Autobiography Part 1

Arnold Guerin

Recorded on 18 July 1986

---

1. nilh tun’a hwmuthukwi’um nu shhwi kw’unus ’i kwan ’u kwthu 1910 sil’anum.
   1. It was here at Musqueam that I was born, in the year 1910.
2. hwmuthkwi’um tu nu men, ’i’ hwlumi’ thu nu ten.
   1. My father was a Musqueam man, and my mother was from Lummi.
3. ’een’thu hay ’al’ su’asuqt mun’us lhu nu tenulh.
   1. I am the youngest of my mother’s children.
4. tthukwselu tu’i kw’um me’mun’us kwsu nu ten.
   1. There are seven children that were raised to adulthood, who were the children of my mother.
5. hay kwthu nu sun’tl’e’minulh ni’ wulh ’ikw’.
   1. The older brother, just older than me, has already passed away.
6. ’uw’ hay ’al’ ni’ wulh shxwullu tst kwthey’ nu shuyulhulh.
   1. He is the only one that has cut down our numbers, my older brother that was.
7. ’i tst ’uw’ t-hw t’xumulu ’al’.
   1. There are just six of us as it is now.
8. stu’e ’u tthey’ wulh toohwulhshe’ tse’ sil’anum kwthu sun’tl’een’ tst, ’u tun’a sil’anum.
   1. Our oldest brother will be 90 years of age this year. [I didn’t mention it but that will be on the 7th of August, that he will turn 90.]
9. xuthiilu nu shushiyulh tu ni’ wulh silew’ tutssulhshe’ sil’anum.
   1. Four of my brothers and sisters are in their 80’s.
10. suw’ t-hw yey’sul’u tst kwu’elh hwuw’e ni’ut kwunnuhw kws hwu tutssulhshe’ tst, sil’anum.
    1. So, there are only two of us that haven’t reached our 80th year.
11. ’i tsun ts’u ’ise’lu sil’anum ’i’ ni’ kwukwa’tul kwthu nu shhwuw’weli’ulh.
    1. I am told that I was two years of age when my parents parted.
12. sis ’uw’ qul’et tsta’lus kw’u nu men ’u lhu tuw’ stl’i’tl’qul slheni’.
    1. And my father remarried, this time to a younger woman.
13. na’nuts’a’ kw’elh stl’i’tl’qulh, slhuni’allh, lhu ni’ kw’umnuhwus ’eelhtun tunni’ ’u tthu me’mun’us, ni’ yu kwannuhwus.
    1. So, there is one, a girl, that they raised: the only one from a number of children that they had [who survived].
14. na’nuts’a’ kwelh lhu nu snuts’uwyul.
    1. So then, I have one half-sister.
15. nilh kwelh ’a’kwselu tst ’i huli me’mun’us kw’u nu men.
    1. That makes seven of us that are alive, that are the children of my father.
16. ni’ thulh luw’ qul’et yu tsta’lus kwsu ni’ ’eyulusam’sh nu ten.
    1. But my mother that has left us also remarried.
17. ni’ tusulh nuq’emun kwus hwu sta’tul’us, kwusulh hwun’ ’eey kwthu yuw’en’ulh sxilux, ’i’ ni’ tsun ni’ ’u kwthey’ kw’unus ’i hwun’ ’uhwin’ stl’i’tl’qulh.
    1. She went to Nicomen [upriver], where she got together with this other man when the First World War was still on, and that’s where I was a small boy.
18. nilh shni’s kwus hwun’a skwoulstelum.
    1. That is where I was first sent to school.
19. ’uwu te’ ’al’ ni’ yu tul’nuhween’.
    1. I didn’t learn a thing.
20. ’uw’ qe’is ’al’ kw’unus ni’ skwoukwul’ ’i’ ni’ tsun hay.
    1. It was only for a short time that I went to school, then I quit.
21. suw’ ’uwus ni’us tl’e’ hwu’alum’stelum.
