Jessica, you wrote asking for the Sioux name for the Black Footed Ferret. There are three dialects in this language: the Teton, the Yankton, and the Santee. Words vary slightly (consonant clusters) from one dialect to another. I'll give you the words from the Teton Sioux (Lakota). The Lakota call the Blackfooted Ferret: Itopta Sapa. This is a shorthand way of saying Ite Opta Sapa, which means "Black (stripe) Across the Face. The ferret is sacred (wakan) because it is so hard to kill. It is believed that anyone who kills a ferret will soon die himself. That is why it's "bad luck" to kill one. To pronounce the name, you would say "eetoptah shahpah" or in the long version, "eetay optah shahpah." To compare with the Blackfoot, the Blackfoot name for the Black Footed Ferret is: Omachk Apao, which means "Big Weasel." (The ermine or winter weasel is called: Apao). Related Words in Lakota (the capatalized N's are nasalized, not pronounced): Weasel: ItuNkasaN or ItuNkasaNla Mink: IkusaN or IkusaNla Otter: PtaN or (the sacred name) HepaN Related Words in Blackfoot: Summer (Brown) Weasel: Otao Mink: Soyekaye ("Water on its Back") Otter: Emonissi (Referring to how it glides around & is hard to approach on land) There is an interesting article by John Ewers in the Plains Anthropologist (vol 22, #78, 1977) which discusses the use of weasel skins and the symbolism of weasels on the Plains: "Notes on the Weasel in Historic Plains Indian Culture". You can probably find this at your closest university library. Nothing about the Black Footed Ferret, but you might find it interesting anyway. Good Luck on your paper! Isabel Two [Posted in FML issue 1724]