Jiwere is also known as Chiwere, Iowa-Otoe, Otoe-Missouria, Jiwere-Nut’achi, or Baxoje. Iowa, Otoe and Missouria are generally considered dialects of the Jiwere language, which is a member of the Siouan-Catawban language family. However, the Iowa and Otoe-Missouria Tribes are distinct political entities. Jiwere’s closest linguistic relative is Ho-Chunk. More distantly related languages include the Dhegiha languages and the Dakotan languages. The Iowa, or Ioway, were first encountered in Iowa, while the Otoe were first encountered in Nebraska and Iowa. The Missouria joined the Otoe at the end of the 18th century.
Selected Language Information
Daily, Truman. 1970. Oto Words: 12p. Unpublished manuscript for language class study.
Daily, Truman and Jill D. Hopkins 1992. Native American Church Songs of the Otoe-Missouria and Ioway. Proceedings of the 1992 Mid-American Linguistics Conference and Conference on Siouan – Caddoan Languages, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO.
Good Tracks, Jimm G. 1972. Pagranaha Wawagaxe: A First Book, An Introduction to the Iowa-Otoe Indian language. Topeka, KS, Indian Center of Topeka.
Good Tracks, Jimm G. 1992. Baxoje-Jiwere-Nyut’aji- Ma’unke: Iowa-Otoe-Missouria language. Boulder, CO: Center for the Study of the Languages of the Plains and Southwest, Department of Linguistics, University of Colorado.
Hamilton, R. W. 1854. Remarks on the Iowa Language. Information Respecting the History, Conditions & Prospects of Indian Tribes of the U.S. H.R. Schoolcraft: Philadelphia. 4: 397-406.
Whitman, William. 1947. Descriptive Grammar of Ioway-Otoe. International Journal of American Linguistics Vol. 13: 233-48.
Sample Archival Materials in the Native American Languages Collection
Links
Otoe-Missouria Language Program
Ioway, Otoe-Missouria Language Website
Catalogue of Endangered Languages