Myths and Misnomers: The Dark and Bloody Ground

The area of what is now Kentucky was a crossroads during the 18th century.  It was Cherokee country, but other tribes, such as the Shawnee, often contested their possession of it.  Many trails crisscrossed the area the area that would become the state, including the Great Warpath.  The land saw much fighting, both between Native tribes who sought the rich hunting and faming grounds for themselves, and later with Settlers, for the same reason.  Perhaps because of this, many writers have stated that the name Kentucky derives from Native words referring to a dark and bloody ground.  Novelists have followed suit.  A quick search of Amazon or Google references several books with this title, some having to do with Kentucky history or otherwise set in the state. 

False.  The Wyandot name for this area "Kah-ten-tah-teh", refers to "the land of tomorrow" or "the place where we shall dwell/camp tomorrow".  The Shawnee referred to the area as "Kain-tuck-ee" or "at the head of the river."  Since several rivers have their origin in the area, this name make sense.  The Mohawk version of the word "Kentucke" meant "among the meadows".  The Delawares used a similar word to describe the area as "the place among the meadows".  The Catawba name for the area meant "the prairie" or "the barren place". Other Iroquois words referred to the land as being a level place.  No tribe was ever on record as giving the area a name that meant anything near to dark and bloody ground.

So, where did the idea come from?  Kentucky's first state historian, John Filson, wrote that the Indians called the area the dark and bloody ground, or the middle ground.  Middle ground might be accurate, because of the area's use as a crossroads for so many tribes.  But Filson may have gleaned the dark and bloody etymology from remarks made by Cherokee chiefs at a council at Sycamore Shoals in 1775, which lead to the Treaty of Wautaga.  Chief Dragging Canoe warned White delegates to the conference that there was a dark cloud over the land they were seeking to acquire.  He meant that several tribes, including his own, were opposed to the Settlers possessing the land and some would challenge their presence on it, treaty notwithstanding.  Another Cherokee chief added that the country was bloody country, meaning that the rich land and abundant hunting grounds had long been contested by various tribes, who would continue to prevent the White presence there.  Nevertheless, the Treaty was eventually signed
and the country lived up to the warnings.  Some of the bitterest fights over land and hunting rights between Natives and Settlers took place in the Kentucky region.  Writers must have believed they had an excuse for claiming that Kentucky meant dark and bloody ground because of the bloodshed that took place there.  They repeated the idea until it became a reality.