    1. And they didn’t send me back to school.
22. ’uw’ hay kw’unus ’uw’ kwikwun’tul kw’unus ni’ ni’ ’u kwthey’ skwoulew’t-hw.
    1. All I did was get into fights when I attended that school.
23. nilh kwu’elh shhw’uwus ni’us tl’e’ hwu’alum’stelum.
    1. That is the reason that I wasn’t brought back.
24. ni’ tsun ’uw’ ’unuhw ’al’ ’i wulh nilh ’al’ sis ’uw’ kwe’thelum.
    1. I just stopped and they let me go.
25. ni’us ts’twa’ kw’in sil’anum kw’unus ni’ ni’ ’u kwthey’, ’i’ ni’ kwunuthamshus lhu nu shuyulh Theresa.
    1. I don’t know how many years it was that I was up there before my older sister Theresa came and took me.
26. ’uw’ wulh sta’tul’us lhu nu shuyulh, nu suw’ le’lumi’lhste’ult ’u tu me’mun’us ’u kwthu stsekwul’us ts’twa’ kws hiths.
    1. She was already married, my older sister, and my job was to look after her children for a length of time; I don’t know how long.
27. sis ’uw’ hwi’ nilh kwthu nu shuyulh Herman ni’ huyestamsh, nus ni’ ’uw’ hwu ni’ ’utl’ hwlumi’.
    1. And then it was my brother Herman, the oldest of our family, who took me away, and I was brought to Lummi.
28. hwlumi’ulh lhu sta’lussulh kwthuw’ nilh nu shuyulh.
    1. That brother of mine’s wife was a Lummi girl.
29. stu’e ’u tthey’ ’i hwi’ nilh kw’unu shhwum’nikw Alec George ni’ kwunutham’sh.
    1. And then after that, my Uncle Alec George came and took me with him.
30. sqe’uqs lhu nu tenulh kwthey’ kw’u nu shhwum’nikwulh.
    1. That uncle of mine is the brother of my mother.
31. ni’ tl’uw’ hith kw’unus ni’ ni’ ’u kwthey’, ’i’ ni’ tsun hwu’alum’ nem’ ’u kwthu nu shuyulh Herman.
    1. I was there for a long time, and then I went back to my oldest brother, Herman.
32. nilh kwel’ kwthu nu shuyulh Herman ’i m’i ’e’muqtham’sh ’ewu ’utl’ hwmuthkwi’um.
    1. So, it was my brother Herman that brought me back to Musqueam.
33. sis ’uw’ kwunuthelum ’u kwthu nu menulh ’i’ ni’ skwoulstelum nem’ ’utl’ yuxwula’us (Kuper Island) ’u kwthu 1920 sil’anum.
    1. And then I was taken by my father [now deceased] and put into school, to a place called yuxwula’us at Kuper Island, in the year 1920.
34. ni’ tsun ’uw’ wulh yu hunum’ ’apun sil’anum ’i’ ni’ skwoulstelum nem’ ’utl’ yuxwula’us (pun’eluxu).
    1. I was going into my tenth year, and I was brought to school at yuxwula’us. [yuxwula’us is on a reserve called Penelahuts.]
35. t’xum sil’anum kw’unus ni’ skwoukwul’ ni’ ’utl’ yuxwula’us.
    1. It was for 6 years that I attended school at yuxwula’us.
36. luplit ’i tthu sisters, tthu xwan’chun’emustuhw tu skwoulew’t-hw ni’ nush tus.
    1. It was priests and sisters that ran the school at the place that I went to.
37. ’a’kwus tintun ’u tthu netulh ’i wulh ’umut-staam.
    1. At 7 o’clock in the morning, you were awakened.
38. ni’ ch ’i’ um, ’i hw¸xwasum, ’us ni’ ’uw’ nem’ hwathut nem’ ’u tthu t’iw’i’ulhew’t-hw.
