The word “Arkansas” came from the Quapaw Indians, by way of early French explorers. … The state’s name has been spelled several ways throughout history. In Marquette and Joliet’s Journal of 1673, the Indian name is spelled AKANSEA. In LaSalle’s map a few years later, it’s spelled ACANSA. A map based on the journey of La Harpe in 1718-1722 refers to the river as the ARKANSAS and to the Indians as LES AKANSAS. In about 1811, Captain Zebulon Pike, a noted explorer, spelled it ARKANSAW.