Author Archives: Alex

One of the best ways to learn any language is to listen and one of the best ways to listen is listening to elders. Although it has historically been difficult to find recordings of Chinook online, http://www.bcchinookwawa.ca has made several amazing recordings available, transcribed and translated by Sam Sullivan. Visit their site to see themContinue reading “Elders Speaking Chinook Wawa”

Here’s a few examples of the wonderful music (or taunts along with music) you can find in Chinuk Wawa! Chinook Drinking Song (in Haida Style) sung by Mungo Martin Chinook taunts at the bone game – Slahal songs sung by Mungo Martin Another Slahal Song

Pulled from the Chinook Jargon language newspaper, the Kamloops Wawa, this articles recounts the Boxer siege of a Catholic church in Beijing. Thank you to David Robertson for the transcription and translation. I am only a student of Chinook Jargon, please forgive any mistakes. You can read the story with annotations from David Robertson here:Continue reading “Besieged in Peking”

Both a chilling tale of colonial repression of traditional indigenous practices and an inspiring tale of the resistance of those who stood up for their beliefs. This is the story of several indigenous men from Coldwater Reserve BC, Canada, who confronted French Catholic missionary Jean-Marie Le Jeune and stood up for their traditional beliefs. TheContinue reading “Coldwater – A Tale of Repression and Resistance”

The traditional W̱SÁNEĆ tale of SAMEȽ (Sametl) as told in Chinook Jargon by Thomas Paul. Collected by Melville Jacobs in the 1930s. Want to learn more about Chinook Jargon? Start here: https://chinookjargon.com/​ I tried my best to follow the pronunciation as recorded in the text, but some mistakes were made.