etymology of MANDAN

[Robert L. Rankin]

> John suggested Dhegiha kkaNze, a clan name. If you and he come to any
> further conclusions, I'd be grateful to hear them.

thanks for the citations.  Hard facts about the earliest sources and
migration stories are hard to come by.

Kansa [kka:Nze] is more than *just* a clan/tribal name, tho' it clearly is
both those things. It goes back to the western Ohio Valley in
proto-historic times and also was used to describe the Quapaws.  I can't
recapitulate the week's worth of details here, but I'd be happy if John,
Dave Costa or whoever saved the correspondence copied it here.  It's a
long story with numerous possible interpretations (and little agreement
among John, Dave and me).  But it's fascinating.

Bob