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Tlingit Conversation #24
Speakers are Daasdiyáa Nelly Lord and Achkwéi Lena Farkas. Recorded July 19, 2010, at the home of Lena Farkas in Yakutat, Alaska, by Naakil.aan Mark Hans Chester. THIS RECORDING IS CONTINUED ON # 25.
This material is based on work supported by National Science Foundation grant 0853788 to the University of Alaska Southeast with Ljáaḵkʼ Alice Taff as Principal Investigator, and by National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship 266286-19 to Ljáaḵkʼ Alice Taff. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or National Endowment for the Humanities.
Tlingit transcription by X̱’aagi Sháawu Keri Eggleston. English translation by Ḵaaḵal.aat Florence Sheakley with Ljáaḵkʼ Alice Taff. Edited by X̱’aagi Sháawu Keri Eggleston and Saḵaayí Anita Lafferty.
SYMBOLS: {false start}, (added for clarity), [translator/transcriber's note]. ??? = can’t understand, «Lingít quotation marks» [Time-aligned text for this video was accomplished using ELAN ((Versions 6.0 (2020), 6.1 (2021), and 6.3 (2022) [Computer software]. Nijmegen: Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, The Language Archive. Retrieved from https://archive.mpi.nl/tla/elan}
I'd like to introduce my sister Nellie Lord. From Yakutat. And my name is Lena Farkas from Yakutat also. This is my sister Nellie, her, her name is Daasdiyáa in Tlingit and Staan Tláa. Those are her two Tlingit names. Staan Tláa.
Kaayjínaa.
[name]
Kaayjínaa is another one; she has three names. And, she was born in Situk River, uh, where our grandfather had some land. And my name is Lena Farkas, I, I was born in Yakutat. My Tlingit name is Achkwéi,
Lḵaawu G̱uls'ísx̱,
[name]
ḵa Kayeeshdi.oo.
and Kayeeshdi.oo.
And Tleix̱téen.
[name]
Those are my, my uh, Tlingit names, and Tleix̱téen was my, my potlatch name. We grew up here in Yakutat part of the time and went to school at, at Mt. Edgecombe for about five or six years. Okay?
Um.
Wa.é deis(k') shk'é.
It's your turn.
Ch'a daa sá i tuwáa sigóo. Test (kuḵwalayéix̱) at .áx̱ji.
Whatever you want. I'm going to test the sound.
Ḵáa x̱'eeya.áx̱ch gé i een yoo x̱'atula.átgi?
Can you hear when we talk to you?
Not too much.
G̱unéiḵ kwshé kakḵwalaneek?
Should I tell the story about G̱unéiḵ?
Daa sá i tuwáa sigóo a daa yóo x̱'atula.átgi?
What do you want us to talk about?
Amm, haa wé ah, yóo s a táḵde haa klag̱ás'jeen.
Umm, we used to move there to ???.
Am, naakéede áx' yóo haa kligas'geen ch'ul
Um, we used to move north before
asg̱eiwú g̱unéi. Aaá.
seining begins. Yes.
Aa.
Yes.
Yáx̱ yaa kunahéini áwé
When it was thawing out
yaa
that
naakéedei yoo Hubbard Glacier x̱ándei áwé
to the north next to the Hubbard Glacier
natooḵúx̱ch.
we would go by boat.
Ax̱ éesh, ḵa ax̱ eek' hás, ḵa ax̱ tláa.
My father, my brothers, and my mother.
Ḵa ax̱ shátx̱.
And my older sister.
Wé
The
t'á
king salmon
ḵa cháatl
and the halibut
áwé daa has gadanáḵwch.
they would harvest.
Du éet tudashéeych haa, haa tláa wé x̱áat óosk'i een ḵa
We'd help our, our mother with the small fish and
héen yáa,
(carrying) water,
x̱'aan yís
for the fire
wé naháashadi
the bark
{yéi da, yéi daa,}
toonéi nuch.
we used to work on it.
Áwé
That is
yáa
this
yá x̱áat, x̱áat ḵa cháatl daa yéi jitooneiyí áwé t'á
when we worked on the red salmon and the halibut
ah, wé
uh, the
{x̱} x̱aanás' áwé
fish drying rack,
{too} tulayéx̱ch.
we used to build it.
Wé cháatl áx̱ shugoogax̱tóo-
Where we were going to (put) the halibut.
A yeex' áwé, a káx̱
On the inside, on
a yeex' áwé,
inside of it,
áx̱ katulas'áḵx̱i nuch.
we used to lightly smoke it.
Katusaxóok nuch yaa gáan
We used to dry it outside
gáanx' awdagaaní.
when it was sunny out.
Áwé,
Then,
g̱agaanich een tsú
with the sun too,
a, tusaxúkjeen.
uh, we used to dry it.
A ítdáx̱ áwé tsu wé,
After that,
a, laaḵ'ásk
um, black seaweed
ḵa
and
yóo x'áat' ??? ḵúnáx̱ {kéi ksa} kéi klaléich yé,
where the island comes out of the water,
ax' áwé
that's where
a déin tooḵúx̱ch wé
we would go by boat to
laaḵ'ásk kaldax'óol'.
pick black seaweed.
Ax̱ tláach áwé wé,
My mother
nadáakw ká g̱áaji wé áx̱ akoosyáaych.
used to put table cloths on the tables.
