Culture Quiz: What is the Language Family for Assiniboine?

Chief Wets-It, Assiniboine, Photographer: Frank A. Rinehart, Courtesy of Boston Public Library on Creative Commons Flickr

Chief Wets-It, Assiniboine, Photographer: Frank A. Rinehart, Courtesy of Boston Public Library on Creative Commons Flickr

Assiniboine belongs to which of the following language family?

a) Algonquian
b) Athapaskan
c) Uto-Aztecan
d) Siouan
e) Aleut

The answer is d) Assiniboine is a Siouan language.  The Ojibwa language is a member of the Algonquian language family. The Kaska language belongs to the Athapaskan, Northern Paiute to the widespread Uto-Aztecan family and the Aleut language to the Eskimo-Aleut language family.

This and other language related information you can find in eHRAF World Cultures.   Once logged on to this unique cross-cultural database, click Browse Cultures; then select “by Region” and click the various subregions such as “Plains and Plateau” to browse the various Native North American cultures.  Click Culture Summary to find other information such as history, kinship type, or sociopolitical organization. Send hraf@yale.edu to request a temporary log-in to eHRAF World Cultures.