Kaltash Wawa Sp. Ed.
Jan 22, 2026
mokst son alta nsaika taii praim ministir mark karni iaka klatwa wawa kopa davos tawn kopa
Two days ago our leader Prime Minister Mark Carney went to speak at the town of Davos in
switsirland ilihi. “world ikonomik forom” ukuk. ayu taii kopa kanawi kah ilihi mitlait pi klaska wawa kanamokst. wal
Switzerland. It was the “World Economic Forum”. Many leaders from every land were there and they spoke to each other. Well,
nsaika taii wawa kakwa kopa klaska:
Our leader spoke like this to them:
ukuk son naika tiki wawa kopa msaika kata ukuk ilihi chako kakshit. chako kopit ukuk siisim kata nsaika
Today I want to speak to you all about how this world is breaking up. That story about how we
tlus mitlait kanamokst. alta ilo mitlait lo kopa ukuk aias skukum ilihi. klaska mamuk kakwa klaska tiki.
live well together has ended. Now no laws exist for very powerful countries. They do as they please.
pi ukuk tanas ilihi, kakwa kanada, klaska skukum wiht. klaska skukum pus chako iht tomtom kanamokst
But those small countries, like Canada, they are also strong. They are strong if they come together in one mind
kopa saia ilihi klaska wiht tlus nanich lo.
With foreign countries who also respect the law.
ukuk tanas ilihi klaska skukum pus ilip klaska wawa drit.
Those small countries are powerful if at first they speak truthfully.
kanawi son nsaika tlap siisim kata aias skukum ilihi fait kanamokst. kanawi ukuk lo chako ilo. skukum
Every day we get news about how very powerful countries fight each other. (about how) all these laws have disappeared. Powerful
ilihi klaska mamuk ikta klaska skukum pus mamuk pi ukuk ilo skukum ilihi tlap klahawiam.
countries do what they are strong enough to do and those weak countries suffer.
thyusididis iaka wawa kakwa ankati pi tilikom alta klaska tomtom pus drit wawa ukuk. klaska wawa pus
Thucydides said this long ago and people now think that those words were true. They say that
kwanisim kakwa kopa ukuk ilihi. pi pus tilikom tomtom kakwa, klaska trai pus mamuk tlus ukuk skukum
it’s always been like that in this world. And if people think like this, they will try to please those strong
man klaska tomtom. klaska trai pus ilo tlap ukuk klahawiam. klunas pus klaska mamuk kakwa skukum
People. They will try to not suffer. Maybe if they do as the powerful
man iaka wawa, ilo klaska tlap klahawiam.
people say, they won’t suffer.
ilo kakwa.
It’s not like that.
kata nsaika alki?
What should we do?
kopa 1978, chik man iaka nim vaklav havil, alki taii kopa chik ilihi, iaka mamuk pipa klaska mamuk nim
in 1978, a Czech man named Václav Havel, eventually the leader of Czechia, he wrote a paper called
“The Power of the Powerless”. kopa ukuk pipa iaka ask: ikta mamuk kwanisim taii ukuk komyunist tilikom?
“The Power of the Powerless”. with that paper he asked: Why are the communists still in power?
iaka siisim kata man iaka silim tipso makmak: kwanisim pus tanas son, ukuk man iaka mamuk mitlait
He told a story about a man who sells vegetables: Always when it’s morning, that man placed
pipa kopa iaka windo kah mitlait tsim “tilikom klaska mamuk, kopa kanawi kah ilihi, tlus nsaika chako
a paper in his window where there was written “people who work, from everywhere, we should come
kanamokst!”. ilo iaka mamuk nawitka kopa ukuk tsim. Ilo klaksta mamuk nawikta. pi iaka mamuk mitlait
together!”. He didn’t believe that writing. Nobody believed it. But he placed
ukuk pipa pus ilo iaka tlap klahawiam. kakwa pus iaka wawa kopa taii komyunist tilikom “naika mamuk
That paper so that he wouldn’t wind up suffering. It was as if he said to the communist leaders “I will
kakwa maika wawa”. pus kanawi tilikom mamuk kakwa, kwanisim taii ukuk komyunist tilikom.
do as you say”. If everyone does this, the communists will always be leaders.
ilo kopit ukuk taii klaska fait pus taii klaska, pi wiht klaska mamuk tilikom wawa pus klaska mamuk nawitka
Not only did those leaders fight so that they were leaders, but they also made people say that they believed
kopa ikta, pi ilo kakwa.
in something, but it wasn’t so.
tlilikom, tlus alta nsaika mash kakwa pipa.
