shxetl’ ni’ ’utl’ kwa’mutsun | The Weir at Quamichan

1. thu shxetl’ ’i ’utl’ kwa’mutsun, yath ’ulh ’uw’ they’tum tthu shxetl’ ni’ ’u tthu sta’luw’.
   1. They used to make many weirs on the rivers—they had a weir at Quamichan.
2. ni’ tthu shxetl’ ’i ’utl’ lhumlhumuluts’, ’i’ ni’ tl’uw’ saay’stum’ tthu shxetl’ ni’ ’utl’ kwa’mutsun, xwul’qw’selu, s’amun’a, ’i’ tthu ni’ ’u tthu (River Bottom) [hwts’alha’um].
   1. And they also had a weir at Clemclem, Koksilah, Somenos, River Bottom—Ts’a’lha’um.
3. nilh ni’ _ _ _ [saay’stum’] kwsus wulh m’i hwiwul tthu stseelhtun ’i’ ni’ wulh saay’stum’, m’iq’utum tthu tse’lumun ’u tthu stal’ou’ sus ’uw’ ni’ tthu ni’ shni’s tthu ni’ xwuyxw.
   1. When the fish started coming up the river, they would have the weirs ready; they would stake poles into the river where they would have an opening, a gate.
4. ni’ xwuyxwutus tthu ni’ tswe’ ’u thu shxetl’ hay ’ul’ thi syaays ’u kwsus wulh thuytum thu shxetl’.
   1. Then the owner of the weir would open these gates; making a weir takes a lot of work.
5. kwsus yu [mi’muq’ute’wut] sus nem’ ’uw’ hwu shlhq’ath ’u tthu sta’luw’ kws they’te’wut tthu tse’lumun ’i’ [ni’] tthu mumun’lh [’i’ ni’] tthu tl’e’luqt.
   1. They would stake the poles into the river, going from one side across the river, staking poles into the river, and they would have short ones that staked down and long poles.
6. ’i’ st’e ’uw’ niis yu saay’stum’ tthun’ shhwhunum’ kwsun’s shq’utuw’ulhs.
   1. And they would prepare a place where they placed a plank for walking along this weir.
7. ni’ ch q’utuw’ulhstum’ sus nem’ ’uw’ le’lum’utus tthu [tswuwe’] tthu ni’ shni’s kwsus xway’xw, ni’ st’ee kwuw’ shxwut’us tthu stseelhtun.
   1. They had a plank as a bridge, and they would go to where there was an opening, where the fish would go through.
8. ’i’ nan ’ulh ’uw’ tl’i’st-hwus tthu hwulmuhw.
   1. And the natives really treasured this part of their work.
9. ni’ ’uw’ sxuxits ’ul’ tthu ni’ kwukwun’utus ’u tthu stseelhtun.
   1. They used to take only certain kinds of the fish for their use.
10. ’uwu kwsuw’ kwunut-s kw’uw’ [sht’es ’ul’ kws quxs] ’uw’ nilh ’us kw’ sht’es kws ’uy’uymut-s.
    1. They didn’t just take any kind, or what looked really good.
11. nilh kwthu sht’es tse’ ’u kwthu qul’et sil’anum.
    1. They took only the ones that they thought would not be of use for the river for the next year.
12. ’i’ nilh tthu slheni’ stseelhtun tthu ni’ tst’emukw’ nilh ni’ nem’ tslhaqwtum nem’ ’uw’ kwe’tum ’ul’.
    1. It was the female fish that were chosen, the ones that had eggs that were allowed to go through and swim upriver.
13. nuw’ sxuxitsstum kw’ sht’es kws this kwthu ni’ kwunut’uhw.
    1. What you take was chosen by the owners, what you were going to use for the year.
14. skw’ey kwun’s ’uw’ kwunut ’ul’ kw’ stseelhtun ’i nem’ ch t’ukw’stuhw ’uw’ hay kwthuw’ sxuxits kwunutuhw.
    1. You couldn’t just take any fish—it had to be chosen—what you took home was chosen for you.
15. nilh kws ’uwus ’uwkw’us tthu stseelhtun nilh kwthu tst’emukw’ nilh ni’ nem’ tslhaqw sus nem’ ’uw’ tha’ithut ’u kwthu shnem’ kwsus punutus kwthu t’emukw’s.
