Nokomis is the name of

Nanabozho Nanabozho (in syllabics: , ), also known as Nanabush, is a spirit in Anishinaabe ''aadizookaan'' (traditional storytelling), particularly among the Ojibwe. Nanabozho figures prominently in their storytelling, including the story of the world's ...

's grandmother in the Ojibwe traditional stories and was the name of

Hiawatha Hiawatha ( , also : ), also known as Ayenwatha or Aiionwatha, was a precolonial Native American leader and cofounder of the Iroquois Confederacy. He was a leader of the Onondaga people, the Mohawk people, or both. According to some accounts, he ...

's grandmother in

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include the poems " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and '' Evangeline''. He was the first American to comp ...

's poem, ''

The Song of Hiawatha ''The Song of Hiawatha'' is an 1855 epic poem in trochaic tetrameter by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow which features Native American characters. The epic relates the fictional adventures of an Ojibwe warrior named Hiawatha and the tragedy of his lo ...

'', which is a re-telling of the Nanabozho stories. Nokomis is an important character in the poem, mentioned in the familiar lines: :By the shores of

Gitche Gumee Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered two ...

, :By the shining Big-Seawater :Stood the wigwam of Nokomis :Daughter of the moon Nokomis. :Dark behind it rose the forest :Rose the black and gloomy pine-trees :Rose the firs with cones upon them :Bright before it beat the water :Beat the clear and sunny water :Beat the shining Big-Sea-Water. According to the poem, ''From the full moon fell Nokomis/Fell the beautiful Nokomis''. She bears a daughter, Wenonah. Despite Nokomis' warnings, Wenonah allows herself to be seduced by the West-Wind,

Mudjekeewis In Ojibwe mythology, Mudjekeewis (from the Anishinaabe language ''majiikiwis'' "first-born son") is a spirit, and figures prominently in their storytelling, including the story of the world's creation. In their ''aadizookaanan'' (traditional storie ...

, ''Till she bore a son in sorrow/Bore a son of love and sorrow/Thus was born my Hiawatha''. Abandoned by the heartless Mudjekeewis, Wenonah dies in childbirth, leaving Hiawatha to be raised by Nokomis. ''The wrinkled old Nokomis/Nursed the little Hiawatha'' and educates him. In the

Ojibwe language Ojibwe ( ), also known as Ojibwa ( ), Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an Indigenous languages of the Americas, indigenous la ...

, ''nookomis'' means "my grandmother," thus portraying Nokomis of the poem and the ''

aadizookaan Anishinaabe traditional beliefs cover the traditional belief system of the Anishinaabeg peoples, consisting of the Algonquin/ Nipissing, Ojibwa/Chippewa/Saulteaux/Mississaugas, Odawa, Potawatomi and Oji-Cree, located primarily in the Great Lakes ...

'' (Ojibwe traditional stories) from a more personal point of view, akin to the traditional Ojibwa narrative styles.

Things named after Nokomis

Places

;United States *Nokomis Avenue, a broad road in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and

Lincolnwood, Illinois Lincolnwood (formerly Tessville) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 13,463. An inner suburb of Chicago, it shares its southern, eastern, and a small section of its western boundary with ...

. *Nokomis Avenue, a street in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

. *Camp Nokomis, all girls sleepaway camp run by the Merrimack Valley

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

. Camp Lawrence is the boys camp that is on the same island and run by the same YMCA. *

Nokomis Nokomis is the name of Nanabozho's grandmother in the Ojibwe traditional stories and was the name of Hiawatha's grandmother in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, ''The Song of Hiawatha'', which is a re-telling of the Nanabozho stories. Nokomis is ...

, Alabama, a community in Escambia County, Alabama which was a railroad stop *Nokomis, Escambia County, Florida, a community in northwest Florida adjoining Nokomis, Escambia County, Alabama. While not a census designated place, the name reference is in local use. *

Sarasota County Sarasota County is a county located in Southwest Florida. At the 2020 US census, the population was 434,006. Its county seat is Sarasota and its largest city is North Port. Sarasota County is part of the North Port–Bradenton–Sarasota, F ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

. * Nokomis Township, Buena Vista County, Iowa *

, Illinois, a city *

Nokomis, Minneapolis Nokomis is a defined community in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It takes its name from Lake Nokomis. It comprises eleven smaller neighborhoods. Nokomis neighborhoods fall in Minneapolis City Council wards 8, 11, and 12, currently represented by cou ...

, Minnesota, a neighborhood *

Lake Nokomis Lake Nokomis is one of several lakes in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and part of the city's Chain of Lakes. The lake was previously named Lake Amelia in honor of Captain George Gooding's daughter, Amelia, in 1819. Its current name was adopted in 1910 ...

, part of a chain of lakes connected by

Minnehaha Creek Minnehaha Creek () is a tributary of the Mississippi River that flows east from Gray's Bay Dam on Lake Minnetonka through the suburban cities of Minnetonka, Hopkins, Saint Louis Park, and Edina, and the city of Minneapolis. The creek flows o ...

