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Lotharofthepotatoppl t1_iu797im wrote

Reply to comment by rforall 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

Something similar happened regarding the Ho-Chunk. The term Winnebago was used by another tribe and as I recall implies they live in a smelly swamp.

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Jebediah_Johnson t1_iu7h0fc wrote

The water coming from lake Winnebago does smell like a swamp. The tap water in Fond du Lac was vile.

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spicyfishtacos t1_iu7vkp8 wrote

Fond du Lac means "bottom of the lake" in French. Not super appealing either.

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marmorset OP t1_iu7q4li wrote

Yes, Winnebago translates as "person of dirty water."

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djb25 t1_iu8uiqr wrote

Brand name on point, anyway.

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ZelnormWow t1_iu94ut5 wrote

Can confirm. Source: Parents owned a Winnebago, lived in it for a year.

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dasunt t1_iudlkcq wrote

Reminds me of a trip I took recently that we through a place named Grand Marais.

The name translates to "big swamp".

Sounds much better in French!

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