(This note also relates to a reply to Troy Adkins query about a Virginia
Algonquian group/language (Chickahominy).
In Vol, 15 of the Smithsonian Hdb. of NA Indians (Northeast), there is an
article by Gordon Day and Bruce Trigger about Algonquin (as opposed to
Algonquian). The first term is applied to "a group of closely related bands
that inhabited the Ottawa valley and adjacent regions to the east in the
first half of the seventeenth century" (p. 792). There is more info about
the peoples and the language there. The second term (Algonquian /
Algonkian) is used for the whole family of related languages that include
Micmac, Maliseet, Montagnais, Anishinabe (Ojibwa, Chippewa), Cree,
Blackfoot, and so on.
There is also a suggestion about the source of these words in that article:
Maliseet _elakomkwik_ (accent on the "o") 'they are our relatives.' The
articles on various peoples in the Handbook volumes usually include toward
the end a section called "Synonymy" with information on the possible sources
of the names for the peoples, other designations and so on.
In general the linguistic information in the Handbook articles is pretty
reliable (i.e. either written by or checked by linguists with special
comepetence in the relevant languages). There are also special articles on
language groups scattered through the various volumes and there is going to
be one volume (17 I think) devoted especially to language.
Emmon