Many tribal names mean "People," "Us," "human beings," or similar words.
The names below are for those groups whose name means something other than "People," "Us," "human beings," or similar words.
Some tribes names were acquired from Europeans,
using a second tribe's name for the first tribe.
The "New Name" was used so much, it gained an "official" status,
or became the common name.
In many cases, tribal name origins are lost in the mists of history.
Some definitions below are based on conjecture by historians.
In some cases, some tribal members would agree with the names below,
while other members will not. In essense, this is a list of commonly used definitions.
by Phil Konstantin
You can read all about this and much more in his book:
This Day in North American Indian History
click to check his site
abnaki:those living at the sunrise (easterners) achomawi:river acolapissa:those who listen and see ahtena: ice people akwesasne: land where the partridge drums alabama: i clear the thicket apache: enemy (zuni word) apalachicola: people of the other side apalachee: people of the other side arikara: horns or elk people, or corn eaters assiniboin: ones who cook using stones (ojibwa word) atakapa: man eater atikamekw white fish atsina: white clay people atsugewi: hat creek indians avoyel: people of the rocks bayogoula: people of the bayou bidai: brushwood (caddo word) brule: burned thighs caddo: true chiefs cayuga: place locusts were taken out, people at the mucky land cayuse: stones or rocks (French-Canadian word) chakchiuma: red crawfish people chehalis: sand cherokee: cave people (choctaw word), people of different speech (creek word) chetco: close to the mouth of the stream cheyenne: red talkers (dakota word) chickahominy: hominy people chickamauga: dwelling place of the chief (creek word) chipwyan: pointed skins (cree word) chitimacha: they have cooking vessels chontal: stranger (nahuatl word) choula: fox chowanoc: people at the south chumash: people who make the shell bead money clallam: strong people clatsop: dried salmon cocopah: river people comanche: anyone who wants to fight me all the time (ute word) cowichan: basking in the sun that warms your back or warm land crow: crow, sparrowhawk, bird people dakota: allie erie: log tail or cat people (iroquois word) fox: red earth people git' lissums: people of the Lissums gitksan: people of the northern Skena gros ventre: big bellies, one who cooks with a stone, he cooks by roasting (see atsina) hach winik: true people han: those who live along the river havasupai: people of the blue green water hiute: bowmen honniasont: wearing something around the neck hopi: peaceful ones or well-mannered people houma: red huchnom: mountain people hunkpapa: campers at the opening of the circle hupa: trinity river huron: ruffian, head of a boar (french words) hwal'bay (hualapai): people of the tall pines ihanktonwan: dwellers at the end ihanktonwana: little dwellers at the end iowa: sleepy ones (dakota word) iroquois: real adders (snake) or we of the extended lodge jatibonicu: people of the great sacred high waters jatibonuco: great people of the sacred high waters jicaque: ancient person (nahuatl word) jicarilla: little basket weaver (spanish word) kainai: many chiefs kakwchak porcupine people kan-hatki: white earth kanienkahaka: people of the place of flint kanza: people of the south wind karok: upstream kato: lake kawchottine: people of the great hares ketsei: going in wet sand kickapoo: he stands about kiowa: principal people klallam: strong people klamath: people of the lake kotsoteka: buffalo eaters kutcha-kutchin: those who live on the flats kwakiutl: beach on the side north of the river or smoke of the river kwuda: people coming out lakota friend or ally (same with dakota & nakota) latgawa: those living in the uplands lenni lenape: genuine men lillooet: wild onion lipan: warriors of the mountains machapunga: bad dust mahican: wolf makah: cape people maliseet: broken talkers massachuset: at the hills mdewankantonwan: dwellers of the spirit lake menominee: wild rice men miami: people on the peninsula, cry of the crane, pigeon michigamea: great water miniconjou: planters by water missouri: great muddy, people with wooden canoes moapa: mosquito creek people moatokni: southerners modoc: southerners mohave: three mountains mohawk: the possessors of the flint, coward or man eater (abenaki words) mohegan: wolf moneton: big water people munsee: at the place where the stones are gathered together nahane: people of the west narragansett: people of the small point nanticoke: people of the tidewaters natsit-kutchin: those who live off the flats navajo: cultivated field in an arroyo (tewa word) nipmuck: freshwater fishing place nisga'a: people of the Nass River nokoni: those who turn back nooksack: mountain men nootka: along the coast oglala: scatters their own ojibwa: to roast till puckered up okelousa: blackwater okmulgee: where water boils up omaha: upstream people or people going against the current oneida: a boulder standing up, people of the standing stone onondaga: people on top of the hills opata: hostile people (pima word) ottawa: to trade otto: lechers pahodja: dusty nones pakiutlema: people of the gap pamunkey: rising upland pantch-pinunkansh: men altogether red papagos: desert people, bean people papinashuash the ones who like to laugh pascagoula: bread people passamaquoddy: plenty of pollock paugusset: where the narrows open out pawnee: horn people, men of men, look like wolves penateka: honey eaters pennacook: down hill penobscot: it forks on the white rocks or the descending ledge place, at the stone place pensacola: hair people people of the lakes: tribes near the great lakes peoria: carrying a pack on his back pequot: fox people or destroyers piegan: scabby robes piekuakamit the ones from the flat lake piikani: poor robe pilthlako: big swamp pima: river people, (papago word for "I don't know") pojoaque: drinking place potawatomi: people of the place of the fire, keepers of the fire, (fire nation, fire people) powhatan: falls in a current of water pshwanwapam: stony ground puyallup: shadow quahadi: antelope quapaw: downstream people quinnipiac: long water country sac: people of the yellow earth or people of the outlet salish: flatheads sans arc: without bows schaghticoke: at the river forks sekani: dwellers on the rocks seminole: separatist, runaway or breakaway, peninsula people seneca: place of stone, people of the standing rock, great hill people shawnee: south or southerners sihasapa sioux: blackfeet siksika: blackfeet or black foot sioux: snake (french version of other tribe's name) sisitonwan: dwellers of the fish ground skokomish: river people taino: we the good people takelma: those living along the river tanima: liver eaters tangipahoa: corn gatherers tantawats: southern men tatsanottine: people of the copper water tawakoni: river bend among red hills tejas: friendly tenawa: down stream tennuth-ketchin: middle people teton: dwellers of the prairie tewa: moccasins thlingchadinne: dog-flank people tinde: people of the mountains titonwan: dwellers of the plains tonawanda: confluent stream tonkawa: they all stay together or most human of people tsattine: lives among the beavers tsetsaut: people of the interior (niska word) tsimshian: people of the river tsuu t'ina: great number of people tubatulabal: pinenut eaters (shoshone word) tuscarora: hemp gatherers, the shirt wearing people two kettle: two boilings unalachtgo: tidewater people vunta-ketchin: those who live among the lakes wahpekute: shooters amoung the leaves wahpetonwan: dwellers amoung the leaves wailaki: north language (wintun word) wakokai: blue heron breeding place walapai: pine tree people wallawalla: little river wampanoag: eastern people wappo: brave waptailmin: people of the narrow river wasco: cup, those who have the cup wichita: big arbor (choctaw word), raccoon eyes winnebago: filthy water people wiwohka: roaring water wyandot: people of the peninsula, islanders yakama: runaway, pregnant people, people of the narrows yamparika: rooteaters or yapeaters yavapai: people of the sun, crooked mouth people yoncalla: those living at ayankeld yuchi: situated yonder yuki: stranger (wintun word) yurok: downstream (karok word)
