Laking a Name for Yourself
Season 7, Episode 2
Where did the name the “Finger Lakes” come from? Their shape may resemble fingers – but could there be more to it than that? Through an exploration of indigenous and settler history, this episode aims to answer this question. In our conversations with local storytellers, researchers, and teachers, we investigate why place names hold so much significance. We discuss why it’s important that we remember the stories behind these names, and learn about the actions being taken to preserve the history of the Finger Lakes.
Works Cited:
Crew, Exploring Upstate, and Exploring Upstate Crew. “How the Finger Lakes Was Named: Part 1.” Exploring Upstate, September 2, 2019. https://exploringupstate.com/how-the-finger-lakes-was-named/.
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Crew, Exploring Upstate, and Exploring Upstate Crew. “How the Finger Lakes Was Named: Part 2.” Exploring Upstate, September 2, 2019. https://exploringupstate.com/how-the-finger-lakes-was-named-part-2/.
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Life in the Finger Lakes. “Geological History and Glacial Formation of the Finger Lakes,” August 20, 2015. https://www.lifeinthefingerlakes.com/geological-history-and-glacial-formation-of-the-finger-lakes/.
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Life in the Finger Lakes. “Part 6: Keuka, the ‘Crooked Lake,’” April 25, 2019. https://www.lifeinthefingerlakes.com/part-6-keuka-the-crooked-lake/.
Internet Archive. “David Cusick’s Sketches of Ancient History of the Six Nations, Comprising First a Tale of the Foundation of the Great Island, (Now North America,) the Two Infants Born, and the Creation of the Universe; Second, a Real Account of the Early Settlers of North America and Their Dissensions; Third, Origin of the Kingdom of the Five Nations, Which Was Called a Long House: The Wars, Fierce Animals, &C : Cusick, David, d.1840 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive,” 1848. https://archive.org/details/davidcusickssket00cusi/page/n4/mode/1up.
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“March 2016 Revisions to New York State Social Studies K-8 Framework Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 7.” n.d. Accessed April 28, 2026. https://www.nysed.gov/sites/default/files/programs/standards-instruction/k-8-framework-revisions-march-2016.pdf.
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New York State Education Department. 2017. “New York State K-8 Social Studies Framework.” https://www.nysed.gov/sites/default/files/programs/standards-instruction/ss-framework-k-8a2.pdf.
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“Learning Standards for Social Studies Revised Edition.” 1996. https://www.nysed.gov/sites/default/files/sslearn.pdf.
Graymont, Barbara. The Iroquois. New York: Chelsea House, an imprint of Infobase Learning, 2014.
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Amrhein, Cindy. 2016. A History of Native American Land Rights in Upstate New York. Charleston, Sc: The History Press.
Plaisted, Max. 1951. Review of A Romance Map of the Finger Lakes Region of Central New York. Romance Map of Finger Lakes Region.
Colden, Cadwallader . 1724. Review of A Map of the Countrey of the Five Nations Belonging to the Province of New York and of the Lakes near Which the Nations of Far Indians Live with Part of Canada. Edited by William Bradford.
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Porter, Augustus , and Amos Doolittle. 1794. Review of A Map of Messrs: Gorham & Phelps’s Purchase, Now the County of Ontario, in the State of New York.
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Clark, John S. 1879. Review of Iroquois Five Nations and Mission Sites, 1656-1684. Heliotype Print Co.
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Follett, Harrison C. 1951. Review of Migration Chart of Cayuga Indian Groups in Cayuga County.
WMHT. 2018. “Iroquois or Haudenosaunee?” YouTube. November 9, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHOem_7Re5E.
Chamberlin, Thomas Chrowder. 1883. Review of Preliminary Paper on the Terminal Moraine of the Second Glacial Epoch . U.S. Government Printing Office.