No one knows for sure. While long associated with a place, the name Shenandoah can be traced to a native from the Conestoga-Susquehannock tribe. According to the tribe, Shenandoah was adopted by the Oneida of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy due to the “decline and destabilization” of the Conestoga. Another possibility comes from the Iroquois word for the meadow or plain, skahentowane. The popular interpretation of Shenandoah as the "Daughter of the Stars" is most likely a myth.
Sources:
The Rediscovery of America
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"Indigenous history is essential to understanding the evolution of modern America. Ned Blackhawk interweaves five centuries of Native and non-Native histories, from Spanish colonial exploration to the rise of Native American self-determination in the late twentieth century."
First People
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Incorporating recent events in the Native American community as well as additional information gleaned from publications and public resources, this newly redesigned and updated second edition of First People brings back to the fore this concise and highly readable narrative. Full of stories that represent the full diversity of Virginia?s Indians, past and present, this popular book remains the essential introduction to the history of Virginia Indians from the earlier times to the present day.
Monacan Millennium
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While Jamestown and colonial settlements dominate narratives of Virginia's earliest days, the land's oldest history belongs to its native people. Monacan Millennium tells the story of the Monacan Indian people of Virginia, stretching from 1000 A.D. through the moment of colonial contact in 1607 and into the present. Written from an anthropological perspective and informed by ethnohistory, archaeology, and indigenous tribal perspectives, this comprehensive study reframes the Chesapeake's early colonial period--and its deep precolonial history--by viewing it through a Monacan lens. Shifting focus to the Monacans, Hantman reveals a group whose ritual practices bespeak centuries of politically and culturally dynamic history. This insightful volume draws on archeology, English colonial archives, Spanish sources, and early cartography to put the Monacans back on the map. By examining representations of the tribe in colonial, postcolonial, and contemporary texts, the author fosters a dynamic, unfolding understanding of who the Monacan people were and are.
Braiding Sweetgrass
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An inspired weaving of indigenous knowledge, plant science, and personal narrative from a distinguished professor of science and a Native American whose previous book, Gathering Moss, was awarded the John Burroughs Medal for outstanding nature writing. As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, Robin Wall Kimmerer has spent a career learning how to ask questions of nature using the tools of science. As a Potawatomi woman, she learned from elders, family, and history that the Potawatomi, as well as a majority of other cultures indigenous to this land, consider plants and animals to be our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowing together to reveal what it means to see humans as "the younger brothers of creation." As she explores these themes she circles toward a central argument: the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgement and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the world. Once we begin to listen for the languages of other beings, we can begin to understand the innumerable life-giving gifts the world provides us and learn to offer our thanks, our care, and our own gifts in return.
Hollow Justice
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...explores Native American claims against the United States government over the past two centuries. Despite the federal government's multiple attempts to redress Indigenous claims, a close examination reveals that even when compensatory programs were instituted, Native peoples never attained a genuine sense of justice..."
The Soul of the Indian
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The Soul of the Indian is Charles A. Eastman's exploration and documentation of religion as he experienced it during the late nineteenth century. A Dakota physician and writer who sought to bring understanding between Native and non-Native Americans, Eastman (1858-1939) became one of the best-known Native Americans of his time and a significant intellectual figure whose clarity of vision endures today. In a straightforward manner Eastman emphasizes the universal quality and personal appeal of his Dakota religious heritage. First published in 1911, The Soul of the Indian draws on his childhood teaching and ancestral ideals to counter the research written by outsiders who treated the Dakotas' ancient worldviews chiefly as a matter of curiosity.
We're Still Here
Virginia Indians provide readers with a candid account of their living history, insight to cultural traditions, and vision for the future. Create a free account with Internet Archive to read the book in its entirety.