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.