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Tlingit Conversation #29
Speakers are Achkwéi Lena Farkas and Naakil.aan Mark Hans Chester. Recorded July 20, 2010, at the home of Achkwéi Lena Farkas in Yakutat, Alaska, by Ljáaḵkʼ Alice Taff.
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 Naakil.aan Mark Hans Chester. English translation by Kaaxwaan Éesh George Davis and Ḵaaḵal.aat Florence Sheakley with Ljáaḵkʼ Alice Taff. Edited by Ḵaachkoo.aaḵw Helen Sarabia with X̱’aagi Sháawu Keri Eggleston, also by Shag̱aaw Éesh Devlin Anderstrom.
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
Gwál wé yées
Maybe the new
yées saayí
new name
yées, wáa sá yakḵwaḵáa?
new, what am I trying to say?
Dleit ḵáa x̱'éináx̱.
In English.
Ax̱ saayí gé?
My name?
Aaá.
Yes.
Lena Farkas yóo áwé x̱at duwasáakw dleit ḵáa x̱'éináx̱.
I am called Lena Farkas in English.
Lingít x̱'éináx̱ ḵu.aa áwé Achkwéi.
Achkwéi in Tlingit.
Yaakwdáatdáx̱.
From Yakutat.
Ch'oo ch'áagudáx̱ áyú wtusikóo haa yóox̱'atángi x̱á {tlé} tlél tlax̱ yáa ixkée aa, hás yáx̱. Yóo x̱'atula.átgi, chʼa ax̱oo.aa áwéi yaa Lingítdax̱ x̱'éináx̱ yáa ixkéedáx̱ a yáx̱ yóo x̱'atuli.átk; ax̱oo.aa ḵwás tlél a yáx̱ utí x̱á.
Weʼve known for a long time that our language isnʼt exactly the same as the southern people. When we are speaking, only some of it is like the Tlingit from the south; some of it isnʼt the same, you know.
Mmm. Gunalchéesh áwé {ax̱ ax̱ éen x̱'ay} ax̱ een yoo x̱'ayli.átk.
I thank you for talking with me.
Aaa.
Yes.
Ch'a yéi gugéink' áwé
Only Just a little bit
ax̱ ée has awlitúw.
they have taught me.
Ch'a aadé yéi x̱at na.oo tlél ix̱'ax̱wa.aax̱í.
Just excuse me if I do not understand you.
Aa.
Yes.
Aa.
Yes.
[At shooḵ]
[Laughter]
Oh, let me see.
Ch'oo ch'áagoodáx̱ x̱áayáa ch'u yóo
From the olden days, you see, when those
Europeans haat has wuḵoox̱ú has du yaagú een áwé,
Europeans arrived here with their boat,
yáa Lingít,
the Tlingit people,
daa sá has awusteenée áwé shux'áanáx̱
whatever they saw for the first time
ch'a hásch áwéi a saayée has du jeedé {ya} yaa has anatéen x̱á.
they would bring them the name of the thing themselves.
Yóo gax̱toosáakw yáat'át, «sáayda,» yóo gax̱toosáakw.
We will call this thing that, weʼll call this “sáayda.”
Ḵaa
And
yá,
this,
yéi x̱aan kadunik nuch
they always told me that
Russian x̱'éináx̱ cháayoo ḵaa shaax̱aláḵ.
tea and sugar are Russian words.
Cháayoo is tea and shaax̱aláḵ is sugar.
Oh,
So, when you say
wé shaax̱aláḵ ḵa shóogaa
that sugar and sugar
ax̱ jeet yéi sané.
give it to me.
And so, they take it for granted, we are going to have tea and sugar. And that's one thing that we've known for a long time.
Ixkéedáx̱ ḵu.aa yáat'aa, yáa
From down south however, this
gúx'aa áyá. Cháashgaa ḵu.aa yáat gé?
this is a “cup”. However, here it's “cup”, right?
Aa.
Yes.
Ha tlél x̱wasakú {ax̱} ax̱ káani Marie Austin yáaxʼ haat ḵutéen,
Well I didnʼt know that when my sister-in-law Marie Austin came here,
wé cháashgaa yóo toosáagu, ch'a ḵúnáx̱ atshooḵ, tléil oo.aax̱jéen x̱á!
when we would call it cháashgaa, she would just laugh hard, she had never heard that before, you know!
Aaá.
Yes.
Cháashgaa.
Cup.
Yeah, it's called cháashgaa in Yakutat.
Wé cháashgaa ax̱ jeet tán.
Hand me that (empty) cup.
Ax̱oo.aa tlél Lingít ḵoostí yaa dleit ḵáa saayí. [ḴHS would say: Ax̱oo.aa hél Lingít saa a jee yeisú.]
Some things don't have Tlingit names yet.
Tlél Lingít yoox̱'atánk.
No Tlingit word.
