from the peanut gallery

[Koontz John E]

On Mon, 19 Jul 2004, Michael Mccafferty wrote:
> So, what is the consensus on the Hochunk etymology? Up in the air?

Perhaps parallel would be the Omaha village name TtaNwaN TtaNga 'Big
Village'.

Also note that one Dakotan name for the Omaha - I think it's the Omaha and
not the Ponca - is Oyate Yamni, referring to "their practice of camping in
three circles."  Actually, by all accounts they always camped in one
circle when on the move, so perhaps this refers to the three
(non-circular) Omaha villages that existed in the middle and late 1800s.

Various encampment-based metaphors are used in naming Dakotan groups, too.