Nishnabotna etym.

[Koontz John E]

On Sun, 6 Apr 2003, Tom Leonard wrote:

> I think the original translator (perhaps) transcribed it
> "Neesh-nah-ba-to-na" incorrectly (i.e. "to-na" was, more than likely,
> supposed to be "ttaNga"). I don't think 'canoe making river' is/was
> the literal translation. Rather, I think "ni s^nabe ttaNga"
> (river-dirty-big) was/is probably an actual name for a specific river
> or creek -more than likely the spot considered good for making canoes.

The idea that "canoe making river" is a comment on the name rather than
the translation is fairly reasonable.  And the idea that Clark was not
particularly adept as a transcriptionist is more or less widely accepted.
The one problem that neither your Omaha explanation not my Osage
explanation addresses is the claim that the term is Ioway-Otoe!