , p. 8
  7. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 55
  8. ↑ Bright 2004 , p. 64
  9. ↑ Kane & Aiken 2005 , p. 23
  10. ↑ Webb, Grace (2020) [Summer 2013]. "What's in a Name? Blue Earth County's Geographic Names". In Webb, Donna (ed.). Blue Earth County Historian, 2011 – 2015. Mankato, Minnesota: Blue Earth County Historical Society. pp. 81–87. ISBN   978-1953432001.
  11. 1 2 Upham 2001 , pp. 60–61
  12. 1 2 Bright 2004 , p. 68
  13. ↑ Kane & Aiken 2005 , p. 25
  14. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 105
  15. 1 2 Kane & Aiken 2005 , p. 54
  16. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 111
  17. ↑ Bright 2004 , p. 104
  18. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 126
  19. ↑ Kane & Aiken 2005 , p. 61
  20. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 150
  21. ↑ Bright 2004 , p. 123
  22. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 155
  23. ↑ Bright 2004 , p. 127
  24. ↑ Kane & Aiken 2005 , p. 73
  25. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 166
  26. ↑ Kane & Aiken 2005 , p. 76
  27. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 255
  28. ↑ Bright 2004 , p. 186
  29. ↑ Kane & Aiken 2005 , p. 144
  30. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 276
  31. ↑ Bright 2004 , p. 199
  32. 1 2 Kane & Aiken 2005 , p. 156
  33. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 280
  34. ↑ Bright 2004 , p. 201
  35. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 295
  36. ↑ Bright 2004 , p. 235
  37. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 304
  38. ↑ Bright 2004 , p. 248
  39. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 339
  40. ↑ Bright 2004 , p. 260
  41. ↑ Kane & Aiken 2005 , p. 187
  42. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 419
  43. ↑ Bright 2004 , p. 360
  44. ↑ Kane & Aiken 2005 , p. 228
  45. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 477
  46. ↑ Bright 2004 , p. 408
  47. 1 2 Kane & Aiken 2005 , p. 252
  48. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 481
  49. ↑ Bright 2004 , p. 409
  50. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 501
  51. ↑ Kane & Aiken 2005 , p. 257
  52. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 596
  53. ↑ Kane & Aiken 2005 , p. 298
  54. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 600
  55. ↑ Bright 2004 , p. 537
  56. 1 2 Kane & Aiken 2005 , p. 308
  57. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 606
  58. ↑ Bright 2004 , p. 539
  59. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 610
  60. ↑ Bright 2004 , p. 550
  61. ↑ Kane & Aiken 2005 , p. 312
  62. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 623
  63. ↑ Bright 2004 , p. 553
  64. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 631
  65. ↑ Bright 2004 , p. 571
  66. ↑ Kane & Aiken 2005 , p. 326–327
  67. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 645
  68. ↑ Bright 2004 , p. 580
  69. ↑ Kane & Aiken 2005 , p. 331–332
  70. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 92
  71. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 340
  72. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 39–40
  73. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 92
  74. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 85–86
  75. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 86
  76. ↑ Upham 2001 , p. 65
  77. ↑ Bright 2004 , p. 266
  78. ↑ "Tatanka Mani (Walking Buffalo), "Red Wing" (Ca. 1755–1829) | MNopedia".
  79. ↑ "Coldwater Springs | Bdote Memory Map".
  80. ↑ "Fact Check: Does "Minnehaha" really mean "laughing waters"? - Redhawks online". 14 December 2012.
  81. ↑ "Kaposia Indian Site - Mississippi National River & Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service)".

Sources

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