Tetons

[janilta@j.email.ne.jp]

Hello all,

As far as I know, there is no connection between French 'teton' (teat,
coll. from 'teter' to suck) and the Sioux subgroup. The excellent
'Lakota Warrior' by Joseph White Bull (Univ. of Nebraska Press) states
that (introduction by James Howard) Tetons (meaning 'plain dwellers')
are one of the 7 bands making up the Dakota Nation. This Teton (western)
band has itself 7 sub-bands : Hunkpapa, Miniconjou, Sihasapa, Sans-arcs
(Itazipco), Two-kettles (Oohenonpa), Brules (Sicangu) and Oglala.
We learn in this book too that the Dakotas used to call the Plain Metis
(mixed-blood Ojibwe or Cree) 'Slota' (ie Grease People) because of their
custom of preserving dried bison meat in large rawhide bags called
'taureaux'. Today, they are often called 'Iyeska' ie 'white/clear
speaker' which formerly used to describe interpreters (often Metis
then).
If I remember well, in Lakota, 'to speak white' means 'to speak clearly'
ie 'a language that can be understood' (a Lakota dialect) whereas 'to
speak red' is the contrary and used to describe the Cheyennes... Funny,
wikna !

Regards, Yann, Tokyo