Manitoba: The central province of Canada, formerly called the Red River Settlement, takes its name from Lake Manitoba, whose islands were believed by the natives to be the habitation of the Manito or great spirit. In the Algonquin language, manito, manitu, or Manitou, means a "spirit, a ghost, or anything supernatural." The last syllable of Manito-ba is a fragment of the Cree word, waban, a "strait."

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