[Algonquiana] Algonquian terms for Siouan peoples

[Wolvengrey, Arok]

Hi Ryan,

The Cree do indeed tend to use pwât- (sg. pwâta, plural pwâtak) for Siouan peoples, generally Dakota(/Lakota). One of the names for the Assiniboine (Nakoda) is asinîwipwât(ak), a direct cognate with Ojibwe asinibwaan (and hence Assiniboine.  Even though "Ouachipouennes" was recorded as coming from a Cree interpreter, it doesn't sound as if it is a (fully) Cree form, since the ending suggests -pwaan rather than -pwât.  This initial element could well be derived from wât- "hole" (sg: wâti), with palatalization and hence somethig like *wâcipwâ(n).  Others can comment on the use of that and/or the initial element, as I am not sure if it is used in Ojibwe.  In any case, this is not a term I have heard used in Cree for the Mandan.  I have only heard the construction kâ-otasiskîwikamikowak "those who have earth(clay) lodges".

Rushing here, so I'll leave it at that for the moment, but if I uncover/remember other Cree names for Siouan groups, I'll add them.

ᐋᐧᐱ ᑭᐦᐃᐤ
Arok Wolvengrey
Professor, Algonquian Languages and Linguistics and
Department Head of Indigenous Languages, Arts and Cultures
First Nations University of Canada
1 First Nations Way
Regina, SK   S4S 7K2

phone:  (306) 790-5950 ext. 3310
fax:      (306) 790-5995
e-mail:  awolvengrey at fnuniv.ca
________________________________
From: Algonquiana [algonquiana-bounces at listserv.linguistlist.org] on behalf of Ryan Kasak [ryan.kasak at gmail.com]
Sent: January 16, 2016 2:05 AM
To: ALGONQUIANA at listserv.linguistlist.org
Subject: [Algonquiana] Algonquian terms for Siouan peoples

Dear all,

I've just posed this question on the Siouan listserv, and thought I'd ask the same here. I'm looking for names for Siouan peoples (specifically the Mandan) in Algonquian languages.

For some varieties of Cree, we see something like pwâta for the Lakota/Dakota. For Ojibwa, I've found bwaan for that same group. In the 1730s when the French trader Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye encountered the Mandan, his Cree interpreter called them Ouachipouennes [sic], meaning something like "Sioux who go underground," in reference to the earth lodges in which they lived. Is this term still used in Cree to refer to the Mandan? What about other Siouan groups like the Hidatsa or the Crow?

The online Cheyenne dictionary gives Tsé-heše'émȧheonėstse "one who has a dirt house" for the Mandan and Óoetane "crow person" for the Crow. These etymologies are clear. However, the etymologies of Hóheehe for the Assiniboine and Ho'óhomō'e for Lakota/Dakota are opaque to me (though they may not be opaque to someone else!).

I would welcome any input anyone might have regarding this issue.

Best,

Ryan Kasak
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