teti’ ni’ ’utl’ q’umasum’ | Canoe Races at the Gorge

by

Basil Alphonse

Told by Basil Alphonse, June 4, 1975. 

Recorded by his daughter Ruby Peter and Tom Hukari. You can hear Ruby asking him questions. Her mother Cecelia Alphonse also was there.
Transcribed and translated by Ruby Peter. 
Typed by Sarah Kell and edited by Donna Gerdts. 
This version is from Nov 29, 2019.

There is a photograph associated with this story. To learn more about the photo, click the link below to our images website.

teti’ ni’ ’utl’ q’umasum’ | Canoe Race at the Gorge
  1. BA: ni’ ni’ ’utl’ q’umasum’ suw’ teti’s tthuw’ yuw’en’ swawl’us ’u kw’un’a wulh hith.
    1. It was at Victoria where the canoe paddle race was with the young men in the old days.
  2. nilh wa’lu ni’ nu… nu si’lu kwthu ni’ teti’, nu sul’sil’eelh.
    1. It was my grandfather that was in the race, my grandparents.
  3. ’i’ hay ni’ yusyey’sul’u tthu t’unastul’ ’u tthu nets’uhwulh snuhwulh, ’i ’u tu’i tthu na’nuts’a’, ’i ’u tu’i tthu na’nuts’a’.
    1. And there were two people sitting side by side in the same canoe, one over here and one over here [pointing with his hands].
  4. nuw’ yust’ee ’u tthe.e.ey’ kwus p’e’ st’e ’u tu’i tthu snuhwulh.
    1. And it was like that, when the canoe is like that.
  5. RP: stsekwul’ kws tl’eqt-s?
    1. How long was it?
  6. BA: nilh p’e’ tthuw’ xut’ustum’ ’uw’ snuhwulh ’ul’ shi’sha’lh, shi’sha’lh ’i’ tthu q’xuw’lh.
    1. It is the one they called the ordinary canoe, shi’sha’lh, and the one called q’xuw’lh.
  7. nilh niilh ha’kwushus, ’uwu teyuwulhus.
    1. That is what they used, not a racing canoe.
  8. ’uw’ tl’eqt ’ul’ ni’ like… st’e ’uw’ niis tskw’ush sxun’u kws tl’eqt-s.
    1. It was just long; it was about twenty feet long.
  9. RP: ’ii nilh ha’kwushus…?
    1. And they were used…?
  10. BA: nilh niilh ha’kwushus kws teti’s.
    1. That is what was used for canoe races.
  11. ’uwu teyuwulhus ’uw’ snuhwulh ’ul’.
    1. It was not a racing canoe; it was just an ordinary canoe.
  12. ’uw’ st’e ’uw’ niis ’uw’ ’uy’uym’ut ’al’ kws snuhwulhs, shi’sha’lh.
    1. They were beautifully made in their own style as a canoe.
  13. CA: shi’sha’lh.
    1. Old style canoe.
  14. BA: shi’sha’lh ’uw’ q’xuw’lhus.
    1. Both the old-style canoe and the voyageur cane.
  15. RP:(what did she mean?) mmmm.
    1. Mmmm.
  16. BA: st’e ’u tthu nuw’ sht’es tthu ’e… ’eli’ sunihwulh ’u tun’a.
    1. They were [beautifully decorated] then, just like the beautiful canoes of today.
  17. nilh niilh yuw’en’ sht’es kwthey’ kws ’aa’mut-s yusyey’sul’u…
    1. And that is how they were in those days, sitting two by two…
  18. One each, uh, generally you’re sitting, and you’re paddling, and you’re two together in one seat, one on the other side and one on the right-hand side.
  19. CA: hul’q’umi’num’ ch p’e’!
    1. Speak in Hul’q’umi’num’!
  20. BA: So, they paddle, the other one is paddling, too.
  21. RP: [yu t’unastul’ ’u kwthu yu shts’unetss.]
    1. Seated side by side, two in the one seat they sat on.
  22. BA: ni’ sht’esulh kws hwun’a’s tuw’ wil’ tthey’ stey.
    1. This was when the canoe races first started.
  23. ’i’ nilh ’uw’ shni’s kws ni’s ’u kw’i q’umasum’.
