Bill Seward: The Owl

by

  1. I’ll tell you a story about myself. I used to hunt the Alaska highway quite a bit in my younger days. I used to go up to 245, and there is nothing there. It’s just wild. I was coming out at one time. This is just before dark, walking out. And I sat down and I heard a dog barking and I know there are no dogs farther up there, no, nothing. I looked up the tree and there was a big owl – we call it spulqwitth’e’ [spəlqʷit̓ᶿeʔ] — and he was imitating a dog. So he flew when I got up. And he flew right in front of me. I could barely see him and he stood on a stump. And when I got close to it, it took of again. When I got close, he flew again. He took me right out the highway, the Alaska highway. When he got me out the highway, I could see him flying back. And that’s the way our people taught me. Don’t ever touch or shoot an owl, orca, bear. They say that’s one of our people. And that owl looked after me – took me right to the highway.
  2. si’em’ nu siiye’yu’
    1. My most honoured friends:
  3. kw’unus ’i hwun’ ’um’mushulh ni ’u tun’a tuywut.
    1. When I used to go hunting up in northern Alaska,
  4. ’i’ ni’ulh tsun ’i’mush ni’ ’u tey’ ’i’ ’uwu te’ wet ni’ ‘u tey’ neet.
    1. I hunted there where it is desolate–no one was there at that place.
  5. ’i’ wulh m’i tsun yu ’e’tl’qul’, wulh yu lhalhutsthut.
    1. I was making my way out of the forest, and it was now starting to get dark.
  6. ’i’ ’i tsun wulh ts’e’lhum’ ’u tu wuwa’us tl’e’wul’s, sqwumey’.
    1. And then I heard a dog barking, howling like a dog.
  7. nusuw’ kw’a’usum ’i’ lemut ’i’ ’e’ut tsiitmuhw tu shts’un’ets ni ’u tthu tsitsulh.
    1. I looked up and saw an owl sitting way up on a tree
  8. nusuw’ lhxilush kwunus m’i ’utl’qul ’imush.
    1. I stood up and went forward out.
  9. ’i’ na’ut yuw’an’thut na’ut yu lhalhukw’ ’i’ na’ut wulh hwts’e’nutsum.
    1. He flew ahead and sat waiting for me.
  10. nusuw’ ts’imul’, na’ut tl’uwulh lhakw’, na’ut tl’uwulh lhakw’.
    1. Every time I came close, he would fly ahead.
  11. wulh ts’imul’ tsun ‘i’ na’ut tl’uwulh ’imush.
    1. I would come close, and he would move.
  12. m’i tl’lim’ ’uw’ ’utl’qtham’shus nem’ ’u tu shelh.
    1. He actually led me out of the thicket and onto the road.
  13. ’i’ yelhsus nem’ hwq’unqun.
    1. And then he returned.
  14. ni’ tsun ’uw’ yu le’lum’ut kwus wulh nem’ hwq’unqun.
    1. I saw him fly back.
  15. nilh wa’lu ’uw’ sht’esulh kwthu ’uw’ t’atulh mustimuhw.
    1. That was the ways of our ancestors
  16. ’uwu tseep set’q’teep tu spulqwitth’e’, tsiitmuhw, q’ullhanumutsun.
    1. They warned us never to harm the owl, great horned owl and orca.
  17. ’iy’et tseep.
    1. Take good care of them.
  18. nilhulh sniw’s tthu s’ul’eluhwulh.
    1. This was the teaching of the elders.
  19. tun’a kweyul ’i’ ni’ hwu nets’.
    1. Today it is very different.
  20. tth’ihwumee, stl’ul’iq’ulh, ’i’ st’e ’u kw’uw’ hwu’alum’stuhw, hwq’un’qi’nustuhw
    1. Please, dear children, bring it back,
  21. kwthu sht’es ’u kw’uw’ snuw’uyulhsulh kwthu s’ul’eluhw tst.
    1. the teachings by our ancestors, our elders.
  22. ’uw’ hay ’ul’ nu sqwal, sii’em’, st’e ’u tey’.
    1. That is all I am going to say, honoured ones, about that.
  23. hay ch q’a. ni’ hay.
    1. Thank you. The end.