Oodagaaní ch'a a káx' áwé yéi ntoo.eich wé
When it was sunny we would put
wé laaḵ'ásk.
the black seaweed.
Yaa naxóogu áwé
when it's drying
uh, scissors
Ḵaashaxáshaa.
Scissors.
Ḵaashaxíshaa een áwé {a a} yax̱ yaa {yaksa
With the scissors we would
táx'ch} wé, wé, ah,
bite the uh, [She may have wanted to say «yax̱ yaa yaktulaxáshch.» ʼWe'd cut it all up.ʼ (Anita Lafferty)].
laaḵ'ásk.
the black seaweed.
A ítdáx̱ áwé tsu wé gáal' g̱aa wé ntoo.átch.
And after that we would go for clams.
Ḵa {yáa na} yáa ixkéex' yalooleit yóo yeeysáakw.
In the South (of Yakutat) you all call it cockles.
Uháanch ḵu.aa áwés,
Us though,
uh, sáaxw yóo tuwasáaxw.
we say sáaxw.
Á tsú
It too,
yéi ntusaneich.
we used to make it.
K'idein
Real good
wé too.óos'idáx̱ áwé
after washing it (real good),
áwé tsu wé a,
and then, uh,
uh, {sheishíx}
{shei} Keishísh.
Alder.
Huh? Keishísh. Keishísh
Alder. Alder
áwé k'idéin
really good
yaa a daadáx̱ wé,
remove the,
a daa kanas.éich át áwé a k'idéin a daadáx̱ too-,
whatever grows on it, we,
a, {ka} katulax'óol'. Aag̱áa áwé {a} a tóonáx̱,
pick it uh, off real well. And then through it,
ah, {an} a kaanáx̱ yatusahéich.
uh, we would gather it on it.
Aag̱áa áwé wé, wé a,
And then the, the, uh,
wé, wé atx'aan hídix' á tsú áx̱ akantulas'éḵch.
we would smoke it in the smoke house.
Ha áyáx̱ áx̱ akawtulas'eig̱í áwé,
When we smoked it just right,
ax̱ tláach
my mother
wé tsaa áwé tsú haat has ayooháaych.
they used to bring us seal also.
Áwé
And then
ax̱ tláach,
my mother,
ax̱ éesh du éet udashéeych wé, wé tsaa.
would help my father with the, the seal.
Akg̱wach'éit ??? nuch yax̱ áwés wé,
He would skin it ???
wé a,
the uh,
taay áwé
seal fat
tsú axáshdi nuch.
she'd cut that up too.
Ldakát a yax̱ yaa ayaklaxáshch wé,
She used to cut every one of them,
ḵ'wátl tlein g̱eix' áwé
inside the big pot,
ah, wé tsaa eix̱í yéi adaanéi nuch.
uh, she would work on the seal fat.
Yan wuneiyí áwé yáa
And when it was done,
yáa ínx'eesháa geidí áwé yéi,
into the jars
yéi daatoonéi nuch wé
we would put them,
gáal' ḵa wé yalooleit.
the clams and the cockles.
Aag̱áa wé tsá
And then we would
wé a,
the uh,
tsaa eix̱í geidí yan tusaxéiych x̱á
we would pour seal oil in it [«Tsaa eix̱í a x̱oodé yan tusaxéich,» ʼWe would pour the seal oil in it,ʼ Anita Lafferty would say.]
yax̱ yakdultáḵch.
and poke it around.
Ḵa
And
áyáx̱ yakunageich wé, wé tsaa.
there was enough seal to go around.
Yáa,
That,
{ee} áa yan wuneiyídáx̱ áwé tsá yóo
after it was finished, then
{yóo uh}
mountain, I forgot the name of it.
Shaa.
Mountain.
Yóo shaa kaadée káx' áwé daak {oo} has
On the mountains they would come out
na.át wé, wé black bear.
walking, the, the black bears.
The valley the, where, where they have that their, usually right by the valley is where they have the uh, their uh, nesting place. And they come out on the slides there during the spring time.
Yé áx' has awusteení wé has lunagúḵch.
When they would see it, they would run.
Tsu, tsu tléix' á tsú has oojaaḵch.
They would also, also kill one.
Ldakát áa {yan yan t
All of it
kaw} kawtulagaayí áwé
we put up
yáa aandé tsu g̱unéi tooḵoox̱ch.
we would go back to the village.
Tlél, tlél yóo outboard motor too.oojí; yéi áwé ax̱ éek' hás has ax̱áa nuch.
we didn't use outboard motors; my brothers just always rowed.
Áwé tsu, tsu sgóondei ntoo.átch wáanganeens' ch'a tléix' sándei x'áax' yáx̱ shákdei.
We used to go to school for maybe one week.
Aa, ḵa
Uh, and
wé tsaa tsú ḵa wé uh,
the seal also and the
cháatl ḵa t'á
halibut and king salmon
a, áyáx̱ koogeiyí áwé ch'a wé yaakw g̱éix' wé has ajoonaaḵch aadóo sá tuwáa sagoowú.
uh, if there was enough, they used to leave it in the boat for whoever wanted some.
Aax̱
From there
yé aakdusneich x̱á
they would take some
atx̱á sákw.
for food.
