According to the website www.native-languages.org/state-names.htm twenty-six of the names of the fifty United States of America are based on words in Native American languages. Of those twenty-six, twelve are in Mid-America:

• Illinois: "Illiniwek," the name of the Illini people, meaning "best people."
• Indiana: the only one of our 13 MidAmerica states which is not named with a specific Native American name. "Indiana" means Land of the Indians or Land of Indians. Multiple Native American nations are a significant part of Indiana history, including the Miamis, Chippewa, Delawares, Erie, Shawnee, Iroquois, Kickapoo, Potawatomies, Mahican, Nanticoke, Huron, and Mohegan.
• Iowa: A tribal name of the Ioway people, meaning "sleepy ones."
• Kansas: From the name of the Kansa people, meaning "south" for People of the South Wind.
• Kentucky: from "Kentake," an Iroquois place name meaning "meadow land."
• Michigan: "Mshigem" or "Misigami" are Potawatomi and Ojibwe names for "great lake." English speakers call the great lake Lake Michigan.
• Minnesota: "Mnisota" is the Dakota Sioux name for the river English speakers call the Minnesota River. It means "cloudy water."
• Missouri: The name of a people native to the area, "Missouria, came from the word "mihsoori," meaning "big canoe people."
• Nebraska: "Nibthaska" or "Nibrathka," the Omaha-Ponca and Otoe names for the river which English speakers call the Platte River, meaning "flat river."
• North Dakota: From the Dakota, meaning "the allies."
• Ohio: from "Ohiyo," the name which English speakers call the Ohio River in the Seneca language, meaning "it is beautiful."
• South Dakota: From the Dakota, meaning "the allies."
• Wisconsin: "Wishkonsing" is the Ojibwe name for the river which English speakers call the Wisconsin River. The Ojibwe sources say the meaning of "Wishkonsing" is unknown.