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Re: Is Dakota an Offensive name?
I'm pretty skeptical of this site, mostly because it gives no tribal affiliation for the names it suggests. As you say, and as we all know, there is no one "Native American language" and any half-serious researcher on Native American names would have pointed this out in their article, and would have noted which language the listed names are from.I also raised my eyebrows at this generalization: " ... Native Americans find this trend offensive ..."While it's true that many Native Americans find it offensive to one degree or other when non-Native Americans use such names, especially when they claim the name means something it doesn't, or clearly do not know the significance of the name, to say that we ALL find the trend offensive is a big overstatement. Names like Dakota and Cheyenne are popular across the board, and I can attest from personal experience that Indians (many of us prefer that term) do use those names, even when they don't belong to those particular tribes.Also, Agwe is "native American" for water? Which language? Which tribe? And how come it's so very close to the Spanish agua?
I think, therefore I judge.
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Ha, yeah I realized after I posted it that it wasn't the best resource for names. But I stand by the explanation of why Dakota and Cheyenne might not be the best names to use, and advice to go about researching a name that fits your particular culture if you feel so inclined to honor it.I do think most white Americans who like Dakota just like the sound of it, but look deeper for an excuse to justify it.

This message was edited 8/23/2015, 7:56 AM

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those are also ...Place names, and place names in general, and especially western ones, like Sierra, Dakota, Montana, Cheyenne and the like are pretty popular.
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