Chinook Writing tie-in: 1st Mass celebrated in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh language, 2021
I credit Leo Barker for this find.
Here’s a news story in the “BC Catholic” (click that link!) from 3 years ago about a Catholic mass being celebrated in the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish Salish) language for what we’re told is the first time.
Photo from the original article.
This happened in North Vancouver, BC.
The reason I’m sharing this here is that the prayers and hymns used in that mass are probably the same ones we see preserved in “Chinook Writing” in the 1896 “Skwamish Manual” by Father JMR Le Jeune.
Here’s a sample from that book — see if you can sound out the words using your knowledge of Chinook Writing:
It seems possible to me that masses have been celebrated at least partially in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Salish before, but I can’t prove that.