    1. You got up, dressed yourself, and washed your face and went down to the church.
39. xuthunlhshe’ tthu swaw’lus. skwou’kwul’ ni’ ’u kwthey’, ’i’ tl’uw’ xuthunlhshe’ tthu q’e’lumi’.
    1. There were 40 boys that went to school there, and there were 40 girls.
40. ni’ hay kw’us ni’ t’ut’iw’i’ulh, ’us ’uw’ hwu’alum nem’ ’u kwthun’ shni’s tthun’ shhw’itut, sis ’uw’ thuye’lhum, ’iye’qulwutum.
    1. You went through from the church, and you went back to your bed, to the dormitory, and you made your bed, changed your clothes.
41. ni’ ch hwu ha’kwus thun’ yays’ulwut.
    1. You were in your work/everyday clothing.
42. ni’ ch hay ni’ ’u tthey’ yelh sis ni’ nem’ hwathut nem’ ’u tthu shni’s kw’us hwnetulhqun tse’.
    1. And then you went down, down to the place where you were to have your breakfast.
43. ni’ ch hayuqun ni’ ’u tthey’ suw’ ni’s kwthu ni’ hw¸ uxwwiils.
    1. When you were through eating there, those that were to wash the dishes got busy, and washed the dishes.
44. xuthiinu swaw’lus tthu hw¸xwwiilstum.
    1. There were four boys that did the dishwashing.
45. ni’ kwthu ni’ ’ixwuthut-stum.
    1. Some did the sweeping.
46. lhihw tu thuqw’s tthu skwoulew’t-hw.
    1. There were three stories in the building.
47. qxe’luts kwelh tthu ni’ kwunnuhw tthu s’ixwuthut syays.
    1. So, there were a lot of children that got the job of cleaning out the building.
48. hay tthu wulh thithu swaw’lus, ni’ kwthu ni’ nem’ p’ ’ulmuhwt tthu mulousmus.
    1. But with the bigger boys, some of them went to milk the cows.
49. te’tsus tthu p’up’ ’ul’muhwtum mulousmus.
    1. There were 8 milk cows.
50. ’i tl’uw’ ni’ tthu ni’ xlhast tthu kwushou.
    1. And there were those that went and slopped the pigs.
51. qux tthu kwushous tthu skwoulew’t-hw.
    1. The school had many pigs.
52. ni’ tl’uw’ ya’yus tthu q’e’lumi’ ’u tthu swe’s ni’ shni’s ’eelhtun tl’uw’ stu’e ’al’ ’u tthu ni’ s-huluthut-s tthu swaw’lus
    1. And the girls worked on their side of the building, and they did the same things as the boys did.
53. ni’ kwthu t’iw’i’ulhew’t-hw tthu swe’s tse’ s’ixwutus ’i tthu chikunew’t-hw
    1. There are those that had the job of cleaning out the chapel and the chicken houses.
54. nilh ni’ tl’uw’ swe’s syaays tthu q’e’lumi’ kws q’eept-s tthu ’iiks, suw’ xulhust-s tthu chikun.
    1. That also was a job of the girls, to gather eggs and feed the chickens.
55. ’i’ ni’ tthu ni’ hw’uxwwilt tthu lelum’ ni’ shni’s tthu chikun.
    1. And there were those that cleaned out the chicken houses.
56. thi lelum’ tthu chikunew’t-hw.
    1. The chicken house was a great, big, long building.
57. tsakw ts’twa’ silew’ nets’uw’us chikun tthu ni’ sun’iw’ ’u tthey’ lelum’.
    1. There must have been way over a hundred chickens that were inside the building.
58. nilh kwelh swe’s syaayss tthu q’e’lumi’ they’.
    1. So, that is the work that the girls had.
59. ’uwu kw’us ’iya’qtul’ ’u tthu ni’ syaasstamut.
    1. You didn’t change jobs with other children [whatever job you were given in the house, that was your job throughout the school term].
