Unusual Names of Rivers in the United States

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United States
October 4, 2016 4:43pm CST
Many of the rivers in the United States are actually from the American Tribal languages and are very interesting in their meanings. Most of the information here came from Wikipedia. For instance, the Tombigbee River in Alabama. The name Tombigbee actually means “box maker” or “coffin maker” and comes from the Choctaw Indian word “itumbikbi.” Strange why they would name a river after a coffin maker. Hmmmm. Then there is the Housatonic River in Connecticut. This river’s name comes from the Mohican Indian phrase “usi-a-di-en-uk” which means “beyond the mountain place” or “river of the mountain place.” How about Androscoggin, Kennebec, and Penobscot rivers in Maine? The name “Androscoggin” is from the Abenaki language and means “river of cliff rock shelters.” The name “Kennebec” comes from the Abenaki language also and it means “large body of still water.” The Penobscot River is named after the Penobscot Indians. In the United States there are dozens of rivers named from Tribal languages. There are also deserts and mountain ranges named from Tribal languages. No one really knows NOW, how many different tribes inhabited this land mass, but much research has been done and recorded. What happened to these tribal people is so very SAD. Much like what happened to the aborigines in Australia. So much history was LOST forever when these different peoples were uprooted and moved to other areas. We may never know what really happened. What I do know though, is deplorable. What do you think?
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5 responses
@Ronrybs (20853)
• London, England
5 Oct 16
This kind of history is totally fascinating
1 person likes this
• United States
5 Oct 16
The history of the American tribal people is unwritten, so very little is known about them. Some groups have formed in recent years to preserve the language and history of their heritage. I have found it very fascinating to read whatever is available,.
1 person likes this
• United States
5 Oct 16
@Ronrybs Yes, I'm sure that is true. And it needs to be done. I just read this morning that Sioux Chief Sitting Bull and 11 other tribe members were killed in Grand River, South Dakota in 1890. The report called it a "fracas" with Indian police, but the truth was very different.
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@Ronrybs (20853)
• London, England
5 Oct 16
@IreneVincent I seem to recall that the US Government is spending several millions on preserving this knowlegdge
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@JudyEv (357498)
• Rockingham, Australia
5 Oct 16
Those are some very different names for rivers. More and more of our geographical features are being given aboriginal names but they can be very difficult to pronounce.
1 person likes this
• United States
5 Oct 16
Yes, some of the tribal names here are also difficult to pronounce. What are some of the names there?
1 person likes this
• United States
5 Oct 16
@JudyEv That's VERY interesting to learn. Bodies of water have always been important for the civilization of a country to expand. Many cities are built on rivers. It certainly makes sense, because of needing a source of drinking water and a way to travel before modern transportation came into being.
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@JudyEv (357498)
• Rockingham, Australia
5 Oct 16
@IreneVincent Mandjoogoordap is a bridge near one of our coastal towns. Many of our towns have names ending in 'up' or 'in', both of which indicate 'water' so we have Narrogin, Merredin, Mullalyup, Balingup, Yabberup, etc.
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@marguicha (227750)
• Chile
4 Oct 16
Most of the names of our rivers and town from the south of Chile also come from the mapudungun (the language of the mapuches). They usually mean a lot more than the words in Spanish.
1 person likes this
• United States
4 Oct 16
Very similar situation. The early inhabitants had already named everything, before others came.
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@marguicha (227750)
• Chile
4 Oct 16
@IreneVincent All our volcanoes have indian names.
1 person likes this
• United States
5 Oct 16
@marguicha What are some of the names? Do you live near a volcano? I think that would be awesome.
@OreoBrownie (3755)
• Commerce, Georgia
5 Oct 16
It's strange. Some rivers are named after the place like Oconee River named after Oconee county.
1 person likes this
• United States
5 Oct 16
Or it could be that the Oconee county was named after the river that was there first, before a county was established? What do you think?
@AutumnSnow (4583)
4 Oct 16
My grandmother mother was Indian and I do think it's sad because now that their both gone there's so much I don't about part of my heritiage.
1 person likes this
• United States
4 Oct 16
Most of it is LOST, as I said. I have some American Indian ancestors also, but know nothing about them. I have been doing some research lately though.
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