Abenaki Jigsaw: Introductory Activity
Kway! (pronounced Kwī) means Hello! in Abenaki
Directions: Learn some of the words and their definitions that come from the dialects of the
Algonquian language family which all Abenaki bands (loosely connected groups) spoke.
Term
Caribou
Chipmunk
Eskimo
Moccasin
Moose
Opossum
Papoose
Pecan
Powwow
Quahog
Raccoon
Sachem
Skunk
Squash
Tomahawk
Toboggan
totem
Wampum
wigwam
Definition and Language Origin
A large deer (reindeer) from the Micmac yalipu
Member of the squirrel family from Ojibwe acitamo
Person of northern Canada, Alaska, Greenland possibly from the Abenaki
askimo
soft leather shoe from the Algonquian mockasin
Member of the deer family from the Abenaki mos
North American mammal from the Algonquian opassom
A young child of American Indian parents from the Narragansett papoos
Thin-shelled nut from the Illinois pakani
American Indian ceremony from the Narragansett powwaw
A thick-shelled clam from the Narragansett poquaûhock
Small nocturnal animal from the Algonquian arocoun
A North American Indian chief from the Narragansett sâchim
black and white animal that secrets odor from Massachusetts squuncke
of the gourd family from the Narragansett askútasquash
a light ax from the Algonquian tomahack
a long flat-bottomed light sled from the Micmac tobâgun
an object that symbolizes the family or clan from the Ojibwe odoodem
beads of polished shells strung in strands, belts, or sashes and used by North
American Indians as money, ceremonial pledges, and ornaments from the
Algonquian wampumpeag
a Native American hut with an arched framework of poles from the Abenaki
wigwam
Abenaki names and meanings for geographic features in New England
Ashuelot
Coos/Cowass
Connecticut
Katahdin
Kennebec
Memphremagog
Merrimack
Nashua
Piscataqua
place between
place of pine trees
the long river
the principal mountain
long water without rapids
where there is a great expanse of water
at the deep place
between streams
where the river divides
Source: The Abenaki by Colin Calloway, page 86
Adio! (pronounced Äh-dē-ō) means Goodbye! in Abenaki
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