The name of a place
05/09/13 05:32
I don’t think there was much hoopla surrounding an anniversary last spring. At least the anniversary didn’t make the headlines around here. But Easter was the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon in what we now call Florida. There are a couple of things about the date that are of interest. First of all, the United States is a relatively new country, so a quincentennial is rare around here. The spell checker on my computer doesn’t even know the word “quincentennial.” But the day of the arrival has lasting impact on the way we speak. You see, Easter Sunday is known in much of the Spanish-speaking world as the “feast of the flowers.” That’s “Pascua Florida” in Spanish. So the explorer decided to name the place where he landed “Florida” in honor of the day. The name stuck and for the last 500 years we have been referring to that place with that name.
I am fascinated by place names. Around South Dakota, we have places that have names from the indigenous Dakota, Nakota and Lakota languages. We also have names from the settlers who came to the area over the last couple of centuries. Because most of the settlers came from Europe, there are plenty of French, English,, Norwegian and German names around here. Then there are the hybrid names. Belle Fourche, for example, retains the French spelling but the pronunciation is uniquely South Dakota. Ditto for Pierre. We westerners like to have a few place names that fit into the “if you aren’t from around here you can’t pronounce it” category. In Nebraska, Kearney is a place name that separates the locals from the tourists. Montana is full of such places. Helena, Valier, Havre and Butte are great names used to test one’s native status. Some of those Montana place names also point to the role of the railroad in naming places. Across the Great Northern route, place names were selected by spinning the globe and planting a finger. There isn’t much connection between Havre Montana and Le Havre, France. The citizens of Moscow, Idaho don’t have many relatives in Moscow, Russia, either.
Then there are the translated place names. In some cases indigenous place names were adopted as is. In others, attempts were made at translation into English. Sometimes the translations were fairly good, sometimes they were less so. Whoever did the translation of Lakota, Dakota and Nakota spiritual places, didn’t understand the concept of Spirit in the native religions. So they used the name “Devil,” When the Devil was a foreign notion to the spirituality of the indigenous people. Spirit Lake became “Devil’s Lake.” The Dakota people saw the rising and falling of the water levels in the lake as part of the work of the creator. The place was special because it was unique. There are lots of legends about things that occurred to the ancients in that lake. But they had no concept of an evil supernatural being such as the devil. Europeans just didn’t understand the faith of the Dakota. Devil’s Tower similarly gained a name that doesn’t have much link to Lakota tradition or language. Actually the Lakota name for that place is “Mato Tipi” or home of the bear. It is particularly interesting that the contemporary name for that place is “Devil’s Tower,” while the not-so-far-away Bear Butte has an almost literal translation of the Lakota, “PaHa Mato” (Bear Mountain).
Place names in South Dakota made the news earlier this year when our state tried to change the names of 5 geographic features. The five are part of a total of 18 sites that have the word “squaw” or “Negro” in their names. The names are offensive to many people and the legislature thought it was time for a change in names. However, some obscure federal agency called the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. You’d think that a state could change the name of “Negro Creek” to “Medicine Mountain Creek” without much trouble, but that change has yet to receive approval from the federal body. The federal board says that names should center on local history, folklore, events or natural aspects of the area. They also look for duplicate names. Something tells me that this board wasn’t active when “blue lake” or “green river” or similar names started showing up. There are enough duplicates in place names to confuse most people. Another Spanish explorer, Christopher Columbus has so many places named after him that when you refer to the town, you have to use the state as well. 32 states have cities or towns named “Columbus.” I grew up on the banks of the Boulder River in Montana but since there are two Boulder Rivers in that state, you still can’t be sure where I come from. I’m not buying that the commission does a good job preventing duplicate place names.
At any rate, the project seems to have faded from the news and I’m not sure whether or not the official names of places have been changed yet. And it takes years for an official name change to take place. When I was growing up, we called the town where the Crow government was centered “Crow Agency.” It still is the most common name used for the place that has been officially renamed “Beaxuwuashe.” Beaxuwuashe is the Apsaalooke word for “grain mill” or “grinding mill.” The place gets its name from the mill that used to be there. The town was started as an Indian Agency Town, so there was no need to name the place before the Agency arrived. Local lore is that Beaxuwuashe really means “people who grew up speaking English can’t pronounce this word.” For what it is worth, we’re pretty good at mispronouncing “Apsaalooke” as well. Our name, “Crow” probably refers to the wrong bird as well. The Apsaalooke are the “children of the large-beaked bird.”
The names of places are fascinating and they change with time. Who knows what future generations will call the peaks of the hills. I’m sort of hoping we find a new name for Harney Peak. General William Harney may have distinguished himself during the Mexican-American and Civil Wars, but he was a brutal oppressor of Lakota People responsible for the deaths of many innocents, including women and children. The hills are the wrong place to name something after him. In a way I find that place name to be more offensive than “Negro Wool Ridge.”
