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List of place names in Canada of Indigenous origin

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This list of place names in Canada of Indigenous origin contains Canadian places whose names originate from the words of the First Nations, Métis, or Inuit, collectively referred to as Indigenous Peoples. When possible, the original word or phrase used by Indigenous Peoples is included, along with its generally believed meaning. Names listed are only those used in English or French, as many places have alternate names in the local native languages, e.g. Alkali Lake, British Columbia is Esket in the Shuswap language; Lytton, British Columbia is Camchin in the Thompson language (often used in English however, as Kumsheen).

Canada

The name Canada comes from the word meaning "village" or "settlement" in the Saint-Lawrence Iroquoian[1] language spoken by the inhabitants of Stadacona and the neighbouring region near present-day Quebec City in the 16th century.[2] Another contemporary meaning was "land."[3] Jacques Cartier was first to use the word "Canada" to refer not only to the village of Stadacona, but also to the neighbouring region and to the Saint-Lawrence River.

In other Iroquoian languages, the words for "town" or "village" are similar: the Mohawk use kaná:ta',[4][5] the Seneca iennekanandaa, and the Onondaga use ganataje.[6]

Provinces and territories

Provinces and territories whose official names are aboriginal in origin are Yukon, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nunavut.

By province and territory

Alberta

  • Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation no. 437 (formerly "Indian Reserve") named after the Alexis family, prominent in the band
  • Amisk: "Beaver" in Cree.
  • Athabasca: "Where there are reeds" in Cree (formerly spelled Athabaska)
  • Battle River translation of Cree place name. There were many fights in its area between Cree, Blackfoot and Nakoda.[9]
  • Bear Hills Lake translation of Cree place name.[9]
  • Bear Hill translation of Cree place name.[9]
  • Beaver Hills (includes today's Elk Island Park) translation of Cree, Blackfoot and Nakoda place names for the feature.[9] Cree name for area was amiskwaciy, Cree name for Edmonton House was amiskwaciwâskahikan (Beaver Mountain House,[10]
  • Blood Reserve 148 (formerly Indian reserve) Kinai First Nation, name roughly translated as Blood in the past
  • Bow River English translation of Blackfoot name for the river – Makhabn, "river where bow reeds grow" (Blackfoot), reeds there were good for making bows with which to shoot arrows.[11]
  • Bow Valley Natural Area (see Bow River)
  • Calgary roads (trails) named after Indigenous Nations and an element of Metis lifestyle—Stoney, Blackfoot, Metis, Shaganappi, Sarcee, and Peigan Trails are all named in honour of the first people on this continent, although the latter two have since changed their names. The Peigan are now known as the Piikani Nation and the Sarcee are now the Tsuut’ina Nation, but both street names remain.[12]
  • Chipewyan: "duck lake" (includes Fort Chipewyan)[13]
  • Cooking Lake is a translation of its Cree place name opi-mi-now-wa-sioo, indicating a cooking place.
  • Crowfoot Crossing—named after Crowfoot (Blackfoot name Sahpo Muxika) (born c. 1836; died April 24, 1890), chief of the Siksika First Nation and signatory of Treaty. He was instrumental during the Treaty 7 negotiations and acted as a representative of his people.[12]
  • Deerfoot Trail: after Deerfoot-Bad Meat, a Blackfoot man who was known around Calgary[14]
  • Edmonton wards (municipal election districts) all bear names of Indigenous origin, since 2020.[15]
  • Ermineskin Reserve 138 (formerly Indian reserve) owned by Ermineskin Cree Nation, one of the Four Nations of Maskwacis
  • Goosequill Lake translation of Cree word Manikwanan for the lake.[16]
  • Grand Forks: translation of Blackfoot name for the place
  • Grand Prairie: translation of Cree name "Big Prairie"
  • Ipiatik Lake.[17]
  • James Mowatt Trail. James Mowatt (Metis, born in St. Andrews, Manitoba) carried message from Edmonton to Calgary during 1885 Rebellion, asking for military assistance for Edmonton, which was thought to be under threat of Native uprising. He made the trip in only 36 hours, a record at that time. He later was a gold-rusher and then moved back to Manitoba.[18][19][20]
