Mandan
/ˈmæn.dən/noun
A member of an Indigenous people historically centered along the upper Missouri River, or their Siouan language.
Did you know?The Mandan traditionally called themselves Nueta, often translated as “our people,” while the English name appears to have reached Europeans through neighboring Indigenous languages and French usage; its exact origin remains debated.
Etymological Timeline
Pre-contact period
Mandan
Nueta
“A traditional self-designation commonly translated as “our people.””
17th–18th Century
Indigenous languages of the Plains
Uncertain source forms
“Neighboring peoples used names for the Mandan that were transmitted orally; the precise source of the later English form is disputed.”
18th Century
French
Mandane / Mandan
“French explorers and traders recorded forms resembling Mandan or Mandane for the people living along the Missouri River.”
1790s
English
Mandan
“English-language explorers and writers adopted the ethnonym for the people and their language.”
Modern English
English
Mandan
“The established name of the Mandan people, their language, and related cultural or historical contexts.”