    1. So there wouldn’t be any depletion of salmon; the ones that had eggs, the female ones, were allowed to pass through up the river, to where they were going to bury the eggs.
16. ’i’ ni’ tl’uw’ st’e (kwthu) tthu swuy’qe’ stseelhtun ni’ tl’uw’ sxuxits kwthu ni’ nem’ kwukwe’tum’, ’i’ nuw’ sxuxits kwthu ni’ nem’ kwun’utum nem’ s’ulhtun.
    1. And it was the same with the male fish—they were chosen—they chose the ones that were going on through to go upriver, and the ones that were chosen for the people’s use were the old fish.
17. nan ’ulh ’uw’ thi syaays tthu hwulmuhw kws xte’ums ’u thu shxetl’.
    1. It was a lot of work to make a weir.
18. ’i’ ’uwu ’uw’ na’nuts’a’us ’ul’ kw’u tswe’ ni’ kw’iinu kwthu ni’ tsawutul thuyt thu shxetl’.
    1. And it wasn’t just one family that made a weir.
19. sus ’uw’ sxuxits ’ul’ kwthu ni’ yu kwukwun’utus ’u kwsus wulh m’i hwiwul tthu stseelhtun.
    1. It was a joint venture of three or four families, and they would help each other to build it, and when the weir was done, it was chosen, what would be taken from the river.
20. ni’ tl’uw’ st’e kwthu hwnuts’a’wuqw ni’ ’u kwthu ni’ tl’uw’ shxetl’.
    1. And it’s the same for the other groups of people who have weirs.
21. ni’ tl’uw’ tsnuw’uyulh kwsus yu sxuxits kwthu yu kwukwun’utus.
    1. They do their choosing also; all the people who have it have their laws for what they take out from the weir.
22. sxuxits kwthu ni’ nem’ [kwe’tus] nem’ ’aantus nem’ tslhaqwtus kws nem’s punutus kwthu t’eemukw’.
    1. And what they let through to go upriver is certain kinds of males and females. The females will bury their salmon roe upriver.
23. nilh thulh kwsus wulh tetsul tthu hwunitum’ ’i’ ni’ hwi’ ’uye’qtum, thut-stum tthu hwulmuhw ’uye’q tse’ ’i’ qux tse’ stseelhtun hwu kwennuhwuhw, ’amustalu tst tse’ ’ukw’ swultun ’i’ nilh ’un’sh kwen’nuhw tthun’ s’ulhtun, hw’aw’tsustalu [tst tse’] sus ’uw’ q’el’ tthu hwulmuhw sus ’uw’ ’amustum ’u thu swultun sus ’uw’ kwe’tum thu shxetl’.
    1. When the white men came and told our people, they told them they can get them to do something better, that they were going to get rid of the weir and give them something better for catching the fish, “And we’ll teach you;” they have to catch their food properly, and our native people believed them, and they were given nets to catch fish, with the promise that they would teach them to catch more food, and this is the reason they stopped using the weir.
24. ’iilh ’uw’ [thuytus thu shxetl’] tthu Gordy Elliotte, Joe Sylvester sus ’ulh ’uw’ xte’um ’u kwthu shxetl’ ni’ ts’twa’ ’u kwthu 1968.
    1. They (Gordy Elliotte, Joe Sylvester) had built a weir in about 1968. 
25. [’i’] nilh kwsus nan ’uw’ qiquq’utum’ tthu s’ulhtun tst sus ’ulh ’uw’ xte’um ’u lhu shxetl’.
    1. That’s when they were really stopping our native food, the fish, so they built a weir in protest.
26. ’i’ ni’ ’ulh ha’yul’ ’uw’ tiy’a’xw tthu qiquq’ul’s, tthu government kwsus wulh tul’nuhwus kwsus xte’um ’u thu shxetl’.
    1. And the police and the government were really upset and were trying to stop them from building the weir.
27. q’i’untum thut-stum kws qiq’utewut, ’i’ ’uwu nuw’ xte’um ’u thu shxetl’.
    1. When they found out, they threatened to put them in jail; if they built the weir, they would be put in jail for a long time.
28. nilh kwsus wulh t-sasthut tthu hwulmuhw ’u tthu s’ulhtun.
    1. This was when our native people were having a real problem with their food, and they were closing everything down where they got the food.
29. sus ’ulh ’uw’ xte’um ’u lhey’ shxetl’.
    1. So they built a weir.
30. qux tthu hwulmuhw nuw’ ts’ewut.
