Category Archive: Chinook Jargon

So 2 chiefs & a priest go to Europe…part 11

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[The visit of Bishop Grouard to Kamloops Indian Reserve mentioned below is very entertaining; I’ll have to copy it out from Kamloops Wawa in a future post for you.–Dave] (Previous installment, updated with… Continue reading →

SO 2 CHIEFS & A PRIEST TRAVEL TO EUROPE, PART 10

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…we saw there nearby, an Indian man, with his face painted up: I made signs to him to come over and he came, and we gave him that tin of mutton… (Previous installment,… Continue reading →

So 2 chiefs ‘n’ a priest go to Europe, part 9

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(Previous installment here.) That’s no ditch, it’s a fence! Naika klatwa wawa kopa iht tkop man ikta ukuk ditsh? Iaka I went to ask a white man what that ditch was.  He wawa:… Continue reading →

So 2 chiefs & a priest travel to Europe, part 8

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Chilliheetza thought and thought about this, and he asked, “What is that ditch all about?” (Previous installment: click here.)      …swim kopa ukuk chok; wiht klaska makmak ukuk wam chok, iaka  … Continue reading →

So 2 chiefs & a priest travel to Europe, part 6

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“…keeps changing direction, always angry, always making noise; gets as white as snow, keeps jumping up and down…” – – and they’re not even talking about The White Man! 🙂  (Previous installment here.)… Continue reading →

So two chiefs and a Catholic priest travel to Europe… (part 1)

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[Edited December 1, 2014 by Dave — Dale McCreery has requested that I add a guide to the probable pronunciation of this Chinook Wawa, so for an illustration of that, I’m adding it… Continue reading →

Magnificat in lingua Chinook

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Dave’s note: This post accidentally went public before I was done with it. Sorry for the confusion, and enjoy this valuable Jargon document now that it’s finished! An unusual find is this Chinuk Wawa… Continue reading →

“Houn’ Dawg” song originated in Oregon

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Today’s post was one of my favorites to write.  It started with finding a Chinook song I hadn’t known before (always a thrill!), and it only got better as I followed the historical… Continue reading →

Jimmy’s Kill, a Tsimshian tsall tsale

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J.H. McGregor, “Jimmy’s Kill“.  BC Mining Record.  Christmas Supplement, 1900, pages 68-72. A narrative seemingly based on the writer’s actual experiences in far northwestern British Columbia, “Jimmy’s Kill” has dialogue that rings true… Continue reading →

Mr. Bunker will employ good men at $3 a day, but no cultus men at any price

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A nice bit of Chinook creeping into local English in the Kootenays: The Nelson (BC) Miner of Saturday, July 19th, 1890 run an article at the top of the middle of three columns on page… Continue reading →