  • Kakisa River.[21]
  • Kakwa River.[21]
  • Kananaskis
  • Kapasiwin: Cree for 'campsite'[22]
  • Kapawe'no First Nation[22]
  • Kaskitayo: Edmonton community. Originally spelled Kaskiteeo, this name is derived from the Cree word, noted by J. B. Tyrrell in the 1870s as kas-ki-tee-oo-asiki, meaning 'blackmud creek'. (Neighbourhood names in the Kaskitayo area honour Aboriginal leaders – Bearspaw, Big Bear, Ermineskin, Kainai)[23]
  • Kikino Trail, Edmonton. The name of this trail, a major walkway in the Thorncliff neighbourhood, reflects the theme of most of Edmonton’s walkways, which are named for prominent Aboriginal people or have a relationship with Aboriginal heritage. Kikino is said to be the Cree word for “our home.” Kikino Trail is one of a number of trail names approved between 1969 and 1971. This name has been in use since 1895. While its origin is not recorded, the name is taken from the Cree word kinokamâw, which means “a long lake.”[24]
  • Kimiwan: Cree word for rainy
  • Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park (Wood Buffalo Park). Kitaskino Nuwenëné is both Cree and Dene meaning “our land.”
  • Lake Minnewanka: "Water of the Spirits" in Sioux (Nakoda/Stoney language)
  • Lily Lake—name is translation of Indigenous place name.[25]
  • Little Plume former locality S of Medicine Hat. Named after South Peigan chief Tom Little Plume (1889-1971), who served in WWI.[26]
  • Makaoo. Cree name of early leader of the band, the Onion Lake Cree Nation in Alberta and Saskatchewan,.[25]
  • Ma-Me-O Beach: from Cree: omîmîw, lit. 'pigeon'.
  • Manawan Lake: Cree for "egg-gathering place".[25]
  • Many Island Lake E of Medicine Hat. trans of Cree place name aka-amuskie-skway or aka-naywass, many islands.[27]
  • Manyberries trans of Blackfoot place name akoniskway, many berries.[28]
  • Marie Lake: poor translation of the Cree word for the place methai, pronounced merai, which translates as a fish.[25]
  • Maskêkosihk Trail (formerly 23 Avenue between 215 Street and Anthony Henday Drive) Road of the "people of the land of medicine" in Cree[29]
  • Maskepetoon Park (Red Deer) after Chief Maskepetoon (1807–1869). Said to be the "Gandhi of the Plains", he made temporary peace between the Cree and the Siksika before being killed by an enemy.[30]
  • Maskwa Creek near Wetaskiwin (Cree for 'black bear')
  • Maskwacis (formerly known as Hobbema) collection of several First Nations name translates as 'bear hills'.
  • Matchayaw Lake Cree for bad spirit. Palliser translated the name as Little Manitoo in 1865.[25]
  • Medicine Hat: Translation of the Blackfoot word saamis, meaning "headdress of a medicine man".
  • Meeting Creek. English translation of the Cree name nukh-kwa-ta-to, which references the frequent meeting between the Cree and Blackfoot there.[25]
  • Metiskow Cree for 'many trees'.[31]
  • Mewassin Cree for 'good, beautiful'.[25]
  • Minaik: Cree (also Nakoda) "Minahik" for evergreen (pine or tamarack)
  • Michichi: Cree for 'hand' (nearby Hand Hills has same source).
  • Ministik (in the Beaver Hills UNESCO Biosphere Reserve) a former school district (Ministik School District #1796). Ministik Lake is nearby. Ministik means island in Nehiyawewin (Cree).[32]
  • Mitsue Creek.[33]
  • Mokowan Ridge.[34]
  • Moose Lake. Known to early French-Canadian fur traders as lac d'Orignal, meaning Moose Lake. This may have been a direct translation of the local Cree name of the same meaning, Mōswa sākahikan.[35]
  • Namaka (hamlet) Blackfoot name "near the water", referring to nearby Bow River or Eagle Lake.[36]
  • Nemiskam (locality S of Medicine Hat). Blackfoot place name trans. as between two coulees.[37]
  • Neutral Hills Name commemorates the place where the Cree and Blackfoot made peace and chose to share the area's bison, ending decades-long fighting there.[38]
  • Nikanassin Range: "First range" in Cree
  • Nose Creek within limits of Calgary. Name is trans. of Cree place name os-kewun.[39]
  • Nose Hill northeast of Coronation. Name is translation of Cree name os-ke-wu-na-chio[40]
  • Nose Hill within the limits of Calgary. Named prior to whie man's arrival due to resemblance to the nose of a Native chief, or due to a nose being bitten off there during a fracas in the old days.[41]
