the identity of WAK-SAH, One That Cuts Off

[Deleted]

I noticed an entry for WAK-SAH, One That Cuts Off (an Oglála who is listed as having signed the 1868 treaty) in the winter count section of “Lakota Society” by James Riley Walker. The winter count listing is for 1822. No Ears has, “Waškúla hú špáŋ.” This is translated as “Cuts Off froze his leg.” Iron Crow has, “Waškúda hú špáŋ waníyetu.” This is translated as “Cuts Off froze his leg during the winter.” Wissler translated, “Whittling Stick burns his feet.” Špáŋ is literally “burned,” but the implication is that the burn is caused by the cold. I parse Waškúla as, wa- (sawing) + -škú (it is taken off) + -la (similarity). The “Tiyospaye Surname Index” does not reference a male Cuts Off or any Whittling Stick, and the only search engine result for both names is the Walker book cited. Does anyone have any information relevant to the identity of this individual? The NLD gives, “Wažípa (VT) to whittle something with a knife.” And then several different types of stick including: čhaŋkápȟesto, čhaŋsákala, čhaŋwápaha, and húŋpȟe.

[kingsleybray]

The Waskula character is mentioned in many winter counts under 1822. Several identify him as a white trader with a habit of, yup, whittling.

[Deleted]

Thanks for the input. Contemplating your answer, the word wakpámni comes to mind. An activity associated with someone who “cuts off” a segment of something. But that would come later under the reservation distribution system relating perhaps to the slaughter of beef cattle where a person might cut off a portion for each person. But why would a wašíču trader be listed as Oglála on a treaty? To my mind that idea is, as Rooster Cogburn might have put it, as “thin” and difficult to accept. The only other explanation that comes to mind is that this individual was either a captive or perhaps a “John Dunbar” Dances-with-Wolves prototype, an iglúlakȟota who voluntarily transformed himself into being Lakȟóta. Perhaps the statement, Lakȟótapi kiŋ wičhótȟawačhiŋ ektá yeló. “Being Lakota is a matter of mind.” applies in this case. Could this process be applied to this Cuts Off? The NLD suggests that iglúlakȟota are mythical, but why else would Oglála treaty signers include his mark among the Oglála if he was a wašíču trader?

[kingsleybray]

I don't think for one minute that Waskula and "Wa-ksah" were the same person.

The name Waskula is from the verb wasku -- I can't do the diacritics on my Flintstones keyboard, but that's pronounced with an 'sh-' sound, 'washku'. Buechel (1970 ed. of his Dictionary, p. 552) translates it as "to cut off e.g. corn from the cob." The word clearly contains the idea of whittling, which is the sense of the name applied to the trader in the winter counts. There's a bunch of related words and concepts like waskita, "to make notches, to cut across, gash" (same page).

On p. 533 of the 1970 Buechel Dictionary we get the word waksa, which is also the name of the headman who signed the 1868 treaty. The root of this word is the term -ksa which means separated, divided. Buechel translates waksa as "To cut off e.g. a stick with a knife or a saw; to separate anything by cutting crosswise."

Lakota is full of multiple terms for things broken off, separated. The band names Kiyuksa, Kiyaksa are another example. I'll try to do a little digging. I wouldn't be surprised if the headman Waksa was from that Oglala band.

[Deleted]

Sure, ok, I can buy your explanation. It seems reasonable. I originally had waksa parsed on my paper before I read the entry in Walker's book. But that gets me no closer to the identity of the person named WAK-SAH, One That Cuts Off. If he was a "headman" as you suggest (and I do not dispute that), who was he? And why is there no mention of him in the literature?

[Deleted]

Without benefit of information to the contrary, I am going to assume that the person named WAK-SAH, One That Cuts Off, was perhaps a son or nephew of Smoke (perhaps a sister's son) and was rubbed out soon after the treaty signing in 1868. I think writers call that "poetic license" and, lacking any other information, I do believe I will make up "facts" to fit my story line. If those early grammarians could make up words that did not previously exist in the Lakota language, I do believe that I can take license to make up a few harmless pieces of "truthiness" to fit my story.