Bill’s Name | skwish ts’uqw’nustun tus kwu ni’ skwish kwun’eteen’. This is going to be about the name that I carry. tul’li’ ’u kw’unu si’leelh, mens kw’unu men. It is from my grandfather, my father’s father. kwunus ’uw’ hwun’a’ ’ul’ kwan ’i’ wulh ’amusthelum ’u kw’unu men When I was first born, I was given that name by my father,

The importance of earning a name kwusulh wulh kwishuthelum, kwunus hwun’a ’ul’ kwan ’i wulh ’amusthelum ’u tey’ sne ’u kw’unu men. About how I got my name, when I was born I was named by my father. ’i tsun wulh ts’isum ’i tsun wulh thi mustimuhw ’i’ nilhulh nemustelum ’u thu thi lelum’, kws hwyuthust tthu mustimuhw kw’unus ’i

A message from Bill Seward, Snuneymuxw First Nations, Nanaimo, British Columbia. Recorded by Chris Bouris. Thanks to Chris Bouris, Sean Milliken, and Zoey Peterson for video and post-production. Please also view the Hul’q’umi’num’ version of Bill’s teachings at: Bill Seward: About Names (Hul’q’umi’num’)

Sharing and Helping (Hul’q’umi’num’ starts at 2:20) kwunus hwun’a ’ulh ’ul’ nem’ kwulusht(um) smuyuth, When I first started going shooting deer, ’i’ skw’ey kwunus ’uw’ kwun’et ’ul’ nem’ tsun ’amust tu s’eluhw. and I was obligated to take some and go give it to the Elder. nilh ’uw’ sht’esulh tthuw’ t’at mustimuhw nilh snuw’uyulh. That is the way it was

Always share what you catch suw’ q’ups tthu mustimuhw ni’ ’u thu thi lelum’, When the people gather in the longhouse, thuytum tey’ smuyuth ’uw’ stemus, ma’uqw ’uw’ stemus, ’es-hw. they fix deer or whatever, ducks, seal. wulh q’putum tu mustimuhw, suw’ ’amustum tu s’ul’eluhw ’u tey’ When the people are gather, they give to the Elders ni’ st’ee kw’uw’

they’t thu thi lelum’ |Rebuilding the Longhouse ’een’thu p’e’ niilh thuyt thu thi lelum’ tst I was indeed the one responsible for building our longhouse ’i’ kw’unu sqe’uq ni’ wulh s’i’kw’ ’u tun’a kweyul. along with my younger brother who is now deceased. suw’ thuyt ’i’ huy’thustham’shusulh kw’unu s’ul’eluhw, We were building and my Elders were tell me, “ha’ ch

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