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Post by kingsleybray on Apr 7, 2014 7:29:12 GMT -5
I have found on Google Books an 18th century French dictionary or encyclopedia, DICTIONNAIRE UNIVERSEL DE LA FRANCE, ANCIENNE ET MODERNE, ET DE LA NOUVELLE FRANCE, by Pere Sangrain, J. Sangrain, et Pierre Prault (Paris, 1726), which includes new details from the explorations of the trader Pierre-Charles Le Sueur. This important French observer was active in the Dakota or Sioux country on the upper Mississippi valley from 1683-1695, and again in 1700-1701. In collaboration with French cartographers Franquelin, in 1697, and G. De L'Isle, in 1702, he made some important maps which plotted over twenty tribal divisions in modern Minnesota. The dictionary contains data not previously known to me. Here, in my rough-and-ready translation, is what the Dictionnaire has to say about the Ouiatspouitons. Doane Robinson and George Hyde considered that this village corresponds to the Oglala of the later historic era.
OUIATSPOUITONS Nation du foyer [Nation of the fireplace], one of those of the Sioux of the East, in the environs of the eastern banks of the Mississippi. One cannot better fix its location because it wanders wherever the hunt or the fishing call it. It is one of the discoveries of M. le Sueur.
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Post by kingsleybray on Apr 7, 2014 7:49:08 GMT -5
On the Franquelin map of 1697, Le Sueur marked the Ouiatspouiton with two tipi symbols on the east side of the Mississippi, one on either side of an eastern tributary of the Mississippi. The tributary takes its source just to the west of Mille Lacs Lake, and probably corresponds to the modern Platte river, which joins the Mississippi near modern Royalton, MN. The village ranged widely as the Dictionnaire entry makes clear. The main axis of their yearly cycle at the period 1683-95 must have been up and down the Mississippi, travelling by canoe. The Sioux of the East had semi-permanent settlements to which they returned after the summer buffalo hunt in time for the wild rice harvest. To judge by the map evidence the settlements of the Ouiatspouitons were probably along the Platte, which features some very productive ricing lakes along its course. The southern end of the annual axis was probably in the St. Croix river-Lake Pepin district, immediately south of the modern Twin Cities. In 1686-95 the French built three different trading posts in that stretch of the Mississippi valley.
Le Sueur returned to the Sioux country in 1700-01. Upon his return to France in 1702 he told G. De L'Isle that the Ouiatspouitons, plus three other villages he had previously considered Sioux of the East, had moved permanently west of the Mississippi, and were to be considered Sioux of the West. He also gave a new gloss of the village name. Instead of Nation of the fireplace, he called it the Nation dispersed in several small bands.
The other three villages he recorded as having moved west of the Mississippi were: (a) the Ouaepeton, or Wahpetons; (b) the Tangapsinton, their name equivalent to the Tanka-psi-tuwanna (Little Ballground village), classified as a band of the Wahpeton in the 19th c.; and (c) the Psincaton. It is noteworthy that on the Franquelin 1697 map all four of these villages lived in contiguous districts, around the western and northwestern end of Mille Lacs Lake. They seem to have moved together in response to Le Sueur's establishment of Ft L'Huillier, during fall-winter 1700-01.
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Post by kingsleybray on Apr 7, 2014 8:18:54 GMT -5
Like Hyde and Robinson, I incline to believe that this village was ancestral to the historic Oglala. However, it should be pointed out that Ray DeMallie, the premier anthropological authority on the Sioux, has recently expressed a negative opinion on the Ouiatspouiton:Oglala equation.
