"Many sources ascribe meanings to native names. Native names invariably meant something, as in the case of the name "Toronto" quoted above. The vast variation in given meanings has encouraged me to avoid applying translations to native names. These translations appear in many cases to be speculative and, in some cases, to be value laden. The meaning of the Ojibwa name "Manitonabe", for example, is given by the famous local historian, Andrew Hunter, as "male devil". "Manitou" is the name of an Ojibwa spirit; the translation of "devil" seems to represent a Christian bias against so-called "pagan" beliefs."

The Native People of Simcoe County

Notes on Nomenclature

There are several difficulties to do with nomenclature that have presented themselves in the course of this project. European mapmakers saw the "New World" as a blank slate on which to apply new names meaningful to Europeans. In many cases, native names for geographic features were preserved. "Toronto", for example, is either a Wendat name meaning "meeting place" or a Mohawk word meaning "trees standing in the water". Otherwise, we see such appellations as, "New France", "York" and "Barrie" that commemorate places back home in Europe or others that celebrate explorers and other notable persons (Lake Simcoe was named for Lieutenant Governor Simcoe's father).

Some landforms have no recognized European name until quite late in our history. Others suffer from a surfeit of monikers or the name changes over time. Our province, for example, has been known by three names since the end of the 18th century. Georgian Bay has had several names, including Baye de Toronto. Until the early 19th century, however, it was merely seen as Lake Huron. Using the most appropriate name for a given place and time period becomes a problem. It is, of course, paramount that the reader understands the meaning of the name applied. This often results in the use of the modern name even if it was not used in the time period being discussed. Georgian Bay, therefore, is always referred to as such since no other names will be recognizable to the reader. Ontario, on the other hand, has been referred to as "Upper Canada" from 1791 to 1840, "Canada West" from 1840 until 1867 and by its modern name thereafter. Before 1791, the region was part of the Province of Quebec, as outlined in the Quebec Act of 1774. Where some confusion may arise, the phrases "modern day Ontario" or "what is now known as Ontario" might be applied.

More problematic than historical vagaries surrounding modern (European) names is the use of native names. The native cultures of the Great Lakes region had not developed written forms of their languages before the arrival of the Europeans. Had they done so, Europeans likely would not have made use of these systems anyway, so foreign would they have seemed to the newcomers. European chroniclers had to render strange languages into written form. As some of these languages used sounds that were not present in European tongues, this task proved difficult. Linguistic standardization is a relatively new concept and native names were spelled as each chronicler saw fit. This may cause problems for the historian in terms of recognition. Even names that are recognizable may be rendered several different ways. Muskoka, the name applied to a district in the Province of Ontario, comes from the name of a prominent area chief and a key figure in the above history. It has been written "Misquuckkey", "Musquakie" as well as the version that has been preserved by modern cartographers. Native people often adopted European names, so "Muskoka" was also known as "William Yellowhead". A search for a reference to William Yellowhead by an unsuspecting researcher may prove futile if the Ojibwa name is used in the reference material. Native names were often passed down to the following generations. William Yellowhead's father seems also to have been known as William Yellowhead. When Chief Canise died in 1793 on the shores of Lake Simcoe, the inheritor of his position was his son, "Canise".

Many sources ascribe meanings to native names. Native names invariably meant something, as in the case of the name "Toronto" quoted above. The vast variation in given meanings has encouraged me to avoid applying translations to native names. These translations appear in many cases to be speculative and, in some cases, to be value laden. The meaning of the Ojibwa name "Manitonabe", for example, is given by the famous local historian, Andrew Hunter, as "male devil". "Manitou" is the name of an Ojibwa spirit; the translation of "devil" seems to represent a Christian bias against so-called "pagan" beliefs.

The application of names, for all the problems it may cause, often presents interesting stories in of itself. The name "Toronto" for example, first appears on European maps in reference to Lake Simcoe in 1673. Subsequently, it referred to Georgian Bay, the Severn River and the Humber River before coming to settle on the banks of Lake Ontario. Travelling names provide one of many sources of mystery surrounding the naming of the province after 1615.