Áwé tsú yá Sitáḵ yaa commercial fishing
And also the commercial fishing at Situk
ah, open-x̱ wudulyeix̱í áwé tsu aadé haa klagás'ch school yan shaawahík dei.
uh, when they opened it we would go back (to camp) when school was already over.
Áx' áwé tsú,
There also,
tlél yá towndé,
not in the town,
wé railroad tracks áx' yéi téeyin wé little
there were small railroad tracks there
wé trainx' kát áwé haa ndusx̱út'ch.
we were pulled on the train.
Satáḵ ch'a ḵa Aan Tlein.
Situk and Ahrnklin.
Aan tleinx' áwé tlél tsú yá aan
At Ahrnklin, the town,
káx̱ tsu kootootín nuch.
we didn't come back to it again.
Áx'
At
wé Aan Tleinx' áwé
Ahrnklin
Saturday káx' shákdéi wé andusg̱eiwúch.
maybe it was on Saturday that they seined.
Dei tsu ax̱ tláa x̱á du jeeyís héen tooyáa ḵa wé
For my mother again we would pack water and the
wé ah, t'á, ḵa
the, uh, king salmon and
ḵa sockeye á áwé.
and sockeye.
K'idéin daatoonéi nuch
We would work on it good
du jeeyís.
for her.
K'idéin wutoo.óos'idáx̱ áwé wé
After we washed it real good
wé atx'aan hídix' yax̱,
in the smoke house
{yan yax̱ tushi yax̱}
shayatootéeych du jeeyís.
we would hang them for her.
Ch'a yáa
And this
héen a daatx̱
water from it
yéi ng̱aneit.
would drip.
Á áwé
And that
aax̱, a ax̱ shoowtudaḵeeyí ḵeix̱'éix' áwé tlei ch'a yóok' haa shoosḵéeych ch'u l yéil du.aax̱jích.
they used to wake us up early in the morning before the raven.
Aag̱áa áwé
And then
yaa
this
hóoch ḵwá aklats'éitʼ nuch áwé wé
after she would slice it ??? the [Anita Lafferty would say, «hóoch ḵwá aklax'ásdi nuch,» ʼafter she would slice it.ʼ]
at yoowax'éishi a daadáx̱.
fine meat from it.
Ḵaa yáa
And this
yáat'aa
one
wé a,
that uh,
ḵúnáx̱ éix̱
oily
fish
eix̱í áa yéi nateech yáat,
it is always oily here,
collar yóo duwasáakw, fish collar.
collar it's called, fish collar.
Á áwé tsú aax̱ akanalts'étʼ nuch.
That too she would carefully slice off.
Ch'a g̱óot tsu
Without it
tsu wé tíx' een áwé
with the string
{wóosht katool wóosht katool}
tíx' een wóosht katulas'eet.
we used to tie them together.
Aag̱áa áwé
And then we
tsú wé
also that
atx'aan hídi yix̱ sha(ya)tootéeych.
we would hang them in the smokehouse.
Ḵa yáa
And this
yáa a l'eedí tsú, the tail.
also the tail.
Á tsú tooxash nuch woosh géide.
We used to cut them also in the opposite direction.
Aag̱áa áwé wé, wé, a,
And then, the, the, uh,
s'é {jika} jikakáas' káx̱
on the sticks
shayootootéeych há.
we would hang them
Ákwé s'óos'ni yóo duwasáakw.
Aren't they called s'óos'ani? [Sticks poked through the fish tails and hung up.]
S'óos'ni? Yeah.
Á áwé ah,
And uh,
Sunday káx' ḵwá wéi s toolsáaych ch'as wé
on Sunday we would rest, just the
(at)x'aan daakahídi {wé daak}
smokehouse
a daat haa yoostaaḵch ḵa wé, wé yaakw daaḵ,
we would tend to, and the boat,
daaḵ shuktusayéich.
we would tend to the outhaul.
Yaa commercial fishing Monday kax' start-x̱ gux̱sateeyí.
The commercial fishing would start on Monday.
Yá haa s'íx'
And our dish
yáa
this
tléiḵw kawut'aayí áwé tsú
when the berries got ripe
tlél tsu yáa town ḵutooteen[x̱] tlei ch'a áx' áwé.
we'd never come to town, we would just stay there.
Ah, wé neigóong̱aa ntooḵúx̱ch
Uh, weʼd go on a boat for nagoon berries
ḵa
and
wé ah,
that uh,
kanat'á.
blueberries.
Á áwé
And that
kanéegwál' áwé yéi anasneich wé,
she made Tlingit pudding
wé tsaa
the seal
wé k'wát', tsaa
the egg, seal
fish eggs
Kaháakw.
Fish eggs.
Kaháakw, good.
Fish eggs.
Wé kaháakw tsú, wé, wé
Those fish eggs too, the, the
x̱áat axaashí wé ax̱ tláa, á tsú,
when she was cutting fish my mother, that too,
ah, wé ḵ'wátl g̱eix' áwé yéi ana.eich.
uh, inside the pot she would put it.
Ah, aag̱áa áwé wé {wé wéi}
Uh and then
a shóox̱ tooḵéeych wé
we would sit
wé kaháakw yóo
the fish eggs
ah, {katulda}
what do you call it? Gwál.
Mash.
Aaá, katula,
Yes, we,
Gwál kwshé?
