Indigenymy: Indigenous Place Names Hypermap

Welcome to the (Indige)nymy Hypermap, a first-of-its-kind project presenting toponyms in Indigenous languages together on a single hypermap. Pick a panel below (or tap a label) to dive into any of the four fullscreen views: Names (toponyms by language), Means (toponyms with recorded meanings), Langs (Canada-wide Indigenous language territories), or 🛰️ Sat (toponyms over satellite imagery).

In October 2025 this map went live with about 500 names. It now includes 7,080 toponym instances, from 115 sources across 35 languages (and counting). Squirrel Ridge uses Felt as mapping software; tap the legend (top left of any fullscreen view) to filter by language or layer.

Tap or click any name or dot to see a dropdown with more information. Each colour you see represents a distinct Indigenous language, as indicated in the legend.

Squirrel Ridge Observatory Centre is a Canadian federally-registered not-for-profit headquartered in Barrie, Ontario. Read about our Board of Directors and the UNDRIP, TRC, OCAP®, CARE, and FAIR principles guiding this work on the About page.

Questions? Email us at [tools] at [squirrelridge] dot [org]. We're friendly, but can't guarantee a response or a timely reply. If you're a representative of an Indigenous community, please make that clear in the subject line and we will prioritize your questions.