    1. And the races were always at Q’umasum’.
  24. RP: nilh kwu’elh ’untsu tthu q’umasum’?
    1. Where is the Q’umasum’?
  25. BA: mutouliye’.
    1. Victoria.
  26. RP: oooo.
  27. BA: Gorge.
    1. The Gorge.
  28. RP: nilh kw’un’ sul’…?
    1. It was your grandparents…?
  29. BA: nu sul’si’lu. mmmm, nilh ni’ ha’kwush kwthu st’e ’u kwthey’.
    1. It was my grandparents that used to go into canoe racing.
  30. RP: nilh kwu’elh stsekwul’ kw sis nem’ hunum’ [tutus ’u kwthey’]?
    1. How did they travel to get there?
  31. BA: ni’ p’e’ ’uw’ ’ushul ’ul’ ’u tu’i, putenum.
    1. They just paddled from here or sailed.
  32. ni’ spuputunulh kws nem’s hunum’s ’u tthey’.
    1. They used to have sails when they travelled there.
  33. nilh tsun tl’e’ ’uw’ ’aalh ’u kwthu pipute’num’ Felix Jack, shhwul’a’lh tst, [kwunus hwun’] stl’i’tl’qulh.
    1. I travelled with Felix Jack on his sailboat; we were onboard together when I was a child.
  34. yu sq’eq’up’stum’, ’i’ hay thulh, sis ’uw’ ’ulh nilh tun’a teyuwulh.
    1. It was tied on, and this was when it was already the eleven-man race canoes.
  35. ’i’ wulh hwu ha’kwushus tthuwn’e’ullh, ’i’ eleven… ’upeenu ’i’ tthu na’nuts’a’.
    1. This is what they were using then, the eleven man [canoe].
  36. RP: ’uweelh kwu’elh tl’e’luqtus tthu snuhwulh ni’ lhuw’…?
    1. It wasn’t then long canoes…?
  37. BA: ’uwu ’u kwthu yuw’en’ ’uw’ sht’es ’ul’ tthu snuhwulh.
    1. Before, they weren’t long, and the kind of the canoe didn’t matter.
  38. RP: sis ’uw’ kw’iinu tthu ni’ ’ula’ulh?
    1. How many people on the canoe?
  39. BA: ’uwu nu shtatul’stuhw …. wa’lu niis ’uw’ ’upeenu ’i kw’ na’nuts’a’ ’uw’ niis stsekwul’, ni’ wa’lu ’uw’ ’upeenu kw sis yusyey’sul’u.
    1. I don’t know… I guess there were eleven or whatever, maybe ten people sitting two by two.
  40. RP: yu t’unastul’.
    1. Sitting side-by-side.
  41. BA: ’upeenu ’i kw’ na’nuts’a’.
    1. Eleven people.
  42. ni’ tl’eqt kw’ tskw’ush sxun’u, tl’eqt, ni’ p’uw’ yusyey’sul’u.
    1. Twenty feet is quite long, it’s long, and they were two-by-two.
  43. RP: niilh kwu’elh tsukwsta’mut ’u kw sis thay’thut tthu suw’wey’qe’ [’u tthu stey]?
    1. How did the menfolk prepare themselves for the canoe race?
  44. BA: nilh thulh tun’a sis ’uw’ wulh tl’lim’ ’uw’ wulh hwu teyuwulh tun’a ’i hwu they’tum’ ’eli’ sunihwulh, ’i’ hay ni’ xwan’chunum’, mukw’ netulh.
    1. It was when the canoe style changed to the beautifully built race canoes of today that they ran every morning.
  45. hwun’ netulh ’i’ ni’ wulh yuxwan’chunum’.
