When we learn our first language, whatever that be, we learn to make noises and we discover that these noises have wonderful meaning. We don’t give further thought to those meanings, we just know.

The term wakan was applied to different things with Wakantanka (Wah-kanh-tanh-ka), one of our names for the Creator, being the most significant. The phrase sunka wakan (shunh-ka wah-kanh)  came into being with the horse, meaning a wakan dog. Mni wakan was an invented phrase for alcohol. Mni means water. Wakan sica (wah-kanh-shicha) is still another invented phrase, meaning the devil. Mazawakan, maza is metal, the gun. Mazaska ki wakan; white metal or money is wakan. This is something I heard routinely throughout my childhood, but I never pondered it much.

Then one day, as I was getting ready for security work, my grandfather tapped my badge and said “Wakta yo, le wakan” (Be wary, this is wakan). Then all those other wakan terms rattled through my brain. I could finally translate it, from what I knew it to be in Lakota, into English. Wakan meant something that had the power to influence the human being; to enhance or to corrupt! Creator, the devil, the horse, alcohol, the gun, and of course, authority. What next?

Wigli  is oil. Wigli wakan?

Niyan means to breathe. Wa is a nominalizer that when attached to a verb, transforms it into a noun. Sometimes wo is used for the same purpose. In English, an s is attached to the end of nouns to indicate the plural. In Lakota, instead of pluralizing the noun(s) in the sentence, we attach pi to the verb. When Lakota names were translated to English, the speech habits were sometimes carried over and so, you see names like “Two Crow” or “Two Eagle”.  Quick lession.

So waniyanpi means those that breathe. We use this term to refer to animals. It may have meant all breathers, including humans and plants, but I’m not that old so I couldn’t say for certain. We also use another term, wamakaskan to talk about animals and that translates as those that move on the Earth.

We have many stories about our relationships with animals and it seems that we didn’t see them as lesser beings, but as relatives; those with whom we must coexist in a good way. I base my humble opinion on those old stories and the prayers that I still hear. We are not the center of the universe, but a part of it.

I am privileged to know a very special lady, a storyteller that has greatly influenced my way of thinking. Mary Louise Defender, has been sharing her cultural wisdom and I would like to further share a bit of her information that I still cling to. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the exact Lakota word with you, but I can share the concept. She told us that in the old days, the hunters would not chase the animals the way that hunters do now. They made great effort to take the animal in such a way that it did not have fear adrenalin coursing through its body. Chasing them made the meat taste bad and we would be ingesting fear.

These bits of cultural wisdom cause shadows across my consciousness when I think of hog farms, chicken farms, and feedlots. What are we doing to other living beings? What are we eating? What are the consequences for humanity for this extreme carelessness?