List of place names in Nebraska of Native American origin

This is a list of Native American place names in the U.S. state of Nebraska. These include state, county, townships, cities, towns, and villages.

State

Nebraska - The name of the state is derived from an Omaha name meaning "flat water." In the Omaha language the name is Nibthaska; ni, water, and bthaska, flat.

Counties Red Willow - From the Dakota name "Caŋṡaṡa Wakpala", which literally means Red Osier Dogwood Creek; this shrub being abundant along its banks. Cheyenne Dakota Keya Paha County, Nebraska Loup - Named for the Skidi Pawnee, whose name means "wolf", which in French is loup. Nemaha Otoe Pawnee Sioux Keya Paha - Means "turtle hill", is descriptive of the small hills in its vicinity.

Villages, towns and cities Anoka - A Dakota Indian word meaning "on both sides." Arapahoe Birdwood - A translation of the Dakota name Ziŋtka-c̣aŋ Wakpala (False Indigo Creek). False Indigo (Amorpha fruticosa), commonly grows along the stream and in Dakota is literally called "birdwood." Battle Creek - Named after a nearby stream where Nebraska volunteer militiamen were prepared to fight a battle against the Pawnee Indians that never happened. Barada - Named after Antoine Barada, a French-Omaha settler on the Nemaha Half-Breed Reservation. Blackbird - Blackbird is the English translation of the name Wash-ing-guhsah-ba, or Chief Blackbird of the Omahas who lived and died in the vicinity. Bone Creek Township, Butler County, Nebraska Brule - Named after the Brule tribe of the Teton Sioux. Council Creek Township, Nance County, Nebraska Elkhorn Township, Dodge County, Nebraska Fontenelle - Named after Omaha chief Logan Fontenelle. Hyannis - Named after Hyannis, Massachusetts, which was named after Iyannough, a sachem of the Cummaquid tribe. Iowa Township, Holt County, Nebraska Kenesaw Township, Adams County, Nebraska Leshara - Named after Chief Petalesharo. Lodgepole - Named after a nearby creek that is named after a literal translation of the Dakota name, Tushu Wakpala. Logan Township, Adams County, Nebraska Logan Township, Antelope County, Nebraska Logan Township, Buffalo County, Nebraska Logan Township, Burt County, Nebraska Logan Township, Clay County, Nebraska Logan Township, Cuming County, Nebraska Logan Township, Dixon County, Nebraska Logan Township, Dodge County, Nebraska Logan Township, Gage County, Nebraska Logan Township, Kearney County, Nebraska Logan Township, Knox County, Nebraska Loup Ferry Township, Nance County, Nebraska Loup Township, Buffalo County, Nebraska Loup Township, Custer County, Nebraska Loup Township, Merrick County, Nebraska Loup Township, Platte County, Nebraska Mankota - Mankota is from the Dakota Indian word Maḳaṭo, meaning "blue earth". Named for Mankato, Minnesota. Minatare - From the Hidatsa word mirita'ri, meaning "crosses the water." Monowi - Meaning "flower", this town was so named because there were so many wild flowers growing in the vicinity. Nehawka - An approximation to the Omaha and Otoe Indian name of a nearby creek meaning "rustling water." Nemaha - Named after the Nemaha River, based on an Otoe word meaning "swampy water." Niobrara - The Omaha and Ponca word for spreading water or spreading river. Oconee - Named for Oconee, Illinois. Oconee was the name of a Creek town. Oconto - A Menominee word meaning the "place of the pickerel." Named for Oconto, Wisconsin. Ogallala - named for the Oglala people. Omaha - Named for the Omaha people who lived nearby Oneida Township, Kearney County, Nebraska Osceola Ottercreek Township, Dixon County, Nebraska Leshara. Named after Petalesharo, a Pawnee chief. Platte Township, Buffalo County, Nebraska Platte Township, Butler County, Nebraska Platte Township, Dodge County, Nebraska Pohocco - A precinct in the northeastern part of Saunders county, the name derives from Pahuk, meaning headland or promontory, the Pawnee name of a prominent hill in the vicinity. Ponca Quinnebaugh Township, Burt County, Nebraska Red Cloud Rosalie - Named for Rosalie La Flesche, a daughter of Omaha chief Joseph La Flesche.Fitzpatrick, Lilian Linder A.M. (1925) Nebraska Place-Names. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Studies in Language, Literature, and Criticism. p 140. Santee Sappa Township, Harlan County, Nebraska Saratoga Township, Holt County, Nebraska Sioux Skull Creek Township, Butler County, Nebraska St. Deroin - A ghost town on the former Nemaha Half-Breed Reservation founded by a French-Omaha settler who was killed near his trading post along the Missouri River. Tecumseh Tekamah - Located on the site of a historic Pawnee village, the surrounding hills were used for burying grounds and the highest point was used as a fire signal station. The origin of the name is not definitely known. Tonawanda - Named for Tonawanda, New York. Unidilla - An Iroquois word meaning "place of meeting." Named after Unadilla, New York. Venango - An eastern Native American name in reference to a figure found on a tree, carved by the Erie. Waco - Named after Waco, Texas, which is the name of one of the divisions of the Tawokoni whose village stood on the site of Waco, Texas. Wahoo Weeping Water is a translation of the French "L'Eau qui Pleure", and has an interesting Native American legend connected with its name. Winnebago Wyoming - Derived from a corrupted Delaware word meaning "large plains" or "extensive meadows." Wyoming Township, Holt County, Nebraska Yutan - Named for an Otoe chief.

Natural features Arikaree River Big Blue River Big Horn Mountain Dakota Formation Elkhorn River Fontenelle Forest Guide Rock Keya Paha River Lake Wanahoo Little Blue River Lodgepole Creek Medicine Creek Missouri River Missouri River Valley Niobrara National Scenic River Niobrara River Nishnabotna River North Platte River Ogallala Aquifer Oglala National Grassland Pahuk Platte River Red Willow Creek South Platte River Standing Bear Lake

Other places Fontenelle Boulevard Fontenelle's Post Hotel Fontenelle Logan Fontenelle Housing Project

See also Native American tribes in Nebraska History of Nebraska French people in Nebraska

References

Bibliography Fitzpatrick, Lilian Linder A.M. (1925) Nebraska Place-Names. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Studies in Language, Literature, and Criticism. p 140. Fontenelle, Henry. (1885) Indian Names of Streams and Localities. Translations and reports of the Nebraska State Historical Society, vol. 1, p. 76, 1885. Gilmore, Melvin R. (1919) Some Indian Place Names in Nebraska. Nebraska State Historical Society, vol. 19, pp. 130–139.

External links Indian Place Names in New Jersey