Mash, maybe?
Yeah. Katulagwálx̱.
Yes, we would mash them. [Anita Lafferty suggests: “katulag̱útlx̱” for ʼwe mash it with our handsʼ.]
Aag̱áa áwé
And then
wé tlélḵw haat yéi wtusaneiyí áwé á tsú
when we'd bring the berries, that too
tsú clean-x̱ wutuliyeix̱ch há.
we would also clean them.[Anita Lafferty suggests: katools'eexwtáḵ nooch» for ʼwe'd always clean them (specifically berries)ʼ].
Aag̱áa áwé
And then
wé
that
ḵ'wátl tlein áwé
great big pot
wé stoox káa yan ootaanch.
would be put on the stove.
Haa jee yéi googéink' héen áwé
Just a little water
a káx' yéi ana.éich.
would be put in there.
Aag̱áa áwé wé tléiḵw
And then the berries
a x̱oo yéi ana.eich.
would be mixed in.
De ḵúnáx̱ áyáx̱
When you really
wé tléig̱u .eeyí áwé wé k'wát'.
cook the berries the fish eggs
kag̱útlx̱i áwé
mashed berries
shál een áwé yóo a, a g̱eex' ashakoolwús'ch.
you scrape the sides with a spoon and mix it.
Yaa kg̱a.éet.
As itʼs cooking.
Aax̱ áwé gáanx' yan oostéeych áwé.
And then she would leave it outside. [Anita Lafferty suggests: «gáanx' yan oos.éench» “she would put it outside” to refer specifically to a pot of food. (Classificatory verb)]
Ah, tlei wus.áat'i áwé tsá wé
Uh, when it gets cold
wé ah, ínx'eesháa ḵa ch'u yáa
the uh, glass jars or
yaa ah,
that uh,
fish cans g̱eidí
in fish cans
yéi ntusaneich.
we would put it in.
Aax̱ áwé
And then
tsu át tsú
it also
ah, tlél, tlél tsú
uh, and no, no,
hél aa,
not uh,
What do you call those
pots, uh,
you make canned fish in?
Pressure cooker?
Aaá, pressure cooker.
Yes,
Hél yéi át oo.óo haa tláa.
Our mother didnʼt have one.
Tlei ch'a wé uh,
And that also
ah, tub tlein áwé
uh, a big tub
héen {duḵa ḵaawa sh tuxaa}
water
a kaadéi ntooyáaych ḵa wé.
we would fill it with.
Ax̱ éeshch áwé wé
My father would
x̱'aan xáay, ch'a yéi akunalgeich ???
make a great big fire, he'd make it this big.
A káx' áwé yan ootaanch wé ah,
And it would sit on uh,
Tub.
wé fish, wé tub.
the fish, the tub.
Káast gé?
Barrel?
Aaá.
Yes.
{a} Tléix' gaaw x'áak ḵa ashoowú yáx̱ gé wé has ool.úkch ???
They would boil it for an hour and a half
l ushk'idéin oonanéig̱aa.
so it wouldnʼt spoil.
Ḵa wé káast
And the barrel
{yéi} yéidax̱ kunageich.
used to be this big.
A g̱eix' áwé tsú yéi s aanasneich wé
They would make some inside
kanéegwál' yáx̱ x̱aa
like the Tlingit pudding
yog̱urt yáx̱.
like yogurt.
Ah. Aatx̱ áwé tsu wé
Uh. And then from there
ah, shákw áwé kanat'éich Sitáḵx'.
uh, the strawberries would grow at Situk.
Áwé tsú aadé
And also there
natooḵúx̱ch Sitáḵde.
we would go by boat to Situk.
Sitáḵ áwé too.een nuch wé
We would pick in Situk
wé shákw.
the strawberries.
Tsú, tsú
Also, also
Aan Tlein jitoox̱áaych.
weʼd bring it to Ahrnklin.
Áx' áwé tsú wé
And there too
ah, kanéegwál' yéi anasneich.
they would make Tlingit pudding.
Wáanganeens'ís ch'a wé ínx'eesháa tóox' áwé oos.éeych, xá,
Sometimes it would be cooked right in the jars, see,
shóogaa a x̱oox' yéi ana.eich.
adding sugar to it.
Ah, áa yan kawtulagaayi,
Uh, when we finished this,
áwé tsú wé naakée Aan Tlein.
weʼd go up to Ahrnklin.
Ahrnklin.
Anrnklin (River name)
Ax̱ éesh aaní.
My fatherʼs land.
Aadéi wé ntooḵúx̱ch wé
We would go there by boat
a shoowú yáx̱ wé atx'éeshi ḵa wé
half of the dry fish and the
wé kanéegwál' aadé yan toox̱éich yóo Aan Tlein.
the Tlingit pudding we would take to Ahrnklin.
Áx'
There
ax̱ éesh ḵa ax̱ éek' hás
my father and my brothers
ah, g̱aatáa yei s ana.eich, trapping
uh, they used to take traps
cabin and, and uh, putting out traps.
Tsú áx' áwé tlei tláakw has ashunaḵúx̱ch
And there they would tow it fast
has ashunaḵúx̱ch wé,
they would tow it the,
wé g̱eiwú.
the seine.
Á áwé
And that
a, atx'aan daakahídi wé has oolyeix̱ch.
uh, they would build a smokehouse.
