Dictionary

poundmaker en · NOUN

Etymology

From pound (“animal pound”) + maker. From translation of the Plains Amerind terms.

Meanings

1. (Canada, US, qualifier:Amerind culture) One who makes buffalo pounds.
   • Specialists known as poundmakers supervised the construction of a pound and possessed spiritual powers that enabled them to "call a herd" in for the kill. 1994, Katherine Pettipas, Severing the Ties That Bind: Government Repression of Indigenous Religious Ceremonies on the Prairies:
   • A number of poundmakers have entered tribal history; their names are known and their deeds recounted. Such poundmakers include Loud Voice of the Plains Cree (Skinner 1914:525), and White Raven of the Assiniboin (Weekes 1948:16). 1973, Thomas F. Kehoe, The Gull Lake Site: A Prehistoric Bison Drive Site in Southwestern Saskatchewan:
   • The best poundmakers in the band have done their work. 2016, Janet Louise Swoboda Lunn, The Story of Canada:

Forms

Deriveds

Poundmaker

Translations (1)

crk pitikwahanapiwiyin (Translations)