According to legend, the Assiniboines were members of the Dakota, or Yanktonai Sioux, who dwelt in the western forest lands of Minnesota,possibly at Lake Traverse.The name derives from a method used in preparing food- a pit was lined with a buffalo hide near a fire that was used to heat the rocks. As the rocks became heated, they were placed in to the pit, lined with the buffalo hide, filled with water,in preparation for cooking the food. This ingenious method brought the water to boil, thus cooking the food.

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Stoney (known to its own speakers as Nakoda or Nakota) is a Siouan language of the Northern Plains. A second language, Assiniboine ,is also known as Nakota and is closely related to Stoney, but people speaking the languages cannot understand each other well, so despite their similarities, most linguists consider them separate languages,like French and Spanish.