Aag̱áa áwé tsu [x̱áat] tsu [ax̱] tláach
And then the fish, my mother
tsú anaxásh tsu.
would cut it again.
Héen [tsú ooyáa nooch ???] wé éeḵdáx̱ tsú.
She would bring water from the beach too.
K'idéin,
Really well,
k'idéin natoo.óos'ch.
we'd wash it (the fish) real well.
Áwé yax̱ {shatoo} yax̱ shootooteeyí áwé.
We'd hang them all up.
Wé x'aat ákwé naakée.
The small island up north.
Á áwé wé, wé keishísh áa yéi nateech.
Thatʼs where the, the alder is.
Ax̱ éeshch áwé yéi a,
My father would uh,
a, shanaxwáayi yádi
uh, a small hatchet
yóo duwasáakw.
itʼs called.
Little axe.
Á áwé ḵúnáx̱,
Really,
k'idéin
really well
sharp anoolyéx̱ch.
heʼd sharpen it.
Áwé aadé haa lunagúḵch wé haa éek' haa een.
We would run there with our brothers.
Yeisú ???
Still ???
déex̱ ḵach'u nás'k táakw shákdé haa yáanáx̱.
two or three years older than we are.
Áwé áx' áwé tláakw,
And there, quickly,
tlél tsú tutuda.ús'x̱.
we never pouted.
Tlei áwé tlei ch'a sagúx̱ tulayéx̱ch dei.
We'd just have fun.
Tláakw yaa haa tugagúḵch [???] aadóoch,
We would run real fast, whoever,
sá ch'a yóok'
right away
wé, wé a daa
around it
leaves {yei aax̱} aax̱ katoo-
weʼd take the leaves,
we chopped the leaves off.
Ah, aag̱áa áwé tláakw aan yaa haa lugagúḵch áwé
Uh, then would we run fast and that
áwé
and that
wé (at) x'aan daakahídidé áx' áwé tlei táakw tsú
to the smoke house and there fast too
yax̱ yaktulax̱út'ch
we would chop up
wé keishísh.
the alder.
Yóo x̱'áan
That fire
wé,
that,
Tlei ch'a wáa sá dei yóo x̱'aḵataan.
Iʼm just speaking any old way now.
Wé
The
smokehouse-idé yéi áwé
to the smokehouse and that
wáanganeens' daak oostaanch ách áwé yaa
sometimes it would rain that is why
smokehouse {yoo-} katoochákch
we would pack it into the smokehouse
wé
that
wé keishísh.
that alder.
Ch'a ldakát wé has du
All of their
has du g̱aatáayi
their traps
aan has na.átch haa
they would go with
haa wé dáasʼaa yóo duwasaakw.
that Tlingit-made trap it's called.
Á áwé
And that
wé coyote ḵa
that coyote and
ḵa wolf ḵa
and wolf and
ḵa
and
wé land otter, mink, marten
that land otter, mink, marten
ldakát áwé haa g̱áa has, has wé g̱aatáa yéi s anasneich.
they would trap all of these.
Áyáx̱ gán koowtulax̱óot'i ḵa
When we chopped enough wood and
has akg̱wax̱áa át
the food theyʼre going to eat
yan wuneiyí áwé haa náḵ has naḵúx̱ch.
when it was finished they would leave us.
Wáanganeens' tléix' has oox̱éich.
Sometimes they would be gone for a day.
Aadé wé shaa
Up to the mountains
mountain goat-g̱aa.
for mountain goats.
Has du jeet áwé haa ée áwé haat has ooḵoox̱ch.
When they got some then would come back.
Haa jeeyís k'idéin has anasneich áwé wé
They would prepare them really good for us
wé uh, haa éesh.
our father.
Wé yáa
That
yáat'aa yáa du ḵáashaa
the hindquarter [«a g̱ádzi» is ʼhindquarterʼ]
á áwé neil has oostéeych.
they would bring it inside.
Á áwé haa éet wultóow áwé wé
Then they would teach us
wé ah, a doogú aax̱ yéi daané.
taking the uh, skin off it.
Ch'a yeisú ḵúnáx̱ yan wuduwax'ás' hú du aayí du, du,
They really sharpened her, her,
du lítayi há yan has, they sharpened her knife.
her knife, they sharpened her knife.
{I} Áwé tlél x̱wasakú, I didn't know it was way over here already
I didnʼt know
and she, she
lifted the skin and just, it cut my finger. I still got the scar there.
Tlei ḵúnáx̱ áwé x̱ag̱áax̱.
I was really crying.
I was in trouble.
[At shooḵ]
[Laughter]
Wáa sá, wáa sá, wáa sás iyasáa(kw]) "I was in trouble" Lingít x̱'éináx̱?
How, how, how would you say, “I was in trouble,” in Tlingit?
X̱at koowdix̱íl'.
I was in trouble.
[At shooḵ]
[Laughter]
Áwé wé
That
a taayí yá a yik taayí ḵudzitee x̱á.
there is fat on the inside which is fat.
The fat in the stomach.
Áwé ax̱ tláach a daa yéi jinaneich há.
My mother would work on it.
Wé uh, k'idéin awusneiyí {jee} oos.éeych shákdé tsú.
After she finished fixing it real well she probably cooked it too.