60. sxuluxits tthu kwun’et kwthu syaysstewut ’u tthu ’uw’ mukw’ skweyul.
    1. There were those that had jobs that they had to do every day.
61. ni’ ch hayuqun ’i wulh nilh ’al’ suw’ yayss kwthu hw¸uxwwiil.
    1. As soon as you were finished with your meals, the dishwashers went to work.
62. yath ’uw’ ne’ullh ’al’ ’uwu kws ’iye’qs.
    1. Always them, they were never changed off.
63. toohw tintun ’i’ ni’ nem’ skwoul tthu ’umum’unlh stl’ul’iqulh.
    1. At 9 o’clock, the littler, smaller children went to school.
64. hay tthu ni’ wulh thithu swaw’lus ni’ yaysstum, ’u kwthuw’ mukw’ ’al’ stsekwul’ ni’ syaysstewut.
    1. But the bigger boys were put to work on whatever jobs they had for them.
65. ni’ kwthu ni’ nem’ q’p’iwst tthu stuliqiw ’i’ ni’ nem’ ’ullhule’tsum ’u tthu syalh.
    1. There were those that went and hitched the horses and went out to haul wood.
66. syalh tthu huy’qws tthu skwoulew’t-hw.
    1. The school’s fire was a wood fire.
67. ’uwu ch ni’uhw lhits’ut tthu syalh.
    1. You didn’t cut the wood.
68. ni’ wulh st’ulut’iq’stum, sulusiq’, suw’ sumqw’uyi’us ’i’ ni’ ’iluqutus ’us tthu luplit tunni’ ’u tthu pun’e’luxu¸ hwulmuhw.
    1. It was already cut up, chopped, and piled: that was the way the priests bought the wood from the First Nations people.
69. ’uw’ hay ’al’ kwelh ’us yays kw’us ’ullhule’tst ’u tthu¸ ’ik¸ ’ik sis ’uw’ t’uhwstuhw.
    1. So, then, your only job was to load it onto the wagons and take it down.
70. ’i’ ni’ ch muqw’iyi’ust kwus ni’ wulh hun’tsuwnuhw.
    1. And you piled it up when you had gotten it down.
71. xu’athun sxun’u kws tl’eqt-s kws st’ut’iqw’ste’wut tthu syalh.
    1. The wood was cut into fourths of lengths.
72. ni’ kwelh kwthu ni’ qul’et t’qw’i¸e’tuhw swe’s tthu kichun. sis ’uw’ hwi’ suqul’tsup.
    1. So, there was that wood that you had to cut up again for the kitchen, and then also the job of chopping it up [into kindling].
73. tl’atl’um’ut tthu ha’kw ’u tthu kichun.
    1. You always had to have enough so the kitchen was never short of wood.
74. nilh nuts’a’ syayss tthu swaw’lus tthu syalh.
    1. The wood was one of the jobs for the boys.
75. yu qw’iq’wul’as ’i’ ni’ ch hwi’ tl’ushun’up.
    1. Now, going into the springtime of the year, you were plowing up the land.
76. hwi’ nilhus yays kw’us thuyt tthu tumuhw, ’u kwthu spun’um tse’.
    1. Your job now was to prepare the earth for all the planting.
77. ni’ kwthu ni’ qw’um’utst tthu spun’um ’u kws ni’s wulh tuw’ hwu tl’ul’e’tl’qt.
    1. And there were those that went to weed the gardens when the plants got long enough.
78. tus ’u kwthu shtssasuxwul ’i hwi’ nilh ni’us sya’yus.
    1. Then, when it came haying time, that was your next job.
79. hay tthu q’e’lumi’, nilh tthu sp’¸els swe’s sya’yuss, ’i’ tthu skwoukw, ’i’ tthu sp’eq’um spun’um.
    1. But with the girls, it was the sewing that was their job, and the cooking, and the planting of flowers.
80. nilh swe’s sya’yusste’wut ’eelhtun.
