Asmallbitofanxiety t1_iue0m39 wrote on October 30, 2022 at 4:51 PM

Reply to comment by kafka123 in TIL that when the French first arrived in North America they met the Ojibwe Indians who introduced them to other tribes but used nasty names. The Lakota/Dakota people were called "Nadowessiwag," which became Nadouessioux in French, then Sioux in English. It means "little snake." by marmorset

>It doesn't have to be to be an insult, though.

It doesn't HAVE to be but I'd bet you anything it was penis related

>"That group is a bunch of f**king snakes".

I'm no expert but I am pretty sure that usage of snake is a distinctly biblical/Judeo-Christian/European connotation that would not be part of Native American parlance prior to colonization

Snakes and snake imagery are often seen in a revered context in Mayan, Aztec, and other ancient Native American cultural heritages

kafka123 t1_iuekynl wrote on October 30, 2022 at 7:04 PM

I guess there would be less reason to think that snakes were untrustworthy, but there would still be literal snakes around, and that's not necessarily a good thing, even in other cultures where snakes might be seen in revered contexts sometimes.