  • Notikewin (hamlet) and Notikewin River. The name derives from nôtinikewin, the Cree word for "battle".[42][43]
  • Okotoks: "Big Rock" in Blackfoot
  • Old Women's Buffalo Jump, 60 kms S of Calgary. Name is derived from Blood legend about Old Man (see Oldman River) not finding a wife among the women at the buffalo jump and turning himself into a lone pine tree on the site.[44]
  • Oldman River. The Piikani Nation of the Blackfoot Confederacy named the river after their traditional sacred ground at its headwaters, said to the "Old Man's Playing Ground," sacred ground of Napi, the Old Man, the Great Creator.[45]
  • Otoskwan school district and railway siding on outskirts of Edmonton, now within Edmonton. Named after Cree name for nearby water-course Blackmud Creek. Otoskwan translates as big tributary. (William Peter Baergen, Pioneering with A Piece of Chalk)
  • Pakan locality (formerly Victoria Settlement) south of Smoky Lake. The Chief at the Whitefish Reserve bore the name Pakan. He was also known as James Seenum. Nearby Pakan Lake and Pakan Creek arise from the same source.)
  • Pakkwaw Lake northeast of Innisfail -- The Cree name for the shallow slough translates as dry or shallow [46]
  • Papaschase Industrial Park (Edmonton) named after Chief Papaschase (Papastayo) (ca. 1838–1918) or his band. (South Edmonton Saga)
  • Peace Hills in Wetaskiwin area. Peace treaty between Cree and Blackfoot arranged there in 1867. Name of City of Wetaskiain nearby has same source[47]
  • Peace River translation of Dane-zaa language river name unjigah,[48] which is derived from peace made in late 1700s between two groups along its shores.[9]
  • Peigan – former school district (#3430).[49]
  • Pekisko from Blackfoot place name pik-isko translates as "rough ridge" or "rolling hills".[9][50]
  • Pembina River -- corruption of the Cree name neepinmenaw, "summer berry"[51] the names of the Pembina locality, southwest of Drayton Valley, and Pembina River Provincial Park come from same source.)[52]
  • Piikani 147 Indian Reserve (on which Brocket is located) owned by Piikani Nation (formerly the Peigan Nation).[53]
  • Pipestone River translation of Cree and possibly Nakoda place name, derived from it being source of stone to make pipes.[9]
  • Ponoka: attempt to use its Blackfoot name ponokáwa "Elk" (Hugh A. Dempsey, Indian Names for Alberta Communities, p. 16; https://www.albertaparks.ca/parks/south/writing-on-stone-pp/education-interpretation/blackfoot-glossary/)
  • Poundmaker Trail: named after Cree chief Poundmaker
  • Prairie Creek: translation of Cree and Nakoda place name.[9]
  • Pretty Hill: translation of Cree place name.[9]
  • Princess Lake: translation of Cree place name.[9]
  • Rabbit Hill (Edmonton): translation of Cree place name.[9]
  • Red Deer River: Name derived from Cree place name was-ki-sioo (elk). Early Scottish settlers in area thought area's elk were same as the red deer of their home country.[54]
  • Red River: colour of water in river (red from its high iron content).[9]
  • Redearth Creek: soil on its shores used by Natives as body paint.[9]
  • Redearth Pass: soil in pass used by First Nations as body paint.[9]
  • Redwater (river and town): translation of Cree name "red water".[9]
  • Redwillow Creek: form of translation of Cree place name literally "red feathers/bristles small river".[9]
  • Sakaw (neighbourhood in southside Edmonton)
  • Saskatchewan River, North and South Saskatchewan River. Derived from the Cree name for the Saskatchewan River, kisiskāciwani-sīpiy, meaning "swift flowing river"
  • Saskatoon Mountain Natural Area
  • Seven Persons translation of Blackfoot name kitsikitapi-itsinitupi "seven persons were killed" (Hugh A. Dempsey, Indian Names for Alberta Communities, p. 17) (see Hugh A. Dempsey, "A Blackfoot Winter Count" for full story.)
  • Shaganappi Trail (Calgary). Shaganappi are rawhide strips. Used to repair a myriad of objects, it was the duct tape of its time.
  • Skoki Mountain and Skoki valley. Stoney Nakoda word for swamp. There are several in the area.[55]
  • Skyrattler (neighbourhood in southside Edmonton)
  • Slave Lake: "Slave" was a mis-translation of the Cree word for foreigner to describe the Athabaskan people living there. (see Slave River, NWT, below)