But I’m OK with sticking with the name “Florida.” It sounds pretty on the tongue. It reminds one of the beautiful flowers grown in the state. And thinking of Easter as the feast of the flowers is not a bad idea, either. Ponce de Leon never did find the fountain of youth, but the name he gave the state has hung around for half a millennia. Happy quincentennial, Florida!
I am fascinated by place names. Around South Dakota, we have places that have names from the indigenous Dakota, Nakota and Lakota languages. We also have names from the settlers who came to the area over the last couple of centuries. Because most of the settlers came from Europe, there are plenty of French, English,, Norwegian and German names around here. Then there are the hybrid names. Belle Fourche, for example, retains the French spelling but the pronunciation is uniquely South Dakota. Ditto for Pierre. We westerners like to have a few place names that fit into the “if you aren’t from around here you can’t pronounce it” category. In Nebraska, Kearney is a place name that separates the locals from the tourists. Montana is full of such places. Helena, Valier, Havre and Butte are great names used to test one’s native status. Some of those Montana place names also point to the role of the railroad in naming places. Across the Great Northern route, place names were selected by spinning the globe and planting a finger. There isn’t much connection between Havre Montana and Le Havre, France. The citizens of Moscow, Idaho don’t have many relatives in Moscow, Russia, either.
Then there are the translated place names. In some cases indigenous place names were adopted as is. In others, attempts were made at translation into English. Sometimes the translations were fairly good, sometimes they were less so. Whoever did the translation of Lakota, Dakota and Nakota spiritual places, didn’t understand the concept of Spirit in the native religions. So they used the name “Devil,” When the Devil was a foreign notion to the spirituality of the indigenous people. Spirit Lake became “Devil’s Lake.” The Dakota people saw the rising and falling of the water levels in the lake as part of the work of the creator. The place was special because it was unique. There are lots of legends about things that occurred to the ancients in that lake. But they had no concept of an evil supernatural being such as the devil. Europeans just didn’t understand the faith of the Dakota. Devil’s Tower similarly gained a name that doesn’t have much link to Lakota tradition or language. Actually the Lakota name for that place is “Mato Tipi” or home of the bear. It is particularly interesting that the contemporary name for that place is “Devil’s Tower,” while the not-so-far-away Bear Butte has an almost literal translation of the Lakota, “PaHa Mato” (Bear Mountain).
Place names in South Dakota made the news earlier this year when our state tried to change the names of 5 geographic features. The five are part of a total of 18 sites that have the word “squaw” or “Negro” in their names. The names are offensive to many people and the legislature thought it was time for a change in names. However, some obscure federal agency called the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. You’d think that a state could change the name of “Negro Creek” to “Medicine Mountain Creek” without much trouble, but that change has yet to receive approval from the federal body. The federal board says that names should center on local history, folklore, events or natural aspects of the area. They also look for duplicate names. Something tells me that this board wasn’t active when “blue lake” or “green river” or similar names started showing up. There are enough duplicates in place names to confuse most people. Another Spanish explorer, Christopher Columbus has so many places named after him that when you refer to the town, you have to use the state as well. 32 states have cities or towns named “Columbus.” I grew up on the banks of the Boulder River in Montana but since there are two Boulder Rivers in that state, you still can’t be sure where I come from. I’m not buying that the commission does a good job preventing duplicate place names.
At any rate, the project seems to have faded from the news and I’m not sure whether or not the official names of places have been changed yet. And it takes years for an official name change to take place. When I was growing up, we called the town where the Crow government was centered “Crow Agency.” It still is the most common name used for the place that has been officially renamed “Beaxuwuashe.” Beaxuwuashe is the Apsaalooke word for “grain mill” or “grinding mill.” The place gets its name from the mill that used to be there. The town was started as an Indian Agency Town, so there was no need to name the place before the Agency arrived. Local lore is that Beaxuwuashe really means “people who grew up speaking English can’t pronounce this word.” For what it is worth, we’re pretty good at mispronouncing “Apsaalooke” as well. Our name, “Crow” probably refers to the wrong bird as well. The Apsaalooke are the “children of the large-beaked bird.”
The names of places are fascinating and they change with time. Who knows what future generations will call the peaks of the hills. I’m sort of hoping we find a new name for Harney Peak. General William Harney may have distinguished himself during the Mexican-American and Civil Wars, but he was a brutal oppressor of Lakota People responsible for the deaths of many innocents, including women and children. The hills are the wrong place to name something after him. In a way I find that place name to be more offensive than “Negro Wool Ridge.”
But I’m OK with sticking with the name “Florida.” It sounds pretty on the tongue. It reminds one of the beautiful flowers grown in the state. And thinking of Easter as the feast of the flowers is not a bad idea, either. Ponce de Leon never did find the fountain of youth, but the name he gave the state has hung around for half a millennia. Happy quincentennial, Florida!