Yáa,
This,
wáa sá?
what's this?
A x̱át tsú, áwé
Oh, I did that too,
yáa shoowaxeexi táakw,
this last year,
ḵaa ée tulatóow yáa
when we taught people
k'e yáa TV ḵa radio,
like TV and radio,
Mmm.
ḵa refrigerator, a tóox' at dult'ix'x̱i át.
and “refrigerator” the thing you freeze items in.
Aa.
Yes.
A, {yi}yóo áwéi has du een kax̱anéek.
Uh, thatʼs what I was telling them.
Ch'a Lorrie-ch tsú dei, Nellie,
Lorrie and Nellie, too,
they couldn't figure out how we gonna call it. And that's when I began to think that people a long time ago had to give names to certain things, and uh, and the TV was, uh,
shóo a tóo yaa yagaxixji át. [ḴHS would say: shóow a tóo kayei yaa yagaxíxji át.]
“what's-happening-in-the-show-thing”
Haaw!
A movie you watch on TV, and radio,
{a tóonáx̱ yóo x̱'adudli.át}
Xées' a tóonáx̱ yóo x̱'adudli.átgi ḵóok.
Electric wires in a box that people are talking in.
A box that has uh, wires in it and you could hear people talking.
Aaá.
Yes.
Ḵaa yáa káayag̱ajeit tsú,
And this (type of) chair, too,
{a káa yax̱ sh du} a káa yax̱ sh dustaa aa káayaḵajeit tlein.
the big chair that a person lays themself down on (a recliner).
Káayag̱ijeet tlein.
A big chair.
A big chair that you can lay down and rest on. And so we went through some things. And gave names to some of the things around that, that uh, doesn't have a Tlingit name. So we've been going through that here.
Bicycle gé iyasáa?
Have you named bicycle?
{A kát yaa k sh kaduljux}
{a, i, ya} A kát yaa sh kakduljúxji (át).
Thing that a person rolls themselves around on.
Ixkéedáx̱ ḵu.aa aan ách,
And in the south however,
Aan sh kadul
tsex̱i át?
{aan at sh aan át}
kadultseix̱i át
{aan át } a kát yaa {nshka yaa} sh kakdultsex̱ji át.
thing that a person kicks (pedaling) themselves along on.
Dóo, yéi x̱á!
That's it!
Aa.
Ḵa yaa,
And this,
wáa sá duwasáakw wé
what do you name the
mirror ḵu.aas?
mirror?
A tóode sh yadultinji át.
Thing into which a person looks at their own face.
Haaw. Tóonáx̱ ḵaa teen, ixkée aayí.
Oh. Mirror is what we say in the south.
Tóonáx̱ ḵaa teen.
Mirror.
Tóonáx̱ ḵaduteen.
The thing we see ourselves through.
You can see yourself.
Tóonáx̱ ḵadateen.
The thing that you see.
Wáa sás iyasáa yáat?
What do you call it here?
Ah,
Uh,
[At shooḵ]
[Laughter]
De a kát x̱at seiwa.x'áḵw. Aaá, x̱át tsú.
I completely forgot. Yes, me too.
X̱át tsú.
Me too.
Ḵúnáx̱ áwé yagéi haa,
It's really a lot,
Lingít x̱'éináx̱
in Tlingit language
dleit ḵáa x̱'éidáx̱ áwé,
from English
Uhuh.
yées át áyá, haa ḵusteeyí.
things new to our culture.
Uhuh.
Yeah.
Áyáa chʼu tle ch'a yáa yaa x̱at nawádi áwé tsú yaa
So, while I was growing up here, too, the
yáa {kei} kanat'eich át ḵa yáa
berries that ripen and the
kayaanée kéi kanas.éini x̱á,
when the leaves and everything is sprouting,
a, ldakát yéide áwé haa ée dultóow
they teach us everything
ḵa tsú yá náakwx̱ sateeyí aa tsú x̱á.
and all the ones that are medicines, too, you know.
{óowun}
{used to}
Wé
The
ax̱ éek'
my brother
Robert, Robert Henry.
Yóo wáax kaax̱ áwéi daak wudzigít x̱á. Tle té tlein káa yan wudzigít. Áwé du,
He fell off of that dock, you know. He fell right on a big rock. So his,
yá du keey áwé
his knee
ah, tle infected-x̱ wusitee.
uh, got infected.
Aa.
Yeah.
Áwé tle ḵéet' áa yéi woonei x̱á infection.
The whole area was filled with pus on the infection.
Ah, áwé Japanese doctor yáax' yéi yatee x̱á.
Uh, there was a Japanese doctor here, you know.
Wé, ah,
This, uh,
cannery-x' áwé yéi jinéiyin. Aag̱áa yées áwé haat ḵoowatín áwé, doctor-x̱ ḵwáawé sitee.
he used to work in the cannery. At that time, he had just recently arrived, but he was a doctor.
