Kamloops Indian Church
A nice news piece, which may clarify history as locally understood from English-language records:
[left column:]
Iaka ukuk Kamlups chi styuil haws[.]
This is Kamloops’s new church.
Kopa Oktobir < 20>, < 1900>,
On October 20, 1900,
Kamlups tilikom mamuk kakshit klaska
the Kamloops [Aboriginal] people knocked down their
ankati styuil haws, pi kopa
old-time church, and onDisimbir < 20>, mokst mun kimta,
December 20, two months later,klaska kopit ukuk chi styuil=
they finished this new prayer=haws.
house.Tlun Sondi Kamlups tilikom
For three weeks the Kamloops peopleskukum mamuk kopa ukuk
worked hard on thisstyuil haws: iht son
church: one dayilip ayu kopa taham=
there were more than six-tatilam tilikom
ty peoplemamuk kanamokst
working togetherkopa ukuk styuil
on this prayerhaws.
house.Kopa tlun Sondi
In three weeks
iaka kopit kopa
it was completed on
klahani.
the outside.Iawa, ayu tilikom klatwa mamuk
Then, a lot of the people wentmawich, pi iht iht mitlait kopa
hunting, but several stayed withstyuil haws.
the church.Ol man Bob pi Piir Pio* klaska
Old man Bob and Pierre Pio (?)ilip skukum kopa kanawi: kopit pus
were the most determined: only whenstyuil haws iaka kopit kopa insaid
the church was finished on the insidepi klaska kopit mamuk.
did they stop working.[right column:]
Kopa Disimbir < 20>, iaka drit kopit
On December 20, it was quite done,ukuk styuil haws, pi kopa Disimbir
this church, and on December< 23>, iaka blist.
23, it was blessed.Kopa Istir Sondi < 1901> iaka
On Easter Sunday 1901 itkopit pint kopa klahani, pi taham
was done being painted on the outside, and sixSondi kimta klaska mamuk pint
weeks later they paintediaka kopa insaid.
it on the inside.Kamlups tilikom piii < 1, 500>
The Kamloops people paid 1,500tala pus mamuk ukuk styuil
dollars to build this prayerhaws. Tikop man wawa
house. The white men saypus iaka ilip aias makuk
it must be worth morekopa < 3, 000> tala.
than 3,000 dollars.Tilikom klaska
The peoplemamuk, kakwa
worked [on it], [and]chikmin wiht
ukuk.
that is like money too.—
Recognize this from the drawing? —
Compare what the above firsthand report by Father Le Jeune (who personally designed this and several more ‘Indian churches’) says with the dates shown below.
The ankati styuil haws, ‘old-time church’ of St. Joseph’s at Kamloops Indian Reserve, was about 30 years old when demolished. But the still-existing building dates from 1900.
Chinook Jargon: a valuable research tool.