Bill Seward: The Young Man and the Orca

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The young man and the orca

Bill Seward

  1. I will tell you a story about the orca. This was also passed on from 1000 years ago. There was a hunter, seal hunter.
  2. nem’ pi’atulh tu na’nuts’a’ swiw’lus.
    1. One young young man went hunting on the water.
  3. shes ’es-hw tu yath ’uw’ ’a’luxutus yu t’at’ukw’.
    1. Sea lions and seals were what he always harvested and brought them home.
  4. nilh s’i’lhtun’sulh tu s’ul’eluhw tst tthey’ ’es-hw, shes.
    1. That was our Elders food source, seal and sea lion.
  5. ’i’ nuts’a’ skweyul ’i’ wulh nem’ pi’atulh ’a’luxutus tey’ ’es-hw.
    1. So, this one day he went sea hunting, harvesting seal.
  6. suw’ kwulushtus tu ’es-hw, sus ’uw’ tl’pilustum, sus ’uw’ nuqum tuw’nilh nem’ nuqum.
    1. So he shot a seal, and it went under water, and he dove in after the seal.
  7. ’i’ ’uwu m’iis tl’e’ p’ukw qul’et, ni’ st’e ’u kw’uw’ ’ikw’, q’ay’.
    1. And he never returned, never came to surface, seemingly lost for dead.
  8. ’al’mutsun’ tu sq’uq’a’s m’iis t’akw’, ’i’ ‘uwu ’iis m’i t’akw’.
    1. Everyone was waiting for him to come home, but he never came home.
  9. ni’ ’ikw’.
    1. He was lost.
  10. ’i’ nuts’a’ skweyul ’i’ wulh m’i tetsul tu q’ullhanumutsun, qux q’ullhanumutsun.
    1. And one day some orcas arrive, a big pod of orcas.
  11. ’i’ ’e’ut yu sts’uts’e’ ’u tu q’ullhanumutsun.
    1. And there he was, riding on one of the orcas.
  12. m’is wil’ m’i yu t’at’ukw’, m’i t’ukw’stum.
    1. He was coming home, they brought him home.
  13. ’i’ ’uwu ’iis m’i t’akw’, na’ut ’uw’ yu ’eey’ ’ul’ q’ullhanumutsun.
    1. But he really didn’t come home but just continued on with those orcas.
  14. tun’a kweyul ’i’ ’e’ut ’uw’ hwun’ ’i’ tey’ sxwi’em’sulh kwthu s’ul’eluhw tst.
    1. Today the legend is still told by our Elders.
  15. ’i’ ’uwu kws yaths ’uw’ wi’wul’.
    1. Now today it is not seen very often.
  16. hay ’u kws niis qul’qul’em’ tu nets’ ’i’ nilh tey’ qul’qul’em’ lumnuhw ’i’ ’uwu tse’ hithus ’i’ ’ikw’.
    1. So those that see them do not treasure them, so we lose it.
  17. nilh yath ’uw’ sqwaqwul’s tu mustimuhw s’ul’eluhw tst.
    1. This was always told by our Elders.
  18. ’iy’et tseep tun’a q’ullhanumutsun.
    1. Be kind to the orca.
  19. nilh st’ee kw’uw’ le’lum’utal’hw, huy’thustal’hwus tu sxwi’em’sulh kwu s’ul’eluxhw tst.
    1. They look after us, according to the stories of our Elders.
  20. nilh kwu’elh ni’ st’ee kw’uw’ swi’wul’ ’u tun’a kweyul, sxwi’em’sulh tu s’ul’eluhw tst.
    1. This is now coming to light today, the stories of our ancestors.
  21. ’i’ ’uwu niis hith ’i’ tl’e’ wulh m’i wil’.
    1. It wasn’t long until he appeared again.
  22. ’e’ut tl’e’ wulh m’i wil’ tu q’ullhanumutsun.
    1. The orca appeared again.
  23. ’e’ut tl’e’ wulh yu kwun’el’s tey’ swiw’lus ni’ ’ikw’ulh ’u kwthey’ kweyul.
    1. And there was the young man holding on, the one that had been lost on that day.
  24. ’i’ tey’ ni’ lumnuhw ’i’ ’uwu ’ul’ hithus ’i’ na’ut tl’e’ wulh ’ikw’.
    1. Those people that saw this did not last long before they also died.
  25. ni’ st’ee kw’uw’ huy’thustum’ tu mustimuhw ’u tu sht’esulh kw’, “la’lum’utul’ tseep! la’lum’utul’ tseep!”
    1. This was how it was told to the people about that, “Look after each other! Look after each other!”
  26. nilh st’ee kw’uw’ sxwi’em’s s-huy’thustal’hws, ni’nuw’uta’lum’ ’u tu s’ul’eluhw tst.
    1. This is the story our Elders told us, lecturing us.
  27. ’i’ tun’a kweyul ’uwu kws tl’e’s wil’ tey’ s’ul’eluhw st’ee kw’uw’ ’ikw’ kwthey’ swiw’lusulh st’ee kw’uw’ huy’thustal’hw ’u tu ’ikw’ tse’ musteyuhw.
    1. Today the Elders no longer mention that the young man that was lost about how we were told when he appears, someone will pass away.
  28. hay tseep q’a. ni’ hay.
    1. Thank you. That is all.

Story told by Bill Seward.
Transcribed by Theresa Thorne and Donna Gerdts.
Translated by Bill Seward and Donna Gerdts.
Filmed by Chris Bouris
Audio and video post-production by Chris Bouris, Sean Milliken, and Zoey Peterson.
Titles by Donna Gerdts.