    1. At the earliest hour, the men did their running.
  46. ’uwu kws ’uw’ ’i’tut-s ’ul’, thuy’thut suw’ hwqw’a’wulum’s.
    1. They never slept in, preparing, and they used native laxative.
  47. RP: stem kw’u ni’ulh ha’kwushus kws [hwqw’a’wulum’s]?
    1. What was it they used for laxative?
  48. BA: ni’ p’e’ ’uw’ ni’ tthu slhexun’s … slhexun’s kws hwqw’a’wulum’ qaa’qa’tus ’uw’ [yath].
    1. There is a medicine for laxative that they drank all the time.
  49. ni’ hunum’ ’u tthu tsa’luqw suw’ kwun’utus tthu slhexun’.
    1. They went up the mountain to get that medicine.
  50. RP: ’i’ ni’ ’u ch melqt ’uw’ stemus?
    1. Did you forget what it was?
  51. BA: ni’, ’uwu te’ nu shtatul’stuhw kwthu snes ’uw’ stemus kwthu ni’ shun’ute’wut, ’uw’ hay ’al’ p’e’ kws ’uw’ shqw’uwultuns.
    1. Yes, I don’t know its name, or what it was called, just that it was for laxative.
  52. ni’ [nu] shts’i’ts’elhum’.
    1. That’s all I heard.
  53. niilh tsun tl’e’ ’uw’ ’aluxut kwthey’ tl’e’ ’uw’ ha’kwush kwsus wulh hwu ’upeenu ’i’ kwthu na’nuts’a’ tthu teyuwulh.
    1. I used to go and pick it too and used it when I was on the eleven-man race canoe.
  54. RP: niilh lhwet kw’u ni’ ’uw’ hwun’a’ ’al’ thuyt kwthu ’upeen’ ’i’ kw’ na’nuts’a’?
    1. Who was the person that made the first eleven man [race canoe]?
  55. BA: nilh yuhw ’a’lu stsekwul’.
    1. I wonder who it was.
  56. ni’ p’e’ ’uw’ wil’ ’al’ ni’ ’u tthu pun’e’luxutth’, leey’qsun.
    1. It just showed up from Kuper Island and Leey’qsun.
  57. ’i’ ’uw’ wulh nilh ’a.a.al sis ’uw’ quxthat.
    1. Pretty soon there were many.
  58. ’i’ tl’ew’ xte’um ’al’ kw’un’ si’lu, nu men [hwulqwimut], ’upeenu ’i’ tthu na’nuts’a’.
    1. And then your grandfather, my father [Hwulqwimut, Alphonse George], decided to make an eleven-man canoe, also.
  59. lhumlhumuluts’.
    1. [And] the Lhumlhumuluts’ [made one too.]
  60. ’uwu te’ swe’s tthu s’amuna’.
    1. The S’amuna’ (Somenos) didn’t have one.
  61. qe’is kweelh kwthu ’i thuytus kw’unu shtun’ni’, ’i’…
    1. It was recently that my father made one, and…
  62. sis ’uw’ ts’ewutum ’u tthu s’um’amuna’ swawl’us.
    1. And the Somenos young men helped him.
  63. nilh kwu’elh shisulh hwa ni’ kwthu yuw’en’.
    1. That is why his was one of his first.
  64. nilh thulh qe’is kw’un’a Mount Provost.
    1. The Mount Provost is just a new one.
  65. RP: kwthu niilh ni’ ’utl’ Williams, Henry Williams?
    1. That’s the one over at the Williams’, Henry Williams’?
  66. BA: mmm, nilh p’e’ kw’un’a Mount Provost.
    1. That’s the one, Mount Provost.
  67. RP: niilh lhu yath ’uw’ ’a’ulh ’u tthu snuhwulh kwus nem’ hunum’ ’utl’… ’u tthu shhunum’s kws te’yiilhs’
    1. Did they just board the race canoes on the gas boats when they travelle d to… the place where they have their races?
  68. BA: ni’; kesulin p’e’ tthu ni’ ha’kwushus tthu…
    1. It was; gasoline [boats] are what they used to use…
  69. kws ’ulh hwuw’este’s ’u tun’a ’u tthu shelh hunum’ ’utl’…
    1. That was before the highway went to…
  70. qululh tun’a shelh hunum’ ’utl’ mutouliye’.