One of the reasons I still subscribe to the equation, explained in full in my forthcoming study, is that there are also possible continuities between the Psincaton village and the Shiyo band of the post-1750 era. This was a constituent band of the Oglala tribe in the 1750-1830 timeframe, and the Psincaton had been immediate neighbours of Ouiatspouiton prior to 1700. Le Sueur considered the Psincaton the "northernmost Nation of the Sioux of the East, of which we have knowledge." He mapped the Psincaton on the east side of the Mississippi directly opposite the confluence with the Crow Wing river. On the west bank were located the Chaienaton, which again ethnologist John H. Moore has connected with the historic Shiyo. Ouiatspouiton and Psincaton moved across the Mississippi at the same time, winter 1700-01.
Two interesting points: Le Sueur mentions that "the fishing" (la peche), as well as "the hunt" as being critical economic activities of the Ouiatspouitons. Secondly, like the Yanktons, the Ouiatspouitons are specified as being discovered by Le Sueur personally - he had established French diplomatic relations with the village.
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Post by hreinn on Apr 7, 2014 9:02:51 GMT -5
Kingsley, great finding and thanks for sharing.  Just a short response. It seems to me that "Ouaepeton" is refering to Oyuhpe but not Wahpetons. Because all the 3 villiage names ends with -ton and we therefore only have to look at what is written before -ton. (Ouaepeton, Tangapsinton and Psincaton) I would bet on that Tanga-psinton is referring to something big or large, because of the Tanga or Tanka part. Hreinn |
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Post by kingsleybray on Apr 7, 2014 9:11:29 GMT -5
Le Sueur gave two different meanings for Tangapsinton - Nation of the big wild rice; and Nation of lacrosse (i.e. the game lacrosse). The latter translation clearly lines it up with the Tankapsituwanna band of the Wahpeton. So that makes me think that LeSueur's Ouaepeton (trans. as Nation of the leaf) really corresponds to Wahpeton.
On the Oyuhpe: my study makes me think that the Oyuhpe split off from the ancestral Oglala a generation or so AFTER Le Sueur's day. My reading is that they emerged out of intermarriage between the ancestral Oglala and the Broken Arrow (ancestral Two Kettle) band.
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Post by hreinn on Apr 7, 2014 9:42:48 GMT -5
OK. No argue on my part. But my original reading into the "independancy" of Oyuhpe from Oglala Proper. Came from reading Nicolett's list from 1839. Where the Oyuhpe seems to come from Northern Yankton but many/most of the Oglala Proper came from Southern Yankton. So both had Yankton origin, but had a long history of different location East of Missouri. And the same story was on West of Missouri. "Related" and sharing the same origin and customs, but living on different location. Different ways to look at things. Hreinn |
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Post by kingsleybray on Apr 7, 2014 9:52:41 GMT -5
Nicollet gives a list in 1839 of three bands of the Yankton - Taku ibotto, "those who hit themselves with something"; Amdowapuskiya, "those who dry their booty on their shoulders"; and the Oyurhpe wanitcha, "those who never rest,; this applies to their marches when they are moving camp." This is interesting, but I confess to being a bit mystified by it.  The Amdowapuskiya is otherwise unreported, but the name crops up as that of a Sisseton band in the list collected by Rev. Ashley. And Oyurhpe wanitcha - also doesn't crop up again. So I don't know what to think of this band - and in particular if there is, or how there is, any connection with the Oglala Oyuhpe. Notice that this Yankton group are emphasised as those who don't oyuhpe/rest, not those who do!!  All thoughts welcome! |
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Post by hreinn on Apr 7, 2014 18:46:45 GMT -5
My memory failed.
Oyurhpe wanitcha were Southern Yankton but not Northern Yankton as I wrote.
