From more than one source, I’d like to present you with some Chinook Jargon-related dirt on the notorious Seattle house of prostitution, the “Illahee“, famed in song and story.
We can fairly call these documents an overlooked treasure for understanding BC Chinuk Wawa’s history.
Crazily enough, I’ve written here about a different, excellent book having the identical title (and quoting from this one)…
This is a solid lesson on Chinuk Wawa history, and a great chance to learn more about both preachers’ & naughty songsters’ use of the language in BC.
Kluchmin iaka sit dawn, man iaka lei dawn (Image credit: Shutterstock) Here’s a selection from page 46 of the “Chinook Manual” (Kamloops: 1896)…
Before they were called “residential schools”, they were “Indian industrial schools”…
A number of claims have been advanced, doubtless based on the most authoritative information then available, about the literal meaning of the tribe-and-language name “Cowlitz”.
Jokes, fun quips, recreative wordplay: the classic Chinuk Wawa newspaper Kamloops Wawa had plenty of humour.
A letter from the Front, which the evidence suggests was written in Chinuk Pipa, from the Secwépemc soldier Auguste J. Jules, reproduced in French translation.
There’s a Chinuk Wawa word for ‘eye matter’ in the 2012 Grand Ronde Tribes dictionary, which is so easy to order & so useful, you’d better pause now and get one sent to… Continue reading
