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The Name of the Missouri River Came From an Indigenous Tribe
Native American tribes such as the Blackfeet, Hidatsa, Ottoe, Missouria, and Crow lived in the northern region where the Missouri River began. From the Siouan language, the name they gave the river was “Ouemessorita,” which means “people of the wooden canoe.” Later, it was anglicized to be spelled and pronounced Missouri. French explorers Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet, in May 1673, called the river “Pekitanoui,” which was from the Algonquian/Peoria Indian language and meant Muddy Water.
