Wasi'chu

Wašíču 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 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 the metaphor to describe the newcomers. Wasi'chu 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 wašíču is unknown but some of the northern plains tribes use terms for Europeans that are cognates with wašíču. For example, the Hidatsa word for white people is maší (clearly a cognate with wašíču because Hidatsa m corresponds to w in Lakota). This suggests that wašíču could be a borrowing from another language. A common folk etymology claims that wašíču originates from wašíŋ ičú "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, Wašicu also means the English language. The Lakota word for the English language is Wašíču iyápi.