Ch'u l oos.éeji áwé, ah,
Before she cooked it, uh,
it was kinda hard and like, uh, Like lard. fat or something.
Á áwé tlei haa jeedé yéi adaa(néi) nuch, a,
She would give it to us, uh,
marshmallow yáx̱.
(it was) like marshmallows.
Á áwé {tóo} uh, we put it on the fire to burn
And then,
áwé toox̱áa nuch.
we would eat it.
Éitsk'!
Yum!
[At shooḵ]
[Laughter]
We were healthy.
Aaá.
Yes.
Am. Wáa sá duwasáakw wé, wé táay?
Um. What's the fat called?
{nayeisʼí} Yeah.
ʼfatʼ].
{nayei} Yaneis'í.
Fat.
Linúkdzi yaneis'í gwál marshmallow yóo gax̱toosáa.
Maybe we should call marshmallow “sweet fat”.
[At shooḵ]
[Laughter]
It looked like it; they came in little pieces like that.
Á áwé
And that
tlei ch'as sagú wé yaa yaktusaxíxch tlél, tlél tsu goox' sá
we always had fun, I never, never
a, x̱wasakú haa koowdax̱éel'i x̱áach áyá át haa lunagúḵch,
uh, knew where trouble was, we were just running around,
haa tláa éet wudashí.
helping our mother.
Ah,
Uh,
tlei ach áwe, wáa sáwé haa toowú sagóo nuch wé naakéede haa yoo gax̱dux̱aayí.
we would really be happy when they were going to take us inland.
Ḵa wé Sitáḵdei.
And also to Situk.
Ldakát wé atyátx'i áwé át lunagúḵch wé éiḵ has kus.úk nuch.
All the children would run around and play on the beach.
Am. Tlei picnic all summer yáx̱ nateech
Um. It would be like a picnic all summer
adusg̱eiwúyi.
when they were fishing.
Áwé
And
Christmas kaadé áwé
towards Christmas
éiḵ too.aatch ldakat uháan.
weʼd all go to the beach.
Ax̱ éeshch wulduyéx̱
My father made
wé shít'aa.
the sled.
Áwé a,
And uh,
g̱agaan yá dleitdé
the sun, and the snow
x̱aa kéi ndag̱át
getting deep
áwé
and
{a teel} wé boots k'isáani wé haa jeeyís nadu.eijí a tóot wé yaaktoo.átch yá aandé.
they would buy us small boots and we'd walk through it to town.
Ah, keitl tlein áwé du jeex' yéi wootee haa ??? léelk'w
Uh, our grandmother had a great big dog
Sitáḵ héeni; Koos.átk yóo dusáagun.
at the Situk River; Koos.átk it was called.
Ah, Spuddy yóo duwasáakw wé keitl tlein, it must have been a great dane, a big dog.
Uh, the great big dog was named Spuddy,
Hú áwé haa een yaa lugagúḵch
Heʼs the one that would run with us
yáa aandé.
to town.
Ch'u tléix' yagiyee Christmas
One day on Christmas
{ḵoos ah} yakg̱waxeexí áwé
it happened that
haat too.aatch
we would come
wé storage áwé
that storage that
.óow nuch há wé, wé ldakát yéide
would buy everything
aasgutu.ádi.
in the forest.
Am, has aawusháadi yáa
Um, the captured animals
yá a doogú áwé
the skin
nadu.eich.
was bought.
Ḵa
And
am, ANB Hall-dei ntoo.átch, Christmas.
um, we would go to ANB Hall for Christmas.
Aag̱áa áwé ítdáx̱ áwé ch'u schóoldei ntoo.átch.
And then after that we would go to the school.
Dei tsú
And also
April
May-t ḵooháaych tlei tsú yóo naakéede haa klagás'ch.
May would come and weʼd go back out to camp.
We traveled with the season. We never stayed in town for any length of time. Going to Juneau and going to Situk and Ahrnklin was like going to Juneau or Anchorage so as we'd never been to Juneau or Anchorage. So it was just fun for us cause we were doing things with our parents. You know, we were I know I was real secure until my dad died, cause we, every all the time he was, him and mom were doing things with us and traveling and protecting us. I remember the last time that we went up the Ahrnklin. My brother Robert and Nellie were in a little canoe. That's what they took up to the, you know, up, up to the mountains for mountain goat hunting. Well they were behind us and, and uh, we were in a skiff, probably about a 16-ft. skiff. And my, my little sister and myself were with, with our mother in back of the skiff. And Nellie was with, with Robert. We were kinda towing them, you know; they were behind us. And the ice was already coming down. And my father, he was an old man already but he was tall like huge, just big and broad. I couldn't believe it. He jumped out of the boat in that ice water and pulled the boat, the skiff so that we could pull them cause they were getting iced in there and we still had about two or three miles to go to, to the camp we were going to. And, uh, that was last time I could remember we went. We went trapping because Roy and, and my sister Nellie had to go to the sanitarium in Skagway and I think my dad just didn't have the heart to go up there without them and so we never did go back. There was a comic I found in that trapping camp that I couldn't read. When my mother told us to lay down to nap on the top bunk, we used to look out the window. She saw a big frog out there. And then, I'd be laying there looking at that comic. And one year I came back and I could read it. That little comic stayed there all those years.
