Kamloops Wawa pictures, part 12: Spahomin
An early view of Spahomin!
(Here’s a link to browse all installments in this series.)
Today’s glimpse into the very popular piktyur(s)/pikcha that ran in the world’s only Chinuk Wawa newspaper takes us to Spáhomin a.k.a. Douglas Lake, in the far north of Syilx a.k.a. Okanagan Salish territory.
This Native community strongly embraced the Chinuk Pipa (‘Chinook Jargon writing’); lots of people here could talk, write, and read Chinuk Wawa.
The local chief Johnny Chilihitsa a.k.a. Celestin played a big role in the 64-page narrative of a trip to Europe in 1904 in the Kamloops Wawa newspaper.
Page 18 of this issue tells us:
<Douglas Lake.> Ukuk mokst aias piktyur iaka cim
‘These two big pictures that are printed’
kopa ukuk pipa, iht iaka Spahamin, Duglas Lik Sondi haws[…]
‘in this issue, one is the Spahomin, Douglas Lake, church…’
Kopa Disimbir <8> nsaika mitlait kopa Duglas Lik, pi kanawi
‘On December 8 we were at Douglas Lake, and all of the’
Duglas Lik tilikom chako kanamokst. Klaska styuil kanawi son
‘Douglas Lake people got together. They pray every day’
kopa [likalisti], pus ST mamuk klahawiam nsaika, mamuk chako
‘to the eucharist, for God to have pity on us, (and) send’
hloima liplit pus hilp nsaika. <84> tilikom pi <8> tkop man kopa
‘another priest to help us. Eighty-four (Native) people and 8 White folks at’
Duglas Lik pi kopa Kwilshana iskom Kamlups Wawa pipa.
‘Douglas Lake and at Quilchena take the Kamloops Wawa paper.’
— from Kamloops Wawa #125 (February 1895), page 19 chapel at Douglas Lake
Here’s a more recent photo of this church of St. Nicholas:
