GLOSSARY OF INDIAN WORDS
English equivalents are in italics
| Ä hä he̱y´ | An exclamation; Ho there! |
| Ä hä hṳts´ | They come against us. |
| Ä kēē´ kä hēē | Took-from-Him; name of a dog. |
| Ä lä lä lä lä´ | Cry of triumph by women; made by curling the tip of the tongue backward and vibrating it against the roof of the mouth. |
| Ä mä hēēt´ sēē kṳ mä | Lies-on-Red-Hill; name of a woman. |
| Ēē´ kṳ pä | Chum. |
| Ēē nä´ | An exclamation. |
| Ēēt sēē pä däh´ pä kēē | Foot moving; name of a game. |
| Ēēt sṳ´ tä | Name of the large tendon of a buffalo’s neck. |
| E̱y | An exclamation. |
| E̱y dēē äh´ kä tä | Name of an Indian. |
| Hau (how) | The Indian salutation. |
| He̱y dä e̱y´ | An exclamation of pleasure. |
| Hwēē | Hasten; an exclamation. |
| Mä hō´ hēē shä | A species of willow. |
| Mä kṳt´ sä tēē | Clan cousin. |
| Mä pēē´ | Meal made by pounding. |
| Mä pṳk´ sä ō kï hĕ | Snake Head-Ornament; a man’s name. |
| Mēē dä´ hēē kä | Gardeners’ songs. |
| Mēē dēē päh´ dēē | Rising water; name of a Hidatsa clan, or band. |
| Näh | Go, come. |
| Nä kä päh´ | Mush. |
| O kēē mēē´ ä | Head-Ornament Woman; a woman’s name. |
| Shēē´ pēē shä | Black. |
| Sŭk´ kēēts (or Sŭkkēē) | Good. |
| Tsä käh´ ka Sŭk´ kēē | Name of Waheenee’s son; from tsakahka, bird, and sukkee, good. |
| Tsïst´ skä | Prairie chicken. |
| Ṳ´ ï | The Hidatsa war whoop. |
| Wä hēē´ nēē | Cowbird, or Buffalo-bird; name of the Indian woman whose story is told in this book. |
| Wē´ä | Woman. |
| Wṳ ṳ ṳ | Imitation of a dog’s bark. |
| Yĭ yĭ yĭ yĭ yäh´ | A war cry of triumph, made with hand vibrated over the mouth or against the throat. |
| Wē´ äh tēē | A woman’s name. |
EXPLANATORY NOTES
Page 9, l. 24: “We had corn a-plenty” The Hidatsas and Mandans were the best agriculturists of the north-plains Indians. Varieties of corn developed by them mature in the semi-arid climate of western North Dakota where our better known eastern strains will not ripen. The varieties include flint, flour, and a kind of sweet corn called maikadishake,[32] or gummy, which the Indians use for parching. Hidatsa seed planted at the United States Agricultural Experiment Station at Bozeman, Montana, has made surprising yields.
[32] mä´ ï kä dï shä kĕ
Page 10, l. 29: “the ghost land.” A Hidatsa Indian believed he had four ghosts. At death, one ghost went to the Ghost village, to live in an earth lodge and hunt buffaloes as on earth; a second remained at the grave until after a time it joined the first in the Ghost village where they became one again. What became of the other two ghosts does not seem to be known.
Page 11, l. 20: “The march was led by the older chiefs.” A Hidatsa chief was a man who by his war deeds, hospitality, and wisdom, came to be recognized as one of the influential men of the tribe. He was not necessarily an officer. When translating into English, Hidatsas usually call the officer elected for any executive duty a leader, as war-party leader, winter-camp leader, leader of the buffalo hunt. It should be remembered that the activities of an Indian tribe are decided in councils; and in these councils the eloquence and wisdom of the chiefs had greatest weight. The Hidatsa word for chief, literally translated, is excellent man, superior man.
Page 13, l. 8: “At this hour fires burned before most of the tepees.” In fall or winter the fire was within the tepee, under the smoke hole.