Talk:Goingsnake massacre

Why "Going Snake"?
The article does not explain the origin of the name "Going Snake" Massacre. If it is unknown what this incident had to do with departing snakes, that should at least be stated explicitly. –Henning Makholm 23:29, 23 November 2007 (UTC)

"Going Snake" is a rough translation of Cherokee. It was the name of a district in the Cherokee portion of Indian Territory. Many Cherokee words have no exact equivalent in English. I am familiar with both languages and translation is difficult. I have seen estimates of anywhere from 275 to several thousand verb tenses alone. I disbelieve the latter claim but agree that Cherokee has many words with no exact equivalent.

It is very much like the difficulty in translating English to French and vice versa. The French Academy has limited the number of neologsms and borrowing from other languages. The entire dictionary may have 100,000 entries compared to some millions of words in the Oxford Dictionary of the English Language. Many English nuances are lost in translation to French. The same is true for Cherokee to English translations and vice versaSorrels49 (talk) 19:17, 3 May 2009 (UTC)

For example: the warrior known as "Dragging Canoe" has a name that in crude translation means something like, "Otter, he drags it". Truly accurate translations even between related languages is difficult. When different linguistic stocks and cultures are involved, the problem becomes more difficult. This is not to say that good translations are impossible but ones that accurately reflect the meaning of the words in the original tongue are at best, difficult.

Traditions
I have read accounts and heard them from people who were only a generation removed from this time that Zeke Proctor actually signed a peace treaty with the United States. I do not know if this is entirely true but Proctor was evidently formidable. Sorrels49 (talk) 19:20, 3 May 2009 (UTC)

Body count
The following statement has been in the article for a long time: “Eleven other Cherokee men, whose names are not known, died within days of the shootout”. I cannot find this fact stated in the article’s references and ELs or in other outside references that I have consulted. Unless it can be sourced, the assertion needs to be deleted and associated text edited. Pinethicket (talk) 18:26, 11 June 2011 (UTC)

Ambush?
At the top of this article it says that the 8 US marshals who were killed died as result of an ambush and yet in the main body its says something to this effect; "without warning, the 8 marshals attacked the courthouse" and the gunfight ensued. Maybe I missed something but if not than theres obviously a problem. Thanks--24.251.238.149 (talk) 05:50, 24 February 2012 (UTC)