Today they comprise three groups living respectively near Horton, Kansas McCloud, Oklahoma and Melchor Muzquiz, Coahuila, Mexico. Aboriginally, they ranged throughout the southern Great Lakes Region, eventually being pushed west and south in the wake of European contact. Because of their nomadic nature, the Kickapoo cannot be assigned to a specific geographic area.
These far-reaching migrations were probably responsible for an earlier translation that indicated that the term Kiwikapawa meant 'he moves about, standing here, now there,' today known to be linguistically impossible. The variety of the other names by which they are known, however, demonstrates the extent of their contacts with other groups, ranging from the Great Lakes region to Mexico.
The name 'Kickapoo' no longer has any evident meaning to the Kickapoo people other than that is how they refer to themselves. ETHNONYMS: Igabu, Kikapu, Kiikaapoa, Kiwegapaw, Kiwikapawa, Ontarahronon, Shakekahquah, Shikapo Orientation