According to Nicollet in 1839, "the Yankton of the South" were divided into 3 bands:
1. Oyurhpe wanitcha [today we write it as Oyuhpe]
2. Taku ibotto
3. Amdowapuskia
And "the Yankton of the North" were divided into 4 bands:
1. Wazikute = those who shoot at the pines
2. Onkpati = those who camp at the end of the camp [today we write it as Hunkpatila]
3. Kiuksa = the breakers [today we write as Kiyuksa]
4. Phabaksa = the cutters of heads
Hreinn
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Post by hreinn on Apr 7, 2014 18:47:44 GMT -5
Some examples of words which end with -ton. The -ton ending in the names of different parts of the Lakota/Dakota nation seems to be coming from the French writings. It is not from the Lakota/Dakota language, at least not directly, only indirectly at best. As can be seen in the names below, where their actual Lakota/Dakota version is in parenthesis. 1. Teton (Thíthuŋwaŋ / Thí-thuŋwaŋ) 2. Yankton (Iháŋkthuŋwaŋ / Iháŋk-thuŋwaŋ) 3. Sisseton (Sisíthuŋwaŋ / Sisí-thuŋwaŋ) 4. Wahpeton (Waȟpéthuŋwaŋ / Waȟpé-thuŋwaŋ) 5. Mdewakanton (Mdewákhaŋthuŋwaŋ / Mdewákhaŋ-thuŋwaŋ) as well as from Le Sueur: 6. Ouaepeton 7. Tangapsinton 8. Psincaton So if we take out the -ton ending of the word Ouaepeton. It becomes Ouaepe, which is VERY close to Oyuhpe. I would give Le Sueur the grade 9 out 10 for his work on writing the name of Oyhpe. Hreinn |
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Post by kingsleybray on Apr 8, 2014 1:44:12 GMT -5
The suffix -ton used by Le Sueur is just a contraction of the Dakota word -tunwan, signifying a village or major tribal division.So it is an authentic Dakota word.
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Post by carlo on Apr 8, 2014 4:06:00 GMT -5
Hreinn, that's an interesting take on Ouaepeton and Oyuhpe.
However, if you read Ouaepeton as the French would do it, you may end up with a different conclusion. The "OU" is pronounced more as a "W" in French (like OUEST = WEST), and not as an "O" (which it clearly should be in Oyuhpe). Could it be that Le Sueur simply mentioned the Wahpeton, or as he would pronounce it "way-peton"?
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Post by hreinn on Apr 8, 2014 8:23:36 GMT -5
OK. Yes, in this case a French pronunciation has more weight than written spelling. Le Sueur was therefore most likely referring to Wahpeton, but not Oyuhpe. Why is life never simple ? Hreinn |
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Post by carlo on Apr 8, 2014 9:12:32 GMT -5
Hahaha, if we wanted simple we wouldn't be interested in this stuff, would we?
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Post by hreinn on Apr 8, 2014 9:54:50 GMT -5
Yes, perhaps so. Although for my taste, things might be more simpler. |
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Post by hreinn on Apr 12, 2014 3:05:01 GMT -5
Notice that this Yankton group are emphasised as those who don't oyuhpe/rest, not those who do!! This could be 1 of 2 examples where the budding off group, takes a name which has a reference to the name of the parent group. But with an opposite meaning. Where the Dakota "Oyurhpe wanitcha" = those who never rest on their march when moving camp. And the Lakota Oyuhpe = those who rest Another example would be Skokpa and Sans Arc. Where Skokpa = concave or arched, i.e. to be bent like a bow. And Sans Arc = without bows or no bows or not bows. Such paring of names would indicate a friendly, rather than unfriendly budding. Because if budding was due to some conflicts, then it is likely that the budding-off group would like to distance itself from the parent group. And would therefore most likely choose a name which has no reference or resemblance to the parent group. An example of budding due to conflicts would be Two Kettle budding off from Mnikhówozu (those who plant near water). Where there is no direct or indirect reference to the name of the parent group. Do we have a third example of a name pairing of related groups ? Hreinn |
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The Amdowapuskiya is otherwise unreported, but the name crops up as that of a Sisseton band in the list collected by Rev. Ashley. And Oyurhpe wanitcha - also doesn't crop up again. So I don't know what to think of this band - and in particular if there is, or how there is, any connection with the Oglala Oyuhpe. Notice that this Yankton group are emphasised as those who don't oyuhpe/rest, not those who do!! 
