Bill Seward: Gabriola Gravesite

Gabriola Gravesite

tthu ni’ Gabriola ni’ tsun sme’mul’qstuhw kwthu skwishs tey’ skwthe’.
It was over at Gabriola, I forgot the native name of that island.

kws q’ays tu mustimuhw
When the people died

’i’ hun’wushum’ ’u tthu [sh-hwuhwul’iwun’ smeent].
They were put in a cave over there

’uwu kws punutums.
They weren’t buried.

nuw’ ni’ kwthu ni’ ni’ shni’s tthu ni’ ’u tu smeent hun’wushum’.
And it was that location in the rock that they were placed.

’i’ nanulh ’uw’ tl’i’st-hwus tu mustimuhw tey’ sq’aq’i’ mustimuhw.
And the people treated the deceased people with great respect.

’i’ na’ut hwuni’ ’u tthey’ ’u tun’a kweyul.
And one day they got there.

tun’a kweyul ’i’ ni’ wulh kwunutum ’u tu hwunitum’,
One day they were taken by the white men

nemustum ’u tthu [shni’s tthu shtth’utth’a’] la’lum’stun’uq, tstetul’a.
and they were taken to the museum.

’iilh ’uw’ pte’muthelum ’i’ ni’ tsun skw’eystuhw,
I was asked and I refused,

[thutstuhw] “’uwu tseep nem’uhw set’q’t.”
telling them, “No you can’t disturb them.”

’i’ nuw’ nem’, nem’ uw’ kwunutum.
But they went ahead and took them.

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[in English]

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kwutst wulh nem’ punut kwthey’ mustimuhw.
So we when and buried those people.

’i’ ni’ tsun hakwush tthu tth’uxwten tst, sxwayxwi’
I used our ritual, the mask dance

kwsutst wulh nem’ tsumstuhw tthey’ sq’aq’i’ mustimuhw sutst ’uw’ punut.
when we took the deceased people up and we buried them.

’uwu ’uw’ tl’uhwla’usus ’ul’ s’ul’eluhw sii’em’ mustimuhw kwthey’.
They didn’t leave the older people there undistrubed.

nilh kwu’elh nush ni’ hakwush tu tth’uxwten.
And thus I used the spiritual work.

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A story in Hul’q’umi’num’ by Bill Seward, Snuneymuxw First Nations, Nanaimo, British Columbia.
Recorded by Chris Bouris.
Transcribed by Ruby Peter, typed by Sarah Kell, and edited and translated by Donna Gerdts.
Thanks to Chris Bouris, Sean Milliken, and Zoey Peterson for video and post-production.