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submitted 2 months ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/science_memes@mander.xyz

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[-] hsdkfr734r@feddit.nl 6 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

There was no one by the name Tom Bigbee, it seems.

The name “Tombigbee” comes from Choctaw “itumbi ikbi“, which means “box maker” or “coffin maker”. There are many stories and legends about how this name came to be. One story is the river was named after a box maker who lived on some of the Tombigbee’s headwaters. Another story is based on the need for box making in the area to ship pelts during the French-dominated fur trade in the 1700’s.

Umm... Choctaw

are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Mississippi and Alabama.

[-] propter_hog@hexbear.net 3 points 2 months ago

Makes sense for it to be a Choctaw name, then. Isn't the tombigby in, like, Tennessee or something?

[-] hsdkfr734r@feddit.nl 1 points 2 months ago

I wouldn't know. My geographical knowledge of North America isn't good. :) Google maps points to Alabama and Mississippi, when I ask it about the river's name.