Appendix 3
Lakota Words in the Text
John G. Neihardt spelled Lakota words as he heard them, attempting to use the sounds of English to convey the rhythm of Indian speech. Some of his translations of those terms into English were effective and evocative of deeper meanings, but they did not always get across the literal meanings of the words. He also created plurals of Lakota words as though they were English, by adding s. This, of course, does not reflect the grammar of Lakota. For clarification, the following list gives modern linguistic transcriptions of the Lakota words in Black Elk Speaks, with literal translations.
| aguiapa: | | 'bread' (literally, 'caused to brown') |
| Black Kettles (note 1, chapter 5): | confusion of Black Feet and Two Kettles | |
| Black Feet: | Sihásapa 'Blackfeet' (one of the seven Lakota tribes) | |
| Blue Clouds: | 'Arapaho Indians' | |
| Brules: | | 'Burned Thighs' (one of the seven Lakota tribes) |
| chacun sha sha: | | 'kinnikinick' (the inner bark of red willow, used as an additive to tobacco for smoking) |
| chahumpi ska: | | 'sugar' (literally, 'white tree sap') |
| Hetchetu aloh!: | | 'So it is!' |
| Hey-hey!: | Hé hé! | 'Look here!' (an interjection, used in prayer and ritual to call the attention of spirit beings) |
| heyoka: | heyókha | 'contrary; sacred clown' |
| Hoka hey!: | Hókhahé | 'Onward!' (a rallying cry, used to encourage others, as in battle) |
| Hunkpapa: |  | 'Head of the Camp Circle' (one of the seven Lakota tribes) |
| Hya-a-a-a!: | Hiyé! | 'Thanks!' (an exclamation, used ritually) |
| Inkpaduta: |  | 'Red Tip' (name of a Santee Dakota chief) |
| Lakota: | Lakhóta 'Teton Sioux' (the western division of the Sioux) | |
| Minneconjou: |  | 'Planters by Water' (one of the seven Lakota tribes) |
| O-ona-gazhee: |  | 'refuge' (called "The Stronghold" in English; Cuny Table, in the badlands north of Pine Ridge, where the Ghost Dancers took refuge after the Wounded Knee Massacre) |
| Ogalala: | Oglála 'Scatter One's Own' (one of the seven Lakota tribes) | |
| paezhuta sapa: |  | 'coffee' (literally, 'black medicine') |
| Pahuska: |  | 'Long Hair' (a personal name used both for Maj. Gen. George A. Custer and for William [Buffalo Bill] Cody) |
| papa: | pápa | 'dried meat' |
| Red Cloud's Agency, Red Cloud Agency: | Red Cloud Agency, later renamed Pine Ridge Agency, home of the Oglala; also called owákpamni 'Indian agency' (literally, 'place of distribution'; Neihardt called it "the Place Where Everything Is Disputed") | |
| Sans Arcs: |  | 'Without Bows' (one of the seven Lakota tribes) |
| sheo: |  | 'prairie chicken' |
| Shyela: |  | 'Cheyenne Indians' |
| Two Kettles: |  | 'Two Boilings' (one of the seven Teton tribes) |
| Un-hee!: |  | (an interjection expressing surprise) |
| Wachpanne: |  | 'Poor' (a personal name) |
| waga chun: |  | 'cottonwood' |
| Wakon Tonka: |  | 'Great Spirit, God' |
| Wanekia: | Waníkhiya 'Savior' (literally, 'One Who Makes Live', a personal name used for Wovoka and for Jesus) | |
| Wasichu: |  | 'white people'; also, 'something holy, incomprehensible' |
| Watanye: |  | 'Bait' (a personal name) |
| wichasha wakon: |  | 'holy man' |
| Yanktonais: |  | 'Little End Village' (one of the three divisions of the Sioux) |
| Ye-a-a!: | Hiyá! | 'No!' |
| Yuhoo!: | Yuhú! | (an interjection, apparently expressing triumph) |
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