  • Smoky Lake: This town's name comes from the Cree name for the almost-now-disappeared lake nearby. Wood Cree named it Smoking Lake for either the large number of campfires around it often, or smouldering coal-fires in the ground, or the unusually large quantities of mist that came off it at sunset. (Hugh A. Dempsey, Indian Names for Alberta Communities, p. 17)
  • Sounding Lake, in the Neutral Hills. Name is based on Native legend wherein a Great Eagle, Mikisew, emerges from the waters and takes off across the hills, its great wings making a noise like thunder.[38]
  • Spirit River translation of Cree name for nearby water-course chipi-sipi "spirit river" (Hugh A. Dempsey, Indian Names for Alberta Communities, p. 17)
  • Stony Plain translation of Cree name asinipwat-muskatayo "Stony (Native) plain" (Hugh A. Dempsey, Indian Names for Alberta Communities, p. 18)
  • Sucker Creek translation of Cree name nimipi-sipisis "sucker (fish) creek" (Hugh A. Dempsey, Indian Names for Alberta Communities, p. 18)
  • Tawatinaw Lake north of Athabasca[56]
  • Tawatinaw River flows into Athabasca River near Athabasca north of Edmonton[57]
  • Tawatinaw (hamlet) near Highway 2 about 100 kms north of Edmonton[58]
  • Tawayik Lake Elk Island Park, east of Edmonton[59]
  • Tecumseh, Mount a mountain in the Crowsnest Pass area
  • Tepee Lake NE of Lac La Biche[60]
  • Tipaskan (neighbourhood in southside Edmonton)
  • Tongue creek (trib. of Highwood River). Name harkens to Native legend of Old Man being tricked by Wolf and Mouse eating his elk tongues. Cree place name natsina (tongue)[61]
  • Twin Butte may be derived from Blackfoot name natsikapway-tomo "double hill" (Hugh A. Dempsey, Indian Names for Alberta Communities, p. 18)
  • Two Hills (town) about 120 kilometres east of Edmonton in 54-12-4. May be derived from Cree name misoyik-kispakinasik "two hills" (Hugh A. Dempsey, Indian Names for Alberta Communities, p. 18)
  • Two Hills Lake 55-1-4. named due to proximity to two hills. trans. of Cree place name nis-wa kis-pa-tin-ak, also rendered as The Two Big hills.[61][25]
  • Unipouheos Indian Reserve #121 northwest of Lloydminster named after Chief Unipouheos who was chief in 1879 [62]
  • Valley of Ten Peaks includes three peaks named after the numerals of the Stoney language:
  • Vermilion River (Alberta) translation of Cree name for the water-course, weeyaman-sipi "red paint river" (Hugh A. Dempsey, Indian Names for Alberta Communities, p. 18)
  • Vermilion, Alberta see Vermilion River, which is nearby. (Name for Vermilion River County #24, Vermilion Provincial Park, Vermilion Park Lake comes from same source.)[63]
  • Wabamun: (lake and town west of Edmonton) is a Cree word for "mirror" or "looking glass"
  • Wabasca hamlet, lakes, river, and oil field. Also Wabasca 166, a group of Indian reserves. from Cree language wapuskau, grassy narrows. formerly spelled Wabiskaw in name of Wabiskaw lakes (80-26-4) and Wabiskaw River (trib. of Peace River)[64]
  • Wahsatnow Lake 25-58-13-4, named after Native farmer in area perhaps ca. 1900 (likely reference to same family that was source of place name Waskatenau)[65]
  • Wahstao post office, 59-15-4. corruption of Cree word wahsato, spritiual light. Named in 1907 by Peter Erasmus.[66]
  • Wapiabi creek (trib of Brazeau River) Stoney word for grave, due to presence of a grave along its banks when named in 1910.[67]
  • Wapiti River: from the Cree word for "elk", waapiti (literally "white rump").
  • Waputik Range: Waputik means "white goat" in Stoney
  • Waskahigan River (trib. of Little Smoky River) Cree for house[68]
  • Waskatenau: village and creek. Pronounced with silent "k." In 1880s area was home to the Wah-Sat-Now (Cree) band, which later moved to the Saddle Lake reserve.[69] The band was also known as the Muskegwatic Band.[2] Cree term for "opening in the banks", in reference to the cleft in the nearby ridge through which the Waskatenau Creek flows.[70] (see Wahsatnow)
  • Wastach pass. Stony for beautiful[71]
  • Wastina post office 31-8-4. established in 1912. corruption of Cree miwasin, pretty place.[72]
  • Wetaskiwin: "Place of peace" or "hill of peace" in Cree
  • Yoho Park. The Cree word "yoho" is used the same way as the English "wow."[73]

