1879, Alaska: “Frozen Jokes”
Back when Alaskan newspapers existed only in California, someone was unfamiliar with the pronunciation of “Yakima” & with Chinuk Wawa.
Monthly Archive: December, 2023
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1854, southwest Oregon: Che(e)nook and Nipissing
Many thanks to David Gene Lewis PhD for his phenomenal research, presented over the years on his website, The Quartux Journal.
Kamloops + other residential schools, as reported to Native people in Chinook (Part 9: the kids’ names and home communities)
Today’s report is very data-heavy, so it will be valuable for research into the Canadian “residential schools”, and for genealogy.
Chinook Jargon is the *only* living descendant of “Nootka Jargon”
Chinook Jargon is the only living descendant of “Nootka Jargon”.
1897: Yakima Jubilee’s over (for back-translation)
The north-central Washington state Salish chief known as Moses (1829-1899) was obviously talking Chinuk Wawa at the “Indian Jubilee” of 1897.
More humor in Chinuk Wawa: The culture of literacy
Something that often comes up in the old Chinook newspaper is an ability to see what’s funny in a negative experience.
1889, Comox, BC: A Siwash Santa Claus
Christmas-themed, if you squint 🤣
1892, Ballast Island, Seattle: Another Chinook-speaking intertribal waterfront?
The action here takes place at the Duwamish Tribe’s temporary place of exile, Seattle’s Ballast Island. “Indian Camp on Ballast Island” (image credit: Duwamish Tribe) (Ballast Island is not to be confused with Ballard.)… Continue reading
December 1894: “Our Monthly Budget” (Part 2 of 3 — Advent, and how to address letters)
Explaining new religious ideas to Native people involved trying to use their languages…
1901, Similkameen, BC: Princess Julia memloos
The Chinook Jargon in the post-frontier article from southern interior BC didn’t need to be translated to be understood.