As we travel about our ancestral lands in what is now New York State it is good to see how many places have Kanienke (Mohawk) names. The names are a source of pride to those who call these places home even if few New Yorkers know their true meaning.

The following is a partial list of place names which are distinctly Mohawk or as described by the Mohawk people. Think about this the next time you are passing through our homelands.

Schenectady: Ska-na-ta-ti: other side of the pines
Cohoes Falls: Kahon:ios: canoe falls
Schoharie: Sko-ha-li: driftwood
Niskayuna: Koh-nis-ti-gi-oh-ne: corn fields
Mohawk River: Oh-ion-hiio-ke: nice creek
Lake George: Ka-nia-da-lok-te: waters meet
Schroon Lake: Ska:nia:ta:ro:wa:nen: big lake
Lake Champlain: Ka-nia-da-la-kwa-lohn-de: bulging waterway
Ticonderoga: Te-ken-ta-lo-ken: two waterways
Kayaderosseras: Ka-nia-da-lo-se-las: waves splashing
Hudson River: Oh-iio-ge: nice river
Canajoharie: Ka-na-jio-ha-le-: washed kettle
Otsego: Oht-sten-ha: rock or Oht-ste-ha-net: rock village
Oneonta: Oh-neh-ohn-da: stoney place
Canadaragon: Oh-nia-da-la-kehn: on the lake
Susquehanna: Kah-wah-no-nen-ne: great island river
New York City: Kanon:no: thick with pipes
Massena: Ni-ken-tsia: ke: where the small fish are
Fort Covington: Ken:tsia:ko:wah:ne: place of the sturgeon (big fish)
Lake Ontario: Ka:nia:ta:ro:io: nice lake
Niagara Falls: Oh:nia:ga:ra: big rapids
Skaneateles: Ska:ni:en:ta:res: long lake
Onchiota: Io:nio:te: there is a rainbow
Washington, DC: Ra-na:ta:ka:ri: ahsne: place of the town destroyer
USA: Wah-stohn-lon: on-gwe: Americans (Bostonians), the rebels

Doug George-Kanentiio, Akwesasne Mohawk, is the vice-president of the Hiawatha Institute for Indigenous Knowledge. A former member of the Board of Trustees for the National Museum of the American Indian he resides in Oneida territory with his wife Joanne Shenandoah.

More from Doug George-Kanentiio:
Doug George-Kanentiio: What does it mean to be Mohawk today? (3/27)