Who? Sure

[deckardcanine]

I understand why folks from Indiana would prefer
To nevermore be labeled “Indianans” as they were,
Much less the more ungainly “Indianians,” but how
Did “Hoosier” come about? It’s an enigma even now.

It once was said that “hoozer,” meaning anything quite big
In Cumbrian, was meant to be a self-effacing dig,
And that evolved to “Hoosier,” but another source declared
The latter term came first as far as writing is compared.

A minister, “Black Harry” Hosier, made a major splash
Among the country’s Methodists as slavery he’d bash.
His name took many spellings, and it may have been applied
To other low-born working men, with enmity or pride.

Another tale: Sam Hoosier worked at Louisville’s canal,
Employing Indiana men. (Who knows his rationale?)
It’s also thought the rivermen were very good at brawlin’,
So people called them “hushers,” from the quiet of the fallen.

It might derive from “rougeur,” French for redness, which implies
The skin of poor or native folk—an insult, I surmise.
A governor suggested there’s a native word for corn,
Like “hoosa,” but in searches for the word, no fruit was borne.

Perhaps an early dialect of settlers changed “Who’s here?”
Perhaps they brawled so gorily, they often asked, “Whose ear?”
That covers all the theories that my several sources claim.
Regardless of the origin, the Hoosiers like their name.