Yisigóo gé a saayí gé ḵudzitee "comic"? Elmer, Elmer Fudd.
Do you know if there's a name for “comic”?
[At shooḵ]
[Laughter]
Goes back to where I was probably eight or nine years old. Oh! Those were my really secure life that I could remember. Even my brother Paul Henry, you probably knew him, the last, I think the last time we went up there he went with us too.
Kawóot' gé? Kawóot'k'? Aaá.
Is it Kawóot'k' [personal name]? Yes.
Yeah.
Their mother was L'uknax̱.ádi, so he was L'uknax̱.ádi.
But, uh, it was fun. It was just fun going.
So we never got bored. We just, we just had things to do, you know?
"Bored" ḵu.aas, wáa sás iyasáa? Huh?
How do you say “bored”?
"Bored".
"Bored"? Um,
Lingít x̱'éináx̱.
In Tlingit.
Umm.
Hey, I gotta think about it a while. Bored is not knowing what to do with yourself and, and, uh, thinking you should be doing something, something but you don't know what. When my children were small, my Gary and Joe, Joe never said anything, he was a bookworm so he was, he always had a book to read. And Gary would come to me and he says, "Mom, I'm bored." "Go dump your dresser out and and wash the walls in your bedroom, don't tell me you're bored!" They never came to me after that. So, you know, it, it was, we had a good life. My brothers knew how to play the instrument. Robert, he could play the uh, accordian and my brother Paul played the saxophone. My brother Charles played, played the the big uh, one of those that looks like a guitar. Cello. And uh, Robert could play guitar also and uh. We'd be out Ahrnklin and on a sunshiney day Robert would get up on the roof and he'd be playing songs. And, up the Ahrnklin, in the evenings,
When Marie and Charles got married in Juneau and they came up here, well we went out {camp} trapping. And we used to play "Pig". You know that cards? She taught us how to play. And then, um, Robert was playing the guitar and we always had a cat. We had a big orange cat. And Nellie and I would take turns dancing with it.
Doosh tin ???
??? with the cat.
And then one day, one of our cats, I think it was the grey one got sick. Its eyes were... So, we had to go to town. And we wrapped a blanket around it and took it to the nurse. So we had fun. That was probably the most wonderful life that, that you could think of, you know? It was just good. Now I donʼt know what else I can talk about.
Break gé i tuwáa sigóo?
Do you want a break?
Hah?
Aaá.
Gax̱toolsáa shákdé?
Shall we rest?
A wooden box, thatʼs what theyʼd make for it.
Aag̱áa áwé
Then
a, wé g̱agaanch áwé usxúkch.
uh, the sun dries it. (seaweed)
But you have to know how much youʼre going to dry that will fit into that box.
Aag̱áa áwé a g̱eidé,
Then in it,
ch'a aadé yaa naxúk yáx̱ áwé a g̱eidé kducháak nuch há
while it's drying it's put in the middle
wé laaḵ'ásk'.
the seaweed.
Aah.
[Sigh]
{tlei- tlei-} Tlei watermelon or cantelope yáx̱ áwé haa x̱'éi k'éi nuch.
It tastes good to us, like watermelon or cantelope.
[At shooḵ]
[Laughter]
Haaw, wé tléix'aa ḵwás ḵ'áach x̱á.
The next one is ribbon seaweed.
Ḵ'áach áwé, uh,
Ribbon seaweed,
tsú a daa yéi jitoonéi nuch tsú wé.
we always work on it too.
Point Carrew out there, across the bay.
[Anax̱ Daaḵ At Ḵuwdzitiyi Yé - Place Where a Monster Emerged, Thornton, 2012]
Aatlein áa kana.éich.
A lot of it grows there.
Á áwé tsú a daa yéi jitoonéi nuch.
We work on that too.
Tlél, tlél tsú x̱sakú ax̱ tláa ḵúnáx̱ áwé du tuwáa sigóo ḵaa x̱'éix̱ a teex̱í.
I didn't know that my mother wanted to give food away to people.
I got some here. You can have a little taste.
Stash. I stash yéi áwé.
Stash. Itʼs your stash.
Gunalchéesh.
Thank you.
Há yáadu tsú yáat'aa.
This here also.
Hey, ax̱ shátx̱ du eetí áyá.
Hey, my older sister made this.
Aatlein gunalchéesh.
Thank you very much.
Mmm.
At x̱'éeshi gé ilayéx̱ yeedát?
Do you (build) dry fish now? [Anita Lafferty suggests: «At x̱'éeshi gé yéi ysinei tsú?» ʼDo you still make dryfish?ʼ]
The little bit is not done. My daughter has to do it for me. I was over in Canada. So. But Iʼll do some cohoes.
G̱aat ákyá?
Is this sockeye?
Mm-hmm, g̱aat.
Yes, sockeye.
At x̱'éeshi gé?
Dry fish?
Is that OK to call it at x̱'éeshi?
Is that OK to call it “dry fish?”
Mhm, at x̱'éeshi.
Yes, dry fish.
Éitsk', gunalchéesh.
Yum, thank you.
I want to make some money here.
X̱'alitseen ax̱ yóo x̱'atángi.
My words are expensive.
Ch'a du ée x̱át g̱aashóo x̱át ḵu.aa.
I'm just hanging off of her.