Glossary

Ojibwa, Chippewa, Mississauga, Anishnabe:

Chippewa - Chippewa is a common name applied interchangeably with Ojibwa or, in Southern Ontario, in opposition to "Mississauga". The use of Chippewa is generally preferred to that of Ojibwa in the United States. Chippewa and Ojibwa are actually the same word rendered differently.

Mississauga - This name refers to a particular Ojibwa speaking group originating around the mouth of the Mississagi River that flows into the North Channel of Lake Huron.

The Mississauga were, no doubt, prominent among those who migrated into Southern Ontario. The name has sometimes been applied to all the Ojibwa speaking peoples of Southern Ontario but is also used to distinguish certain groups from those who prefer the name Chippewa.

It is not know whether the distinction between Chippewa and Mississauga has any basis in the origins of the people who came to Southern Ontario or whether it is merely a matter of preference.

Algonkian, Algonkin (also Algonquian, Algonquin):

 The different spelling of Algonkian/ Algonquian is likely the difference between English and French lexicography, the latter representing French, the former English.

Iroquoian, Iroquois, Five (Six) Nations, Houdenosaunee:

Iroquois - The Iroquois are the six nations that belong to a confederation first established in the "Finger Lakes" of upstate New York. The six nations are: Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk and Tuscarora.

Houdenosaunee - This is the name given to the confederacy and Iroquois people by its members. The league is figuratively depicted as a longhouse. The Mohawk are the eastern doorkeepers and the Seneca the west. The Onondaga have a very special status as the keepers of the central fire, the most important symbol of Iroquois unity. Houdenosaunee means "the people of the Longhouse".

Huron, Wendat, Wyandot (Wyandotte):

Wendat - Wendat, like Houdenosaunee, referred to a confederacy of four (or five) nations rather than a single tribe. Unlike "Huron", it is a native name and it is what the "Huron" called themselves. As such, it has been the preferred appellation in this account. The use of Wendat in place of Huron is becoming more common but the well known history of this nation makes such a change difficult. Many people recognize the name Huron but few can identify the Wendat with the history they studied in school.

Wyandot (Wyandotte) - The similarity between "Wendat" and "Wyandot" is no coincidence. Wyandot is, in fact, a corruption of the former. The Wyandot are not exactly the same people as the original residents of "Huronia". Some of the survivors of Wendake fled to the nearby Tionontatehronnon. When the latter dispersed the following summer, as a result of Iroquois pressure, they fled west taking the Wendat refugees with them. Over time, these people began to be called the Wyandot though most of the population traced their ancestry back to the Blue Hills rather than Wendake.

Tionnontatehronnon, Tobacco, Petun:

Tobacco - A more familiar name for these people is the Tobacco people. This name obviously derives from the importance of that crop to these people.

Petun - "Petun", like "Huron" is a French name applied to these people. The fact that it has five rather than seventeen letters means that it may continue to be favoured over the more appropriate Tionontatehronnon in the years to come.

Odawa, Ottawa:

Ottawa - Ottawa is likely more familiar to most students of history than Odawa. The latter has, however, come to be more accepted in Canada. Ottawa is still favoured in the United States.

The Ottawa were very active in the fur trade after the fall of Wendake. Many European chroniclers referred to any Algonkian-speaking people involved in the fur trade as "Ottawa". This is misleading. Often, these people would be Ojibwa or Potawatomi or other western nations.

Today, many Odawa live among Ojibwa people in Canada. The former group, being less numerous, often lose their identity as a distinct people. The Manitoulin reserve of Wikwemikong is the only Canadian reserve on which Odawa people form an identifiable majority.

Council of Three Fires:

The Potawatomi, Odawa and Ojibwa formed a loose confederation in the 18th century. The three peoples shared similar languages and cultures and lived in increasingly close proximity with each other beginning in the 17th century. As with most native alliances, there was little or no coercive power to enforce unity. The alliance simply cemented a partnership that already existed.

Upper Canada, Canada West, Ontario:

Canada West - After the 1837 Rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada, it was decided to reunite the Canadas under one government. Southern Ontario was known as Canada West from 1841 until confederation in 1867.