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It has/had something to do with the Ozarks and the topography. I imagine that because of the rocky ledges and overhangs you could possibly stand on the ground and maybe reach the fruit-bearing branches of the trees growing far below you and shake loose the hickory nuts?

Best I can tell from my sources Kawana (and the various phonetic spellings of it)is an Iroquois word, "ke'ne wi wa nah". I am unable to break the word(s) down because it is in a dialect that I am unfamiliar with. The word appears on numerous maps designating streams and points along the shores of the Great Lakes and the Finger lakes in NY. It refers to a portage point where canoes were dragged overland to make shorter a long trip by boat. Keewenaw Penninsula is one such place on Lake Superior. The land between the upper Ohio and Lake Erie is another. Several other tributaries/streams bear this name in several variations of spelling. Hope this helps some.

I'm working on it right now, -Chris

In order to show to you how insignificant your opinion or cares are to me I won't divulge to you how much or, if any, grant money was used. I'm a taxpayer too, you self-righteous ass. And I served this country with six years of my life in the U.S. Marine Corps. Who the hell are you to make a statement as you did about me or my research? You speak of options, well this is your only true one: If you don't like it then don't read it, got it? And to all of the other nice people reading this, I sincerely apologize for lowering myself to Michael's level and that you had to hear this from me. I just cannot stand rude people and won't tolerate it. I would be happy and honored to help/answer any questions that I may be able to regarding Indian place-name research. My expertise is humble but whatever I have I will gladly share with anyone interested.

Just a few corrections:

Alabama: Muskogean (Choctaw/Chickasaw dia.) "alua'balama', ceremonial rock which served as an alter where incense was burned. Also the name of a group of Choctaw-speaking people who lived in Mississippi in the early 18th century.

Kentucky: Muskogean (Choctaw/Chickasaw dia.) 'Kain'tatok' Place of hanging grapes (muscodines) 'ee' was added to the end of the word for the sake of euphony.

Ohio: Muskcogean (Choctaw/Chickasaw) Originally translated by the French in the 18th century as "Woman's River" or "Riveriera de Belles". This is an easy mistake. In Choctaw woman is 'ohoyo'. The true intent of the place-name is the Choctaw "oh'hiya" which means place of hunting. The name actually did not apply to the Ohio River itself but to present-day Kentucky which was an Indian free-for-all hunting ground that was recognized by all tribes as owned by none and shared by all. The Choctaw name for the Ohio River according to the only source I could locate was 'Managuahala' "ma'na kawa'whaythla". Ma is a locative, there or here. Na is a negative meaning no, non, none, never. Kawa means broken. Whaythla means to dance. "Here united (together)we dance". The northern portion of this river above Pittsburg is still called Monongahela which is the same word/different spelling.

Pensacola: Muscogean (Choc/Chick dia.) Pens is a corruption of puska, 'bread', and ocala is the same as okla in Oklahoma, meaning nation or people. Thus Pensacola means simply People Having Bread or "Bread People".

Tennessee: Choctaw/Chickasaw contraction for the longer tombi tenakbi hutcha chito. Meaning: River of the big white bend (sandbars). It is definitely NOT Iroquoian (Cherokee).

Arkansas: Choctaw/Chickasaw- a French corruption of "ark'a(n)sha, hickory nuts down low or on the ground.

Mississippi: Choctaw original was Mishi sipokni'sipi hatcha. Contracted to Mishi'sipi it means old, very old. The rivers were thought to widen as they aged and since the Mississippi River is subsantially wide south of Cairo Illinois it was thus named. Since it does not contain the sex indicative 'tek' it is assumed to be masculine. Thus the translation to English would be "male river extremely old".

What business is it of yours if I did or did not use any federal grant money in my research?-Chris McPhail