    1. And those are the jobs that they had.
81. yul’ew’ tahw skweyul ’i’ hwi’ nilh tthu thithu stl’ul’iqulh ni’ skwoulstum.
    1. The afternoon, then, was the time for the big children to go to school.
82. sis ’uw’ hwi’ nilh tthu ’umumun’lh ni’ yays.
    1. And then the small children were put out to work.
83. nuts’a’ tintun ’i’ ni’ ch skwoul ’u tthu yul’ew’ tahw skweyul.
    1. In each school, at 1 o’clock, you went to school.
84. xu’athun ’i’ tintun tthu thi tintuns tthu skwoulew’t-hw, suw’ hays thun’ syays.
    1. At 4 o’clock in the afternoon then, the large bell in the school was rung, and your work was finished.
85. ni’ ch lhsuplilstaam sis ’uw’ nem’ huw’a’lum nem’ ’u thu shhwhiw’a’lum’s tthu skwoulew’t-hw.
    1. You were given a piece of bread, and here was some molasses on it, and you went out to play on the playground of the school.
86. t’xum ’i tl’uw’ wulh tintin, kwthu thi tintin, sis ’uw’ nem’ xlhas ’u tthun’ shhwune’untqun.
    1. At 6 o’clock, the big bell rang again, and then you went to get your evening meal.
87. hay ’i’ ni’ ch tl’uw’ wulh huw’a’lum.
    1. After that you went out to play again.
88. toohw ’i’ ni’ tl’uw’ wulh q’puthaam sis ’uw’ yu t’iw’i’ulh yelh sis nem’ ’itut.
    1. At 9 o’clock you were gathered again, and you knelt down and prayed before you went to bed.
89. t’xum sil’anum kw’unus ni’ sq’uq’a’ ’u kwthu stu’e ’u tthey’ ’i’ ni’ tsun ’usup’nuhw tthu ni’ shskwoukwul’steelt sis ’uw’ kwe’thelum, nus niw’ ’utl’q.
    1. It was 6 years that I went through that before I finished my schooling, and they let me go, and I was out, out of school.
90. 1926 ’i’ ni’ tsun kwe’thelum ’u kwthey’ ni’ulh nu shni’ kw’unus skwoukwul.
    1. It was in 1926 that they let me go from there, where I was going to school.
91. nilh hun’utum’ “fifth reader” tthu shuqnehwuhw ’i kwe’thaam.
    1. It is what is known as the fifth reader that you completed, and then you were let go.
92. ’uwu te’ tl’e’ ’ush nem’ kwus qul’et skwoul kw’us hwulmuhw.
    1. There was nowhere else to go to school when you are an Indian.
93. ’uwu ch si’ixwuhw kw’us nem’ ’u tthu s-hwunitum’alh skwoulew’t-hw kw’us hwulmuhw.
    1. You were not allowed to go to the white man’s school when you were an Indian.
94. ’uw’ ’usup’nuhw ch ’al’ tthu “fifth reader” ’i’ ’uwu te’ tl’e’ ’ush nem’.
    1. You just completed the fifth reader and there was nowhere else for you to go.
95. October 1947 yelh ’is ’iye’q kwthu stu’e ’u they’.
    1. It was October of 1947 before this thing was changed.
96. yelh sis hwu sthuthi’stum kws tl’umquns kw’us skwoukwul.
    1. And then it was made so that you could take all day schooling.
97. ’us ’uw’ nem’ ’uw’ shqut kwthu ni’ ’ush qwaluwun’i’ ni’ ch ’uw’ shqut tthu high skwoul.
    1. You finished up whatever you possibly could; if you had a strong mind, you would finish high school.
98. nilh shtu’este’wutulh tthu hwulmuhw kwthu stu’e ’u tthey’.
    1. That is the way they treated the Indians, like that.
99. hay ’us niw’, sule’tst.
    1. When you’re finished doing that, then you nail the cover on.