Historical questions

[Rory M Larson]

Thanks, David!  That's a big help!  Is there a reference
or anything for Michael's article?

As a follow-up for question 2, if the name of the Missouri
River comes from an Illinois word for 'canoe', and the
Missouria tribe is so-called either for the river they
live on or for a reputation about their canoes, then what
did the Missouria call themselves?  What did their Siouan
neighbors (Osage, Kaw, Quapaw, Oto and Iowa) call them?

The Omaha word for the Missouria given in Fletcher and
La Flesche is Niu'tachi, which they translate as
"those who came floating down dead".

  ni -  'water'
  u-    'in'
  t?e - 'dead', 'die'

  ni-u'-t?e - 'die in water', 'drown'

I don't recognize /(a)chi/, but I gather that that's the
'came floating down' part.  Perhaps 'grandmother speech'
for athi', 'have arrived here' ?

Best,

Rory