Wasi'chu

Wašíču is the Lakota and Dakota word for people of Western European descent.[1] It expresses the indigenous population's perception of the non-natives' relationship with the land and the indigenous population. Typically it refers to white people[2] but does not specifically mention skin color or race.[3]

Origins

A common folk etymology claims that wašíču originates from wašíŋ ičú "he takes fat"[2] and this is used by natives in puns to refer to non-Natives who collectively rob tribes of their resources.[1]

In Dakota, Wašicu also means the English language.[4]

See also

References
  1. Setting the Record Straight About Native Languages: Wasicu. Native Languages of the Americas. (retrieved 23 January 2011)
  2. Simcikova, 88
  3. Staub 62
  4. LaFontaine and McKay, 145
  • LaFontaine, Harlan and Neil McKay. 550 Dakota Verbs. Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2005. ISBN 978-0-87351-524-5.
  • Simcikova, Karla. To live fully, here and now: the healing vision in the works of Alice Walker. Lexington Books, 2006. ISBN 978-0-7391-1160-4.
  • Staub, Michael E. Voices of Persuasion: Politics of Representation in 1930s America. Cambridge, UK: University of Cambridge Press, 1994. ISBN 0-521-45390-9.
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