    1. The road to Victoria was terrible.
  71. CA: [inaudible]
  72. BA: hnn, ni’ tse’ pe’.
    1. Of course it will be.
  73. RP: tuw’ niilh thulh we’wukun’a’ulh ’u kw’un’a wulh hith tl’e’ kwsus?
    1. Didn’t they also ride on the wagon to travel long ago?
  74. BA: nilh thulh kwsutst t’ut’a’thut hunum’ ’u kw’i xatsa’ ’i swe’wukun’ tst.
    1. That was when we used to go practice at the lake [Quamichan Lake,] and we would go by wagon.
  75. ni’ tsun tl’uw’ wekunum tus ’utl’ tl’ulpalus.
    1. I went by wagon to Cowichan Bay.
  76. kwusulh lhnimulh teti’, ’i’ ni’ tst ’aalhstuhw tthu teyuwulh nem’ ’utl’ tl’ulpalus.
    1. When we were canoe pulling, we loaded the race canoe on to go Cowichan Bay.
  77. quxulh suw’a’lum’ ni’ ’utl’ tl’ulpalus.
    1. There used to have many different games at Cowichan Bay.
  78. mukw’ ’ul’ stem ’uw’ wi’wul’—teti’ thu hwun’unuts’a’.
    1. Different sports were displayed—single-canoe races.
  79. st’i’am’stum’ tthu flag ’u tthu pole suw’ kwukwun’utus tthu swaw’lus.
    1. The young men used to have to get a flag from the top of a pole.
  80. ’i’ smel’hwuw’s tthu pole ’u tthu snas, grease.
    1. But the pole was greased with grease.
  81. shni’ ’utl’ Johnny Bear kws yaths ’uw’ sq’uq’a’, yu sq’uq’a’ ’u tthu swawl’us.
    1. That’s when Johnny Bear used to join the young men.
  82. nilhs hwun’ swiw’lusth kw’uwn’ilh Johnny Bear, tahws ’al’ ’uw’ kw’am’kw’um’.
    1. That’s when Johnny Bear was a young man, then; that’s when he was very strong, then.
  83. tahws ’al’ ’uw’ kw’am’kw’um’.
    1. That’s when he was very strong, then.
  84. RP: spaputun’ tthu stem?
    1. What had a sail on?
  85. BA: pipute’num’ p’e’ tthu pout.
    1. The boat had sails on it.
  86. RP: aaa.
    1. Oh.
  87. BA: quxulh q’u saw’a’lum’ mukw’ stem, ’uw’ hwulunitum’ ’i’ hay pipute’num’ kwus nem’ ’iw’atul’.
    1. There were many sports of all kinds, and the white people had sailboat races.
  88. ’i yus… snun’uhwulh ’i’ the’thq’itul’.
    1. They used to go on small canoes and poke at one another.
  89. stemus ts’twa’ kwun’s hun’ut tthey’ the’thq’itul’ ’u tthu sts’esht—yu shwul’akw tthu end of the poles.
    1. I don’t know if that has a name, when you poke at one other with the stick—the end of the pole is wrapped.
  90. RP: aaa.
    1. I see.
  91. BA: theq’t ’i’ ha’ ch ni’ thuq’nehw kwthun’ shumen sus ’uw’ qwus ’u[n’]s ’uw’ tl’hwunuqt.
    1. You poke, and if you managed to poke your opponent into the the water, then you beat him.
  92. ’i’ tthu… hay kwu’elh ’uw’ wi’wul’ tthu…
    1. Today, we still see the…
  93. stem ’a’lu kwun’s hun’ut tthu qwlhey’, rolling contest, qwlhey’?
