Wasi'Chu El genocidio de los primeros norteamericanos

by Bruce Elliott Johansen

The first people who lived on the northern plains of what today is the U.S. called themselves 'Lakota', meaning 'the people,' a word which provides the semantic basis for Dakota. The first European people to meet the Lakota called them 'Sioux,' a contraction of 'Nadowessioux,' a now-archaic French-Canadian word meaning 'snake,' or enemy.

The Lakota also used a metaphor to describe the newcomers. It was 'Wasi'chu', which means 'takes the fat,' or 'greedy person.' Within the modern Indian movement, "wasi'chu' has come to mean those corporations and individuals, with their governmental accomplices, which continue to covet Indian lives, land, and resources for private profit. 'Wasi'chu' does not describe a race; it describes a state of mind.

This book is about resistance to that state of mind and to the economic system that rewards it.

271 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1979

Reviews

[nothinghereanymore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good summary of material I covered in college. I've heard from a Lakota speaker that his definition of wasi'chu is not exactly correct, but the use he puts the term to is still relevant.