Inuit Giants

Q: I read that according to Inuit legends, the first people of Nunavut, who lived there before the Inuit, were giants. Do you know whether there is any truth to this legend-- could prehistoric people like the Dorset culture have been giants, and could this be related to Northwest legends of Sasquatch?

A: Well, archaeology is a bit outside our wheelhouse, so I couldn't tell you with any authority how tall the Dorset people were in real life. However, one thing you should keep in mind is that back then, Inuit men were 5'2"-5'4" in height and Inuit women were almost all shorter than five feet. So "giant" may have been a relative term! Ordinary Plains Indian men would probably have looked like giants to the Inuit ancestors.

With that said, the Tuniit (giants) had many other supernatural qualities in Inuit legends. In some stories they could carry a walrus (which weighs more than a ton) or shapeshift into polar bears. So those would definitely not have been things the real-life Dorset people could have done no matter how tall they were! Either the Tuniit were not the Dorset people at all and were indeed mythological wilderness beings like Sasquatch, or else these legends were historical stories about the Dorset civilization which became changed and embellished over time to include supernatural elements.

Hope that is interesting to you, have a good day!

Further reading:

Inuit people
Sasquatch

Gitche Gumee

Q: I would like to know whether Gitche Gumee is a true Ojibwa name and if the popularly accepted translation is accurate.

A:  Thank you for writing. Yes, that is the Ojibwe name for Lake Superior. In the modern Ojibwe spelling system it is spelled Gichigami (pronounced gih-chih-guh-mih) and it literally means "big lake."

Hope that is what you were looking for. Have a good day!

Further reading:
Ojibwe language
Native American names in Longfellow's Hiawatha
Native American lakes   

Blackfoot word for wolf?

Q: Hi, on your Blackfoot vocabulary page you said the Blackfoot word for "wolf" is Omahkapi'si. But on another site I saw it is Makoyi. Which is correct?

A:  They both are correct. Omahkapi'si is the usual word for a wolf. But Makoyi, or Makoyiwa, is another word for Wolf that is often used in legends and traditional stories, or as an element of Blackfoot names. That is why, for example, the Blackfoot name that was given to Chief Poundmaker, Makoyi-koh-kin, is translated as "Wolf Thin Legs."

Hope that is interesting, have a good day!

Further reading:
Blackfoot language
Blackfoot names
Blackfoot Indian tribe   

O's with nasal hooks

Q: I found the Apache word "Ts'iłsǫǫsé" which I would like to know how to pronounce. Using your online guide, I can figure out the "ts" and the "ł" but I still am a little confused by the "ǫǫ." Am I correct in interpreting that as two accented "o's"?

A:  The marks beneath those vowels are nasal hooks. It means they are pronounced nasally, like the "on" at the end of the French word "bon." The fact that it's a double vowel means that the vowel is held longer than the others.

The accent mark above other vowels, like the é in Ts'iłsǫǫsé, denote high tone.

Hope that is what you were looking for. Have a good day!

Further reading:
Apache language
Apache pronunciation
Apache tribe   

Black Hawk

Q: An old Sauk woman told us that Black Hawk's name was mistranslated into English and should really be  He-Who-Walks-In-The-Shadow-Of-The-Hawk or Shadow Hawk. My  question is: how do I properly pronounce his correct name in his language. Names are important and should be spoken correctly. Any help you can give us to properly pronouncing Chief Black-Hawk's name in his own language will be much appreciated and gratefully received.

A:  Black Hawk's name in Sauk was Mahkateewimešikeehkeehkwa. That is pronounced similar to mah-kah-tay-wih-meh-shih-kay-kay-kwuh. 

I'm not really sure what the lady was trying to say about walking in shadows. There's nothing in this name about walking or shadows, but perhaps something was implied by his name that was only known to people of the older generation. Traditional Algonquian names sometimes had clan implications beyond their literal translations. We can tell you that literally, what this name means is "great black sparrowhawk." Mahkateewi means black, meši means big or great, and keehkeehkwa is the word for a sparrowhawk.

Hope that helps, have a good day!

Further reading:
Sauk language
Sac and Fox people
Hawk mythology   

Hopi congratulations

Q: Can you please tell me how to say "Congratulations!" in the Hopi tongue?

A:  Interestingly, our Hopi speakers agree that there is no real translation for "congratulations" in Hopi. It just isn't the sort of thing that is traditionally said. Hopi culture tends to be very modest and community based, so perhaps making an announcement like "congratulations" just would not be done ordinarily. One of our Hopi volunteers suggested "Itam ung kyaptsiyungwa" which means "we have respect for you" or "we really think well of you."

Hope that is close enough for your purposes!

Further reading:
Hopi language
Hopi people   

Names that could be offensive?

Q: Hello. I hate to bother you, but before reading your website, I never realized that some
Native American names could be offensive, so I was wondering if you could clarify what sort of names one shouldn't take for a child. I don't want to accidentally be that guy. Thank you.

A:  Thanks for writing. The most important thing is to avoid the names of historical figures unless you're a direct descendant of theirs. The names of people who have died are considered very sacred cultural property by many tribes, so giving a baby a name like that could indeed be offensive. The names of tribes, like Dakota and Cheyenne, are not necessarily considered offensive as baby names, but they definitely seem to be on the odd side to many Native Americans, because they're the names of nations. It would be like naming babies "Netherlands" and "Mexico." Native American names of animals, plants, stars, and so on are not ordinarily considered offensive and are commonly used as everyday first names, but you still should probably do a little bit of research first-- some animals have negative connotations in some tribes but not in others, for example. You would not want to give a child a name meaning "owl" in the language of a tribe where owls are ill omens of death.

Hope that is the information you were looking for. Have a good night!

Further reading:
Native American names
Native American nations
Native American mythology