Post by sloanrodgers on Apr 16, 2010 9:54:02 GMT -5
RR -- The Mi-kmaq and the Abenaki (which is part of my heritage) are realated as part of the greater Wabnaki Nation (along with the Maloseets, Penobscots, Passamaquoddies). Small world.
Well I wouldn't say the Mi'kmaq were closely related to those other nations, except maybe the
Malicite, who the Mi'kmaq called broken talkers. They were obviously all Algonquins and at one
time allies of the great Wabanaki confederacy, which I think was more of a political/ defensive
organization. The Mi'kmaq were very unique in that they had a primitive pre-Columbian written
language, hunted whales in small sailing vessels and signed the 1st peace treaty at Watertown
with the fledgling United States in July 1776. I like reading about them and their neighbors.
I couldn't find the slit-throat reference, though I have seen it in the past. In general the name seems to do more with "little snakes" or adders (see below). But you are right in that the broader term "Sioux" encompasses much more than Lakota, which I knew.
I did find this in my searching" "The name 'Sioux' is an abbreviated form of Nadouessioux borrowed into French Canadian from Nadoüessioüak from the early Odawa exonym: naadowesiwag 'Sioux'.:
Brittanica Online has this: " ... a broad alliance of North American Indian peoples who spoke three related languages within the Siouan language family. The name Sioux is an abbreviation of Nadouessioux (“Adders”; i.e., “enemies”), a name originally applied to them by the Ojibwa. The Santee, also known as the Eastern Sioux, were Dakota speakers and comprised the Mdewkanton, Wahpeton, Wahpekute, and Sisseton. The Yankton, who spoke Nakota, included the Yankton and Yanktonai. The Teton, also referred to as the Western Sioux, spoke Lakota and had seven divisions—the Sihasapa, or Blackfoot; Brulé (Upper and Lower); Hunkpapa; Miniconjou; Oglala; Sans Arcs; and Oohenonpa, or Two-Kettle. ... "
Pine Ridge is a true tragedy, in the least. One could argue that the People (oyate) at Pine Ridge are still, in some way, paying the price for Custer.
I'm not really up on my Siouan and Algonguin etymology, but that sounds more accurate than a French
origin for Sioux. Never underestimate the ability of Anglos to butcher native tongues. Thanks.