The Portage Path, Cuyahoga, & Tuscarawas

My mother told me that many Native Americans passed over the place where we live. There’s a place called the Portage Path. They used the path when they were switching rivers—from the Cuyahoga River to the Tuscarawas River and they traded with white men there as well. There is a statue in Akron, Ohio that depicts a Native American lugging his canoe over his head as he switches rivers. 

Cuyahoga supposedly means "crooked river" from the Mohawk name "Cayagaga." But the Mohawk people have no relation to this region so this connection has no factual backing. This is interesting to me because my teachers, parents, and the internet pass on this theory as the correct one. There are many possible origins of "Cuyahoga." It is said to come from the Seneca word "Gayó'ha'geh" meaning "on your chin," the Wyandot language words "kaye'ska" and "hake'nya'a," "here, small," or the combination of two Cayuga Iroquois words: "Gihe'hoga," meaning "Elm Tree River." It fascinates me that there are so many possible answers to this question. 

The Tuscarawas River means "open mouth of a steam." The name is commonly attributed to the Delaware Native Americans, but it is originally a Wyandot word. The Tuscarawas River was named in 1760 by foreign settlers. Before it was named "Naguerre-Konnan" an Iroquois or Wyandot word meaning "place of the beaver." When I was in seventh grade, I went to CVEEC (Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Education Center). I saw the chiseled stump of a tree that was made by a beaver. I was amazed at the little ‘c’ shaped wood chips made by the creature’s teeth. Before that, I wasn't even aware that beavers lived in Ohio. I'm sure I read about it somewhere but experiencing the wonders of nature in the wild was something that deeply moved me.

"Native American Place and River Names in the Coshocton County Area." https://www.visitcoshocton.com/images/Native-American-Place-and-River-Names-Coshocton-Ohio.pdf. 

English–Seneca Dictionary by Chafe, Wallace pg. 30, under chin, jaw

 All Wandat Word List: 2011 Edition by Dr. Kopris, Craig Alexander; pgs 258 & 367

 English–Cayuga/Cayuga–English Dictionary by Froman, Francis; Keye, Alfred; Keye, Lottie; Dyck, Carrie pgs 451 & 472

“Cuyahoga River.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Feb. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuyahoga_River.