Arnold Guerin

xwunuthut | Arnold Guerin

1910 – February 2, 1987

xwunuthut Arnold Guerin was a respected Elder, Knowledge Keeper, language expert, and teacher from the Musqueam First Nation. He was a fluent speaker of the Halkomelem language and spoke both the Downriver dialect hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ and the Island dialect Hul’q’umi’num’. During his lifetime he generously shared his knowledge of the language with linguists and other scholars. Guerin was a pioneer in the movement to revitalize Indigenous languages.

He was born in 1910 to Johanna Georges, from Lummi, and John Guerin, from Musqueam. As a child, Guerin attended the Kuper Island Residential school from age 10 to 16. Although speaking Indigenous languages was prohibited at the school, Guerin was able to continue practicing his language with other students when away from the school staff. Whenever he was hauling and cutting firewood for the school he was careful to practice his language. In addition, through speaking the language with other children Guerin was able to become very comfortable in the Island dialect of Hul’q’umi’num’ while at the school.

On August 25, 1938 at the age of 28, Guerin married 22 year old Jenny Moses from Penelakut. Together they had five children, four sons and one daughter. In addition to his linguistic and cultural work, like many Coast Salish men of his generation Geurin was employed as a longshoreman and a fisherman. 

As an adult, Guerin worked for decades sharing his knowledge of the language with new learners, linguists, and other academics. He taught one of the first school-based Indigenous language courses in British Columbia and his Hul’q’umi’num’ language book, published in 1993, set the standard for Indigenous language primers. In the 1970s, he worked with Vickie Jensen and Dr. Jay Powell on the language and the creation of a linguistic lexicon. Together, Guerin and Powell wrote an instructional manual for the Musqueam language, “Hun̓q̓umin̓um̓” Musqueam Language Book 1″.

In addition to this work, Guerin served as a resource for UBC linguistic field methods courses and collaborated with scholar Wayne Suttles to produce a grammar and dictionary. Suttles remarked that working with Guerin “…was doubly rewarding because he was a linguist in his own right and a colleague in the enterprise of exploring the language.” Our linguist, Professor Donna Gerdts (SFU), had the pleasure of working with Guerin for many years. 

Guerin’s efforts to share his knowledge of the Hul’q’umi’num’ language and culture with new learners, linguists and other researchers helped to create invaluable language resources for future generations. To Guerin, the language was what holds Indigenous culture together, it is the heart of it. As he wrote in the preface of his book, “Your language is one of the most important aspects of your identity as an Indian and as a Musqueam. It will soon be extinct unless something is done … not extinct in 100 years, but probably within 40. … These lessons were prepared to help you take back your culture.”

xwunuthut Arnold Guerin was a remarkable advocate for his language and a leader in the work of Indigenous language revitalization. We are grateful for the commitment that Guerin showed to his community and for the generous sharing of his time, language, culture, stories, and traditions. We give thanks for his important work, and we take inspiration from his example. Huy ch q’u, siem.

• Publications
  • Guerin, Arnold. (n.d.). “Musqueam Language”, Books 1 and 2. Musqueam: Musqueam Cultural Committee.
  • Guerin, Arnold, and Jay Powell. (1975). “Hunq̓umỉn̓um̓: Musqueam Language Book 1”. Vancouver: Musqueam Band.