# 3
Indigenous Words
While Arkansas has been inhabited for many thousands of years, most of our
place names come from European origins. Only a handful of Indigenous
names can be still be heard, including Ouachita, Caddo, and Wabaseka.
There are a few places named for local Indian figures, such as Saracen,
Chickelah, and Sylamore, and others are named for national figures such as
Pocahontas and Osceola. Some names claim to be based on Indigenous
words, like Chicot, Dardanelle, Ettowah, and Spadra. In fact, these names
are most likely unrelated to Native American words. Instead, the heritage of
Arkansas’s Indigenous place names was largely erased or forgotten as
French and English speakers brought their own words with them and
covered the map with the names we have today. Those wishing to hear the
distant echoes of Indigenous names will have to listen carefully to discern
them.
Daniel Boice, University of Arkansas at Monticello
