MANDAN etymology

[Alan H. Hartley]

A couple of miscellaneous, tangentially related observations:

Alexander Henry the Younger (1809, _Journal_ (1992) 393) records
"Saiwahtoukta" as the Assiniboine name for the Mandans. (Can anyone
analyse it?) This name argues against an A. origin for the English name,
at least in Henry's time.

Riggs (1893, _Dakota Grammar_ 192) says: "Both the Hidatsa and Mandan
belong to the Siouan or Dakotan family. Whether it is from the common
likeness to the tongue of their enemies, or for some other reason, it is
a remarkable fact that many persons of each tribe can speak Dakota."
This suggests sufficient linguistic contact between Mandan and Dakota to
account for the hypothetical borrowing of a so far unattested Mandan
word into Dakota (whence it might have been adopted into English).
Pretty iffy, but at least the environment in Riggs' day was favorable.

Alan