    1. A lot of people helped.
31. ni’ tst nem’ ’uw’ q’a’ kwsutst nemustuhw tthu s’ulthun kwsus qux hwulmuhw ni’ ’u kwthey’.
    1. We brought food to the people building the weir.
32. ni’ tst nem’ lemut ’i’ qux swaw’lus nuw’ ts’ewulhtun thuyt lhu shxetl’.
    1. There were many Indians that were there when we went to see; there were many young men that helped build that weir.
33. nilh ha’yulh ’ul’ ’i yu lhiy’a’uqwt kwthey’ ni’ulh thuytum ’utl’ Gordy Elliotte ’i’ Joe Sylvester nilh kwsus st’e ’uw’ niis q’i’untus tthu government kwus yu tusustum’ tthu hwulmuhw ’u tthu s’ulhtuns.
    1. That was the very last one. [AIM] That was what Gordy Elliotte and Joe Sylvester built.
34. nilh kwsus thut ’ulh tthu government kws [’amustewut tthu hwulmuhw ’ukw’ swultun] ’i’ nilh thu swultun hwu ha’kwushus [tthu hwulmuhw].
    1. It was like it was a threat to the government, because our people were starving, going without their native food.
35. ’i’ ni’ hwi’ tl’uw’ qiq’utum lhey’ swultun, suw’ hwi’ thut-stum, “nilh tse’ kwthu ’uxthim’tun (tse’) nilh tse’ ’uy’ ha’kwush ’ulup tthu lhwulup hwulmuhw; suw’ hwi’ ’uxthim’tun tthu niilh s’amustewut tthu hwulmuhw.”
    1. It was the government that had promised that they would be getting more food, that when they got the nets they were going to get more food, and then they turned around and closed down the nets—after that, they promised to get them dipnets to catch fish with.
36. ’i’ ni’ tl’uw’ kw’i’nul sil’anum ’i’ ni’ tl’uw’ hwi’ qiq’utum kwthey’ swultun, tl’uw’ hwu skw’ey kwun’s hakwush.
    1. So the people used the dipnets, and it was just for a short period of so many years, and then they started closing that down, and then they were putting people in jail for using the dipnet, and if we used it, we didn’t get enough food.
37. ’i’ tun’a qe’is ’i’ hwi’ nilh tthu s’unum.
    1. And the most recent one was the use of the spear.
38. hwi’ nilh ni’ [qiquq’utum]. ni’ tl’e’ wulh qiq’utum tthu stseelhtun.
    1. They can’t go fishing with the spear nowadays.
39. ni’ hwi’ ’uw’ sxuxits ’ul’ skweyul kws tseelhtuns tthu hwulmuhw, ha’yul’ tthu sthumunt-s ’i’ tthu suxulhnet; suxulhnet sthumunt-s yuse’lu skweyul nu shteewun ’i’ tthu sxu’athuns.
    1. Now they are saying that they can go fishing only two or three times during the week, during the fishing season; Sunday, Monday, and Thursday were the only days allowed.
40. hay ’ul’ qux ni’ yu sul’ute’wut tthu hwulmuhw kwsus yu, st’ee kw’uw’ yu tusustum’ ’i’ nilh ’uw’ yu sht’es kws xut’us tthu government kwsus le’lum’utum’ [tthu hwulmuhw] ’i’ ’uwu.
    1. And they have been changing so many things for our native people, like that there, impoverishing them, and the government always says they are looking after our people, but they are doing all these things, making them starve.
41. [ni’] nilh nuw’ hwun’aa ’ul’, kwsus ’ukw’nuhwus lhu shxetl’, hay ’i’ hwi’ nilh kwthu swultun ni’ ’unuhwstum, ni’ ’amustum ’u kwthu ’uxthim’thun.
    1. And it’s not true; they have been making them go without their food, when they took the weir away, and then they took the nets away.
42. we’ kwthu ’uxthim’tun ’i’ ni’ tl’uw’ ’unuhwstum ha’ ni’ hakwushus tthu stl’ul’iqulh ’i’ ni’ hwi’ qiq’ qiq’utum sus hwi’ namustum ’u kwthu s’unum ’i’ hwi’ ’uw’ sxuxits ’ul’ skweyul, kws hakwushs kwthu s’unum.
