Wa?í?u is the Lakota and Dakota word for people of European descent. It expresses the native population's perception of the non-natives' relationship with the land and the native population. The word means "takes the fat", or "greedy person". Typically it refers to white people, but does not specifically mention skin color or race. The term "black wasichu" has been historically used to describe a person of African descent, and a Native American who adopted non-native ways could "make himself over into a wasichu".
The etymology of wa?í?u is unknown but some of the northern plains tribes use terms for Europeans that are cognates with wa?í?u. For example, the Hidatsa word for white people is ma?í (clearly a cognate with wa?í?u because Hidatsa m corresponds to w in Lakota). This suggests that wa?í?u could be a borrowing from another language. A common folk etymology claims that wa?í?u originates from wa?í? i?ú "he takes fat" and this is used by natives in puns to refer to non-Natives who collectively rob tribes of their resources.
In Dakota, Wa?icu also means the English language. The Lakota word for the English language is Wa?í?u iyápi.
Video Wasi'chu
In popular culture
"Wasichu" is a fifth-season episode of the television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent, about a lobbyist and Indian gambling.
Maps Wasi'chu
See also
- Cracker
- White People
Notes
References
- 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.
- Ullrich, Jan. Lakota Grammar Handbook, Lakota Language Consortium, 2016. (ISBN 978-1-941461-11-2)
- Ullrich, Jan. New Lakota Dictionary, Lakota Language Consortium, 2018. (ISBN 0-9761082-9-1)
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