Friends, we should now get rid of such papers.
ayu sno, kanada pi ilihi kakwa, tlus mitlait kanamokst pus mitlait ukuk lo nsaika mamuk nim “rules-based
For many years, Canada and lands like it, lived well when there were those rules we call “rules-based
international order”. nsaika chako kanamokst kakwa kompani, nsaika tlus wawa ukuk lo, nsaika
international order”. We came together like a society, we spoke well of those laws, we
tlus mitlait pus kanawi ikta ilo chako hloima. Kopa ukuk, nsaika chako iht tomtom kanamokst kopa saia ilihi
lived well when everything didn’t change. Because of this, we could come together with foreign lands
klaska wiht tiki ukuk lo.
who also liked these rules.
nsaika komtaks pus tanas tliminuit ukuk lo. ilip skukum ilihi ilo klaska tlap kort haws. Pus ilo klaska tiki,
We knew that those rules were a bit of a lie. The most powerful countries didn’t wind up prosecuted. If they didn’t want,
ilo klaska tlap lapilitas. pus klaska oihoi, ukuk tanas ilihi, klaska tlap kort haws pus ilo klaska tlus nanich lo. pi ilo
they didn’t suffer a punishment. When they trade, those small countries wind up prosecuted if they don’t respect the rules. But it’s not
kakwa kopa aias ilihi.
like that for large countries.
pi tlus ukuk lo kopa nsaika. pi tlus pus taii klaska, ukuk boston tilikom, kopa tilikom. ship kuli kopa solt
But these rules were good for us. And it was good when those Americans were leaders for people. Ships traveled on the ocean
chok pi ilo tlap klahawiam. nsaika tlus nanich nsaika chikmin. ilo nsaika fait kanamokst pi pus tilikom
and didn’t wind up suffering. We kept a good watch on our money, we didn’t fight each other and if people
fait, nsaika tlus komtaks mamuk kopit ukuk fait.
did fight, we knew well how to end those fights.
pi alto ilo kakwa.
Bit it isn’t like that now.
nanich: chako kopit ukuk lo. ilo chako tanas hloima.
Look: those rules are finished. They are not changing gradually.
kopa 20 sno nsaika tlap ayu klahawiam. ukuk ilo chikmin, sik, ilitrik pi gas, pi ayu ilihi tilikom klaska fait,
For 20 years we have suffered many things. That lack of money, sickness, electricity and gas, and people from many countries fighting
kanawi ukuk mamuk nanich kopa nsaika pus trobl mitlait pus nsaika chako kanamokst.
all this has shown us that there is trouble when we come together.
chi alta, aias skukum ilihi klaska kakwa pus fait nsaika pus nsaika chako kanamokst kopa klaska. Pus
Just now, the very powerful countries as if fight us when we come together with them. If
nsaika oihoi iktas pi chikimin kanamokst, klaska yus ukuk kakwa naif pi moskit pus mamuk nsaika
we trade goods and money together, they use this like a knife and gun to make us
mamuk kakwa klaska wawa.
do as they say.
wik tlus pus nsaika mitlait kakwa, pus ilo wiht nsaika drit tlus mitlait kanamokst. Kakwa pus nsaika
It isn’t good if we live like this if we also don’t live well together. It’s as if we
chako ilaitin kopa ukuk.
become slaves because of this.
ukuk kompani klaska tlus nanich ukuk lo pi mamuk kopit ukuk fait: WTO, UN, COP. wik saia klaska wiht
Those groups who guard those laws and end those fights: the WTO, UN, and COP. They also are nearly
chako kakshit.
being broken.
kakwa, ayu ilihi klaska iskom iht tomtom: tlus nsaika chako iht tomtom kanamokst kopa tlus saia ilihi
Therefore, many lands made a certain choice: we should come together and agree with good foreign lands
pus iskom makmak, gas, iliktrik, chikmin, pi iktas.
to get food, gas, electricity, metal, and things.
pi wiht naika tomtom kakwa. pus ilo iht tilikom iskom makmak, gas, iliktrik, pi solshirs, ilo ikta klaska mamuk.
And I also agree. If a certain people doesn’t get food, gas, electricity, and soldiers, they can do nothing.
pus ilo lo mitlait, tlus msaika mamuk ridi msaika pus fait.
If there are no laws, you all should make yourselves ready to fight.
nanich: tlus nsaika drit wawa kata alki nsaika. pus ukuk ilihi chako patl kopa solshirs pi moskit, wik tlus ukuk.
Look: we should talk straight about what we should do. If the world becomes filled with soldiers and guns, it isn’t good.
ilo ayu chikmin mitlait pi klunas ayu fait.
There won’t be lots of money and maybe there will be lots of fights.
(END PART 1)
klunas alki naika mamuk chinuk kanawi taii karni iaka wawa.
maybe I will eventually translate all of leader Carney’s words into Chinook.
The Kaltash Wawa 