From the southern Columbia Plateau (fwd)

[Jeffrey Kopp]

>Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 08:50:55 -0700
>From: "Scott E. Tyler" <styler at multicare.com>
>To: 'David Robertson' <drobert at TINCAN.TINCAN.ORG>
>Subject: RE: From the southern Columbia Plateau
>
>Dave,
>Nez Perce themselves say soyapo comes from the word for hat since the first
>Europeons they saw wore hats.  This term goes all the way to Warmsprings
>near Madras, Oregon and is pronounced shoyap which is very similar to shahpo
>or seahpo in CW.
>I suppose being a hat is as flattering as calling a woman a skirt.  Or an
>Indian Siwash.  

I've heard that these days "hat act" is a pejorative for a
country-western musician.

J.