Rory's Mysterious Omaha-Ponca Fragment

[Koontz John E]

On Fri, 17 Sep 2004, Mark-Awakuni Swetland wrote:
> Therefore, my Grandma Elizabeth Saunsoci Stabler's English name was
> "Elizabeth". Her Omaha name was "Thizabet"... since patrilineally, she came
> through the French Saunsoci side and was not deemed eligible to be named
> into an Omaha clan.

Wuhu!

> Suzini (Suzy)
> JiniwiN (Jenny)

And notice this has the root used for 'woman' in names added to it.

> Methe (Mary)
> are a few others. I need to do a systematic Q and A to find out others.
>
> Since some of the names get handed down through families, they becomes
> associated with particular clans...ebthegoN.
>
> I personally promote the notion to any Omaha community member I talk to...
> that their half-breed name IS THERE OMAHA NAME... not something less-then
> Omaha (i.e., English/waxe). I think is provides an avenue for building
> self-esteem for those kids not in clans.

Oops, yeah.  I hope I didn't suggest these names were less than good Omaha
names, though traceable as comparatively recent (100-250 year old)
borrowings.  I think that everything points to them being integrated into
the system.  In a sense they're the clan names of the "children of
whitemen," to use a Ponca expression.  I'm not sure they haven't spread to
other clans, too, however, since I'm not always aware who in the texts (or
on the street) belongs to what clan, so it's nearly impossible or me to
tell.

For what it's worth, virtually all given names in circulation in modern
English are borrowings, for various reasons, mainly the combination of
Christian and French influence.  Many of them are so thoroughly Anglicized
that they have unique English forms, which circulate in opposition to more
obvious (more recent) borrowed forms, like John vs. Sean vs. Ian vs. Jean,
and Ivan and so on.  Or Mary vs. Marie and Miriam, etc.