, Minnesota *

Nokomis Regional High School Nokomis Regional High is a secondary school located in Newport, Maine, United States. Nokomis is a public school which accepts students from Newport, Corinna, Palmyra, Hartland, St. Albans, Plymouth, Etna and Dixmont The school principal i ...

, in

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay * Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...

, Maine *The Nokomis Native American Cultural Learning Center in

Okemos Okemos ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Ingham County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population of the CDP was 25,121 at the 2020 census. Okemos is part of the urban area of Lansing–East Lansing, and is located nearby the campus ...

, Michigan *Nokomis Elementary School, in Ukiah, California *Nokomis Park in Cheektowaga (town), New York *Nokomis Groves, a landmark. *Nokomis Pond, town reservoir of Newport, Maine *Lake Nokomis, created in 1911 by a dam that is now called Harry Reasoner dam in Humboldt, Iowa. *Lake Nokomis, in Oneida and Lincoln counties, Wisconsin *Lake Nokomis, a reservoir in the vicinity of Red Feather Lakes Village in

Larimer County Larimer County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 359,066. The county seat and most populous city is Fort Collins, Colorado, Fort Colli ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

*Nokomis Township, Oneida County, Wisconsin *Lake Nokomis (Rice Reservoir on Tomahawk River) in Lincoln/Oneida counties in Wisconsin *Nokomis Inc. Small privately owned business located in

Charleroi, Pennsylvania Charleroi ( ) is a borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the Monongahela River, 21 miles south of Pittsburgh. Charleroi was settled in 1890 and incorporated in 1891. The 2020 census recorded a population of 4,210. Red ...

. *Nokomis Elementary School, Sachem CSD, Ronkonkoma, New York. (Sachem also includes a Hiawatha & Wenonah elementary schools). *Nokomis Road,

Sudbury, Massachusetts Sudbury is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 18,934. The town, located in Greater Boston's MetroWest region, has a colonial history. History Incorporated in 1639, the boundar ...

. *Nokomis Road,

Wilbraham, Massachusetts Wilbraham is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb of the City of Springfield, and part of the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,613 at the 2020 census. Part of the town comprise ...

. *Nokomis Road,

Apple Valley, California Apple Valley is an incorporated town in the Victor Valley of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Its population was 75,791 as of the 2020 United States census. The town is east of and adjoining to the neighboring cities of Victor ...

. *Nokomis Way,

Natick, Massachusetts Natick ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 37,006 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. west of Boston, Natick is part o ...

. *Nokomis Elementary,

Medford Lakes, New Jersey Medford Lakes is a borough in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 4,264, an increase of 118 (+2.8%) from the 2010 census count of 4,146, which in turn reflected ...

;Canada *

, Saskatchewan *Nokomis Trail, part of

Lake Superior Provincial Park Lake Superior Provincial Park is one of the largest provincial parks in Ontario, covering about along the northeastern shores of Lake Superior between Sault Ste. Marie and Wawa in Algoma District in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. Ontario Highwa ...

, Ontario *Nokomis Park, part of Larose Forest in

Limoges, Ontario Limoges, Ontario is a growing town located in the United Counties of Prescott and Russell approximately 35 kilometres (22 mi) east of Ottawa and is home to Calypso, Canada's largest water park. The east and north sides of the community are ...

, Limoges Village, Prescott-Russell counties, Ontario

In fiction

Nokomis is also a character in Richard Adams' fantasy novel ''

Maia Maia (; Ancient Greek: Μαῖα; also spelled Maie, ; ), in ancient Greek religion and mythology, is one of the Pleiades and the mother of Hermes, one of the major Greek gods, by Zeus, the king of Olympus. Family Maia is the daughter of A ...

''. She has a son called Anda Nokomis.

Vessels

* ''

USS Nokomis USS ''Nokomis'' may refer to: * , served the US Navy as a patrol craft during World War I * , a tugboat in service from 1940 to 1974 {{DEFAULTSORT:Nokomis United States Navy ship names ...

'' (YT-142) was a fleet tug that was in the Yard Craft Dock of the Navy Yard at the beginning of the Japanese attack on

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

on 7 December 1941. She provided assistance to other ships and survived the attack. *

SS Delphine (1921) SS ''Delphine'' launched April 1921. Caption from '' Popular Mechanics'' magazine SS ''Delphine'' is a yacht commissioned by Horace Dodge, co-founder of Dodge Brothers. The yacht was launched on 2 April 1921 Captained by Arthur A. Archer. Power ...

was originally named ''Nomokis''.

Nokomis Pottery Red Wing Minnesota

Red Wing Potteries Inc. produced Nokomis glazed pottery from 1929 to 1934.Nokomis glaze Red Wing art pottery display
/ref>

Notes

{{Anishinaabe Anishinaabe mythology