    1. What you call that with that log, log rolling contest, log?
  94. RP: mmm.
  95. BA: [ni’] p’e’ xalts’thut tthey’ qwlhey’ ’i’ ni’ ch sts’ushin’.
    1. You stand on the log and roll it while you’re on it.
  96. RP: xalts’thut.
  97. BA: shstsuw’etulh ’utl’ sxwun’qw’i’mul’t-hw.
    1. Sxwun’qw’i’mul’t-hw [Dan Thomas] was very good at that.
  98. yath ’uw’ tl’e’hwun’uq, sxwun’qw’i’mul’t-hw kws xel’ts’t-s tthey’.
    1. Sxwun’qw’i’mul’thw used to win all the time when he used to roll on logs.
  99. RP: kws hwuw’ete’s car, niilhu ’uweelhu ni’us nem’ wekunaalh tthu mustimuhw?
    1. Before the arrival of the cars, did the people travel by horse and wagon?
  100. niilh ’u yath ’uw’ sqwuqwis ’al’ [kws nem’s ’imush]?
    1. Or did they travel only by water?
  101. BA: ni’, ’uw’ yath ’uw’ sqwuqwis ’ul’, ’uwu kws wekunums.
    1. That’s right, they always travelled by water, not by horse and wagon.
  102. ’uwu te’ kwlh lumnuhwun’ kws nem’s ’imush…
    1. I never saw that, and when they travelled going to Victoria…
  103. RP: kws nem’s ’im…
    1. When they traveled…
  104. BA: nem’ ’utl’ mutouliyu’, nem’ ’utl’ snuneymuhw, nem’ ’utl’ sqwxwa’mush, nem’ ’utl’ hwlumi’, pout, kes pout tthu ha’kwushus.
    1. To Nanaimo, to North Vancouver, to Lummi Island, it was by boat; a gas boat is what they used.
  105. ni’ ts’twa’ kw’unelh kw’unus ni’ tutus ’utl’ sqwxwa’mush kwus teti’ tthu nu shhwuw’weli.
    1. I don’t know how many times we got to North Vancouver when my parents were in the canoe races.
  106. sht’eewun’ ni’ thume kwunus ni’ tutus ’u kwthey’ kw’unus ’i stl’i’tl’qulh.
    1. I think we went over there twice when I was a child.
  107. ’i’ skw’ey kw’unus ’imush.
    1. I didn’t walk around.
  108. ’uwu te’ nu shtatul’stuhw ’uw’ ni’us hwtsel kw’u ’i’mush.
    1. I didn’t know the place and didn’t know which way to walk.
  109. ni’ tsun ’uw’ ni’ ’al’ ’u tthu tsetsuw’ kwunus hiiw’a’lum’, sisuxwum’.
    1. So, I just stayed at the beach and just played, waded in the water.
  110. hay tthu hwlumi’, hay nuw’ nuts’ehw ’al’ kw’unus ni’ tus, kwunus ’i stl’i’tl’qulh.
    1. As I child, I got to Lummi Island only once.
  111. tl’lim’ ni’ ’uw’ nuts’ehw ’al’ kw’unus ni’ tul’nuhw kw’unus ni’ ni’.
    1. It is only once that I can remember being over there.
  112. RP: ’uwu ’e te’ ’un’ shtatul’stuhw ’uw’ ni’usulh stsekwul’ kwthuw’ t’at mustimuhw kws nem’s huw’a’lum’iilh, nem’ ’u kwthu shnem’s?
    1. Do you know how the ancestors before your parents travelled to go to the sports, when they went to another area?
  113. ’uw’ hay ’ul’ kwusulh nem’ sqwuqwis ’u tthu qa’, ni’ shtatul’st-hwuhw?
    1. Is it all you know that they used to travel only by water?
  114. BA: ni’, ’uw’ hay ’al’.
    1. That is all I know.
  115. ’uwu te’ p’e’ kw’ qul’et.
    1. There isn’t any more to tell.