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Hoosier
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Who’s there? The word “Hoosier” in Indiana folklore, on this Moment of Indiana History.
Whether traveling or back home, people from Indiana are used to seemingly
endless speculation about their nickname. Though most agree that what
began as a pejorative term has evolved into an honorific, even Indiana
history specialists concede that the source of the term “Hoosier”
is elusive. Nonetheless, trying to come up with an explanation has become
a time-honored pastime in Indiana. One popular theory suggests that the
term arose out of the frontier greeting “Who’s there”?
Indiana poet James Whitcomb Riley offered a mock-etymology derived from
the reputation of the early settlers as fierce brawlers; at the end of
a scuffle, one might have to ask, “Whose ear?” Other explanations
trace the word back to a surname. Sam Hoosier and Robert Hoosier were
said to be foremen during the construction of, respectively, the Ohio
Falls Canal and the National Road. In both cases, their crews of Indiana
men, who came to be known as “Hoosier’s” brought distinction
to the name for their hard-working reliability. A scholarly theory attributes
the name to the African-American Methodist preacher Harry Hoosier, who
had a large mixed-race following in Indiana in the late 1700s. Still another
professor has traced the appellation back to the Polish word “huzar”,
meaning light horseman. The word may have gotten its Indiana association
from Kosciusko [“koss-ee-OSS-ko”] County, named for Polish
nobleman Tadeusz [“tah-DAY-oosh”] Kosciuszko [“koh-SHOOSH-koh”]
who fought as a “huzar” with George Washington during the
American Revolution.
Regardless of its provenance, the term was popularized over the 19th century
in the press, poems by Riley and John Finley, and such novels as Edward
Eggleston’s The Hoosier Schoolmaster. Though still used as a slur
in other states, the “Hoosier” mantle is worn with pride by
Indiana natives, especially those in the southern half of the state. When
Hoosiers invoke the term, it usually serves as shorthand for a set of
traits—hard-working, unpretentious, and connected with the land
and the seasons.
This Moment of Indiana History is a production of the Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations in association with the Indiana Historical Society. More information is available on-line at “moment of Indiana history.org.”
Writer: Yaël Ksander
This Moment of Indiana History is a production of the Indiana Public Broadcasting Stations in association with the Indiana Historical Society. More information is available at “Moment of Indiana history dot org."
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