A
Shawnee word thought to mean "White Rump" and commonly used by pseudo-hip white folks like me as an alternate name for an Elk. However, since the Shawnee were from the eastern part of the country and the elk is found in the western part, a better translation for the word Wapiti is "What's That?", and those that want to be hip should use the
Blackfoot word "
Ponoka" (meaning "Elk"), since the Blackfoot tribe actually encountered the elk frequently in their daily lives.
'"We
prefer the word 'Wapiti' to the word 'Elk' because it demonstrates that we are of a
superior way of
thinking. What's what?"