British Columbia

For the scores of BC placenames from the Chinook Jargon, see List of Chinook Jargon place names.

A–B

C

D–J

K–L

M–N

O–Q

S

T

U–Z

Manitoba

New Brunswick

  • Apohaqui – translated from the Maliseet language, and means "The joining of two waters" or "the joining of two rivers". (Apohaqui is where the Millstream and the Kennebecasis River join.)
  • Aroostook
  • Bouctouche: a corruption of the Mi'kmaq word Chebooktoosk, meaning Great Little Harbour.
  • Caraquet: Derived from the Mi'kmaq language, meaning "junction (or meeting) of two rivers".[87][88]
  • Escuminac
  • Kennebecasis River
  • Kouchibouguac National Park (and River): Kouchibouguac means "river of the long tides" in Mi'kmaq.
  • Magaguadavic Lake, a Mi'kmaq word meaning "lake of eels".
  • Mactaquac, a Maliseet word meaning "big branch".
  • Manawagonish Island
  • Meductic : derived from the Maliseet word "Medoctic", meaning "the end".
  • Meduxnekeag
  • Miramichi : the name, which may be the oldest recorded name of aboriginal origin in Canada, may come from the Montagnais word for "country of the Micmac."
  • Nackawic, which gets its name from the Maliseet word meaning "straight" or "not in the direction it seems to be", alluding to the illusion created at the intersection of the Nackawic Stream and the Saint John River.
  • Nashwaak River : a corruption of the Maliseet word for slow current.
  • Nashwaaksis
  • Nauwigewauk :probably means babbling brook
  • Oromocto : possibly from the Maliseet word welamooktook which means "good river"
  • Penniac, meaning "fork in the river".
  • Penobsquis is a blend of Micmac terms for stone and brook.
  • Petitcodiac – term is derived from a Mi'kmaq word meaning "bends like a bow" (contradicts the popular belief that the name derived from the French term "petit coude", meaning "little elbow")[89]
  • Pokiok
  • Quispamsis – translated from the Maliseet language and means, "little lake in the woods" (i.e., Ritchie Lake)
  • Shiketehauk River
  • Temisquata Lake
  • Washademoak Lake
  • Woolastook (alternately 'Wolastoq'): Maliseet word meaning 'good and bountiful river': the Saint John River

Newfoundland and Labrador

  • Aguathuna: possibly derives from the Beothuk aguathoonet or aquathoont, "grindstone", imposed perhaps in the mistaken belief that it meant "white rock" for the limestone abundant in the area [90]
  • Kaipokok Bay: from Inuktitut, meaning "frothy water"[91]
  • Ktaqmkuk: Land over the water from Mi'kmaq language "Newfoundland"[92]
  • Makkovik: Vik is the Inuktitut word for "place". Makko- may have one of the following origins:
  1. it may be a corruption of the name Maarcoux, after Pierre Marcoux, a French trader in Labrador in the late 18th century [3]; or
  2. from the Inuktitut maggok, "two"; thus Makkovik would mean "two places". Around Makkovik are two inlets, Makkovik Bay and Makkovik harbour, and two main brooks floating into the two inlets. "Two Buchten Machovik", meaning "two bays Makkovik", is mentioned in a 1775 writing by the German Moravian missionary Johann Ludwig Beck.[4]

Nova Scotia

Northwest Territories

Nunavut

Ontario

Quebec

Saskatchewan

Yukon

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

Resources

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