MVS 'eight'

[Rory M Larson]

David wrote:
> My geographic objection is more hypothetical, but the gist of it is that
> when you start to trace where the M-I speakers were in the earliest
> historical times, or where they would have been pre-1492, the evidence
> strongly hints that they were a good deal further EAST than they were at
> first contact. From all evidence, the Illinois were very recent arrivals
> into what is now Illinois, possibly not entering that area at all until
the
> Iroquois Wars. When you go further back in time, it starts looking like
the
> M-I speakers were in Indiana before they were in Illinois, and in Ohio
> before they were in Indiana. That puts them in a place where it's more
> likely they would have interacted with Tutelo speakers than with I-O
> speakers, and WAY more likely than them interacting with Michigamea
> speakers. The M-I speakers' presence in the Michigamea area was probably
> very recent.

Would this still be an objection if the early I-O speakers
were originally located further to the east themselves?
The sacred Legend recorded in Fletcher and La Flesche
specifies that the Iowa were with the Omaha (Dhegihans?)
when the latter made their luckless migration across the
Mississippi after moving down the Ohio.

Do we know who was living in the Indiana-Illinois area
prior to the spread of the Miami-Illinois southwest
from Lake Erie and the Maumee river region?  I think
we need to establish that these were not early Chiwere
speakers before we rule out John's suggestion on
geographical grounds.

Oh, and exactly where is the Michigamea area?  I think
I missed this.

Rory