    1. They gave the dipnet and took that away—even the dipnet was closed down and taken away—when the young people used them, they were always landing in jail, and the nets were taken away, and now they have put them to spear fishing, but it can only be used on certain days. They can use the spear only on certain days.
43. nilh ni’ hwu sht’es ’u tun’a kweyul kwsutst hwu t-sas.
    1. That’s the way it is today.

(part 1 ends here. part 2 begins below.)

45. t-sastum tthu hwulmuhw ’i’ nilh ha’yulh ’ul’ ni’ ’uy’ lhu shxetl’ kwsus ha’kw. (niilh) ’uweelh niis ’uw’ ’ee’yul’ tthu hwulmuhw kwsus ’ulh ha’kwushus tthu shxetl’, niilh ’uw’ sxuxits ’ul’ tthu ni’ sht’es kws n’em’s tthu stseelhtun nem’ tsam. nilh kwu’elh niilh sht’es thu shxetl’.
    1. That’s how our native people have been treated poorly by the government. The best ever our people had was the weir, because when the people had it, they had laws to it, and they didn’t just take any fish. They took only certain fish, and many of the fish were allowed to go upriver, and that’s how it was.
46. ni’ tl’uw’ ni’ tthu ni’ hay’shun, ’uw’ shq’utuw’ulh tthu ni’ [sh]xwut’us tthu ni’ nem’ hwiil’asmut thu shxetl’ st’e ’uw’ niis hwyusa’lus tthu ni’ thuytum [miq’utum] tse’lumun, sus ’uw’ st’e ’uw’ niis hwu hay’shun tthu ni’ shxwut’us tthu ni’ le’lum’ut thu shxetl’ xway’xwut tthu shelhs.
    1. There was a platform that was made in the river, where the one looking after the weir would work; the poles that were staking into the river… it was like there were two rows of poles staking into the river, and the platform was like a bridge for the ones that were looking after the weir.
47. nuw’ sxuxits skweyul ’i’ ni’ hwyuxwutum nem’ tslhaqwtum tthu stseelhtun. nilh sht’es kws hays ’ul’ tl’i’, hays ’ulh ’ul’ ni’ thuthi’stuhwus tthu hwulmuhw.
    1. And there were certain days that they would open this gate and the fish were allowed to go through.
48. tthu ni’ shni’s tthu shxwut’us [tthu stseelhtun] ’uwu niis ’uw’ ha’yul’ kwthu _ _ _ kwsus nem’ shaqwul ’u tthu sta’luw’ ni’ tl’uw’ ni’ kwthu ni’ saay’stum’ st’e ’uw’ niis shni’s kwsus hwyuxwutum kwthu shelhs.
    1. That was how important it was for the people to look after the fish, salmon, how much they really looked after them when the salmon went through. They always timed it when they opened the gate.
49. ni’ kw’in yuse’lu kwthu ni’ hwyuxwutum [nem’ tslhaqwtum tthu stseelhtun] ’i’ m’i yu ’a’kw’utum’ tthu stseelhtun m’i yu kwukwun’utum kwthu hakwushum tse’.
    1. One or two gates were opened, and then they would choose which ones to ____ for the family use.
50. ’i’ yath nuw’ sq’uq’ip tthu mustimuhw kwsus ts’its’uw’atul’.
    1. And the people were always gathered, working together.
51. ’i’ tu’inulh ’e’ut st’e ’uw’ niis yuse’lu tthu st’ee kw’uw’ shelhstewut tthu stseelhtun.
    1. There were always a couple of gates or more for the salmon to go through.
52. kwsus smiq’muq’stum’ tthu tse’lumun sus ’uw’ yu stuli’tutaastul’stum’ kwsus nem’ [miq’utum] kws ’uwus ne’mus tslhaqw tthu stseelhtun.
    1. The poles that were put into the river were staked into the river side-by-side so the salmon couldn’t go through it.
53. ’i’ ha’yulh ’ul’ ’uw’ thi syaays tthu hwulmuhw ’i’ nilh niilh sht’es kws hays ’ul’ tl’i’st-hwus tthu s’ulhtuns kws yaths ’uw’ yu kwen’nuhws ’u tthuw’ mukw’ sil’anum.
    1. It was a lot of work for the people to prepare this, and this is how much they really looked after this, and the salmon, and this was making sure that the fish could spawn and the improvement of each year.
54. ni’ hay; hay ch q’a.
    1. I’m done; thank you.