The National tribune., 1886-02-25
"DAKOTA."
Little Chat About This and Other Indian
Names.


Grand Army Sentinel Nashville, Tenn
The struggle of the people of Dakota Terri
tory to enter the Union as State has the
sympathy of all non partisan minds.
The course taken by the inhabitants Of the
south half Of the Territory to force on Congress
a recognition Of their right TO Statehood, by
adopting Constitution and electing State Off
GERS and U. S. Senators and Representatives,
without first asking the leave Of the National
Legislature has several precedents to justify
the course Minnesota being one of them
We join heartily with The NATIONAL TRIB-
UNE in the hope that no such inane nomencla-
turc as South Dakota and North Dakota "
will be adopted. The English language is not
so poor that the name of State should require
an adjective TO complete its ideal force.
The name Dakota is a good one, and ought
to be adopted for the south half, because it is
the tribal name of its original owners-the nu-
merous Indians whom we call Sioux "a
name which they do not know of, or knowing,
never recognize. 1t means "allied," or, more
literally, our friends" hota. in their speech,
is comrade. or friend Dakota would seem to be
the same idea, with prefix to indicate its be-
ing proper name. If Sioux Indian were
asked what tribe he belonged to, he would
straighten himself proudly up, and perhaps
strike his breast with his right hand, aud say,
with emphasis on the second syllable, "Dd-MA-
EO-td :" that is, =" | (or me- Dakota" the per-
sonal pronoun me" being inserted instead of
prefixed. They have no ego or "1'-only
:" me-: nor have they anything to represent
our irregular verb am" 1t may be mentioned
that the Dakota Confederacy in the olden times
included tribes that We're foreign to the
Dakota tongues; the Cheyennes, or Shians, for
instance, who once lived en-, and left their
name to- the river so called in the north half of
the Territory. The rcvolted Dakota tribe, As
sinniboin though they speak the Sioux Ian
guage, and also call themselves Dakota" arc
not recognized as such by the parent tribe.
They are not comrades" but enemies, as they
conSort with the hereditary enemies of the
Dakota, which are the Algonquin Chippcway
and the Algonquin
The north half of Dakota Territory ought
TO be named "Chippcway," or Ojibway," or
"Aigonguin," which last is the race designa-
tiOn of the 0iibway and of, besides, some 40 or
more cognate tribes of the Atlantic slope speak
ing dialects of the same generic language The
lands of the north half of the Territory really
belonged 10 the 0jibway. The " eternal fitness
of things" would be recognized by putting the
States of Dakota and Ojibway alongside of each
other. Having been at war for centuries, they
would, like the lion and lamb we read of, still
lie alongside of each other centuries after the
respective trivial tribes so named were eXtin-
guished III the oblivion of history.
Pembiua," of the Algonquin tongue, would
De an unHttlnS ana trlnlng SOrG OF name,
meaning merely the "hgh-b bush cranberry"
The little "Mandan" Indians. cognate
Sioux tribo, never had prominence in the north
half; besides, their alleged consequence is de-
rived almost wholly from the fertile imagina-
ti0n Of the painter-dauber Catlin.
If an Indian name is not to be chosen, then
Lincoln" or, better still, "Abe-Lincoln," were
preferable.
But we scarcely expect Congress will act in
this matter with any high degree of sense.
The Wyoming Territorial name illustrates the
feeble fitness of Congress in this regard. That
name was borrowed from the Algonquin-In-
dian designation of little valley in Pennsyi
vania, of which Wilkes Barre is the chief town,
and it signifies 1" Big Flats" Tho Territory on
which this Gertrude Wyoming" euphony
was bestowed is region Of hills mountains
and wild gorges. The "big fats" were the
Congressman who voted to confer on such a
region such an inappropriateness. I. +.