-------------------- shaahnaa' -- creek ----------------------

shaahnaa' -- creek; Ten Mile Creek

Pronunciation:
  Like "SHAHH - nah'" (Listen)

Etymology:
  Shaahnaa' comes from what seems to be a minor and/or sporadic word for creek or stream in Athabascan. There are miscellaneous probable cognates to this word in various languages from Alaska and Canada.

Culture:

  Shaahnaa' is the general word for creek or stream. It is also used as the name of Ten Mile Creek, meaning essentially "The Creek."

  Creeks and streams were an extremely important resource to the Naahneesh people, providing not only water, but also the fish they lived on. The drainages of creeks and streams also defined the territories of most of the different bands. Most winter villages were located along creeks and streams, often at or near the point where a smaller creek or stream flowed into a larger creek or the South Fork of the Eel River.

  The waterways in Naahneesh territory are not reliably navigable, so the Naahneesh did not use canoes, but they did know of them from their neighbors.

Related Languages:

  Lassik: shaahnaa', saahnaa'
  Sinkyone: shaahnaa'
  Hupa: nilin (lit. "(where) it flows")

  Tanaina (Alaska): shehtnu'
  Ingalik (Alaska/Canada): srixna'

-------------------------
Sally Anderson
sally@turtlenodes.com
Cahto Language Home Page: http://www.turtlenodes.com/calath/caindex.html