[At shooḵ]
[Laughter]
Aaá. Wé, wé ah,
Yes. The uh,
jánwu daa {yan} yéi jitooneiyí áwé,
mountain goat, when we're working on it,
ah, wé
uh, the
ducks-g̱aa
going for ducks
yóo ixkéede ntooḵúx̱ch Aan Tleindáx̱.
we'd go south by boat from Ahrnklin.
Boy, down the flats there in Anklin there was just all kinds of ducks all over the place and, and uh, Whatʼs those other ones? Swan and
T'aawáḵ.
Canadian Geese.
T'aawáḵ, Canadian t'aawáḵ.
Canadian geese.
So we just had that. There was always a big pot of, and you just ate whenever you felt like it. Except for evening meals; then everybody had to be there for that. Um. Anyway, ??? Olsen ???, was it Roy and Robert? Took us down there, Nellie and I. And uh, they {could} took us down to, to uh. My dad told them, "Go get some ducks." And uh, I think it was Dick and Charles, or Robert and Charles. Anyway, the ducks were way over on the other side and they didnʼt want to go way over there so they left us there by the river bank and they said, "Weʼre going to leave the gun with you but donʼt shoot it unless you have to." And uh, they went sneaking up on the ducks. We were watching them and this big, big hawk came down. And it would just come down on us like that. And it, boy, she got scared, "Shoot it! Shoot it!" We were both holding it and we shot it. Oh, Boy, was our brothers ever mad at us. Oh, they were just absolutely furious with us because all the ducks took off. [Laughter] That was really funny. Yeah they, and then thereʼs, theyʼd go set their traps.
Wáa sá duwasáakw "traps"?
How do you say “traps”?
Uh, g̱aatáa.
Trap.
G̱aatáa.
Oh, trap. Trap.
They would, they would check them. And my dad and the boys, theyʼd bring mink and land otter and wolf and coyote and fox and theyʼd wash it off good, bring it in the house and scrape the fat off.
Wáa sá, wáa sá duwasáakw?
What, what do you call it?
A taayí.
Fat.
{Tá} Xáas'.
{Tá}
Xáas'.
Axáas'.
S/he is scraping it.
Axáas'.
S/he is scraping it.
Mmm.
Wé taay.
The fat.
Mhm.
Or, axáas' a taayí?
Or, s/he is scraping its fat? [Anita Lafferty offered: «Átx̱ duxáas' nooch a taayí.» ʼPeople scrape the fat off.ʼ]
Mhm. Yeah. Before we got to town they had to have it all cleaned and dried before we came to town so they could sell their skins. We did a lot of work but I donʼt ever remember getting paid for it. [Laughter]
Dleit ḵáa ḵusteeyí áwé dáanaa.
Money is the white man's culture.
Aaa. yeah. For sure.
When weʼd go up the bay in our ???, Dad would be sitting on the beach, you know, watching for seal. An d they had some calls theyʼd do, you know, like calling them to shore. And at one point he, uh, put us in a gunny sack and he told us to crawl around the beach. So, we, we had to do it. And it was a, and the seals, the mother seals will start coming closer to ??? They thought, they thought we were the babies. [Laughter]
Sh x̱'aydliyéil'.
[Anita Lafferty says: sh x̱'adliyéil means “s/he is lying”. «Has awliyél» would mean “they fooled him/her.”]
[At shooḵ]
[Laughter]
Likoodzí háwé {haa tundatán} haa tundatáani, haa léelk'u hás aayí.
Our grandparents' ideas were amazing.
Mhm. Uhuh.
Lidzée áwé ḵustí ch'áakw.
Life was difficult long ago.
Wulidzée ḵustí.
Life was difficult.
Tlax̱ ḵúnáx̱ ḵus haa ée wook'é.
It was really good for us, though.
It, it was a hard life but we were happy. Uh, before the, the, the white people came, so to speak, you know.
Everybody was generous with each other, you know. If somebody didnʼt have this and somebody else had it, theyʼd give, and then theyʼd give to, you know, different
Yeedát ḵu.aas ch'as ax̱ aayí áyá.
Now it's mine.
Júk! [At shooḵ]
[Laughter]
I aayí kḵwasak'éit.
I'll eat yours up.
Tlei, tlei wé toilet tsú chú ash,
The toilet just,
[At shooḵ]
[Laughter]
tlei ch'a aadé,
it just,
flush-x̱ ulyéx̱ch.
it flushes itself.
[At shooḵ]
[Laughter]
Tlél shákdé tsu aadé,
Maybe not the way,
{yáa yeedáx̱}
from now on,
yáa yeedát
now
ḵúx̱
back
(ḵúx̱) yidagoodí yéi tsu áyáx̱
if you came back
tsu wé ch'áagu yáx̱
long ago the way
ḵux̱asteeyí há
people lived
ḵútx̱déi haa (éex̱) woodaa yáa
we're used to this
yáa ḵustí.
this life.
Haa éex̱ woodaa.
We're used to it.
Weʼre used to this life. I donʼt think we could go back. Unless you were a little child and you, you were taken to camp every month. And travel with the season. You can actually do that to, to a little boy and a little girl, 3 or 4 of them so they can play and as they grow up. Uh, it could be done that way. But uh,
tlei wé x̱at sakg̱wa.áat'. [At shooḵ]
then I'll be cold. [Laughter]