Does Mackuse or Macoose translate into little black bear in any of the many American Indian languages?

Answer 1

A single word like that is unlikely to translate into "little black bear" in English, simply because "little" and "black" would have to be expressed as separate concepts in most native languages.

The Ojibwe term makwa means simply "bear"; to say "black bear" is two words - makadewi-makwa. To make this a "little black bear" adds a diminutive ending (-oons): makadewi-makoons.

So makoons on its own simply means a bear cub, which might be brown, black or any other colour.