Wé doctor-ch g̱astéen áwé tle yéi ash yawsiḵaa,
When the doctor saw it, he told him,
«Tlél aadé
“I cannot
g̱aaḵwasineix̱i yé; tle yáax' áwé aax̱ guḵalaxáash.» Ha.é!
save it; I will have to amputate it here.” Too much!
Áwé ax̱ tláach hél du tuwáa wushgú.
Well, my mother didnʼt like that.
Ax̱ éesh áwés yéi ayawsiḵaa,«Nax̱too.aat déi.»
She told my dad, “Let's just go now.”
Neilt has uwa.át.
They went back home.
«Neildé nax̱too.aat.»
“Let's go home.”
And, I dont re... Náakwg̱aa gé has woo.aat?
Did they go for medicine?
Huh? Náakw gé, náakw g̱áa ágé has woo.aat? Aa.
Medicine, right, did they go after the medicine? Yes.
Wé
This
yaana.eit x̱aadí.
wild celery root.
«Ax̱ jiyís nagú {wé} wé yaana.eit x̱aadíg̱aa.»
“Help me and go after this wild celery root.”
Áwé {a} woogoot neildé yéi aa wsinei.
So he left {and} he brought some home.
Tlei yáa héen áx̱ g̱aadaa yéidáx̱ áwé x̱á k'éi nuch {yáx̱ yaa} yax̱ yaa ḵunahéini.
Itʼs good from places where the rivers and creeks are flowing as summer is approaching.
Aag̱áa áwé yéi daadunéi nuch náakw sákw x̱á.
Thatʼs when people gather it for medicine, you see.
Á áwéi kʼidéin aawa.óosʼ.
So she washed it thoroughly.
Aag̱áa áwé tsáa awshi.útl x̱á.
Then finally, she boiled it, you know.
Tle ch'a wéi,
And this,
Jig̱wéinaa gé?
Is it a towel?
Jig̱wéinaa ágé?
A towel?
Jig̱wéinaa áwéi aawakaa a káax' {aadéi} áxʼ yáa du x̱'oos káa yéi akg̱wa.oo yé.
She measured a hand towel in accordance with the place on his foot where she was going to put it.
Wé pulp yóo duwasáagu aa {yáa} yáa yaana.eit x̱aadí,
The part of the wild celery root that they call the pulp,
a daax̱ kadusʼéilʼ aa,
you peel it off,
á áwé aax̱ aawas'élʼ.
so she tore it off.
Aag̱áa áwé wéi
And then the
jig̱wéinaa, yóo {yóo a kát adus} dleey a kát {a} dus.ee át áwé daak aawatán.
hand towel, she brought out a pan meat is cooked on.
Yáa jig̱wéinaa áwéis {a káx'
The hand towel,
a káx'}
a káx̱ akaawayaa,
she spread it out on (the pan),
wé
that
dleey a káx̱ dus.ee, cookies tsú a kát dus.ee át.
they cook meat on it and also cookies.
Wé sdoox tóode áwés awsi.een.
She put it in the stove (with the pulp inside of it).
Tle kʼidéin aatlein yú wutʼaayídáx̱ áwé a tóodáx̱ kéi awsi.ín.
So when it was really good and hot, she took it out of (the stove).
Ch'a yéi gugéink' áwés x̱á
Just a little bit
{yee a si.áatʼ}
yaa nas.át'.
it's cooling off.
Tle kʼidéin wé ayáx̱ wus.áat'ee áwé,
When it was cooled well and just right,
yáa
that
vaseline gíwé x̱á tle ldakát yáa du
maybe vaseline, all over
du x̱'oos
on his leg
ḵa yáa du keey ldakát a daa yéi, a daa yéi akaawaháa.
and his knee, she smeared and rubbed it in there.
Ḵúnáx̱ litseen wé yaana.eit x̱aadí.
It's really strong the roots from the wild celery.
Infections yís ḵwás ḵúnáx̱ yak'éi.
It's really good for infections.
{yá} Tle yéi a daa yóo akawuhaa éedáx̱ áwéi,
After she rubbed it all over,
tle tsoo ch'a g̱óot.aa uwaxugu aa, ah, yag̱wéinaa áwéi tsoo a káx̱ akaawayeiḵ.
she spread another face towel that was dry over the top of it.
Aatx̱ áwéi, yáa {yá} awlit'ayi aa k'idéin wut'aayée áwé yáa
From there, the ones that she had heated up, when they were heated up good,
yáa yaana.eit x̱aadí,
the wild celery roots,
tsoo {a káx'} a káx' yéi aawa.oo, aag̱áa áwéi akaawadúxʼ.
she put that on there as well and then she tied it.
Wáaneexʼs yá a kát shákdéwéi akawlisʼúxʼ x̱á, hél x̱wasakú.
Maybe she might have stuck it on there (with something sticky) you know, I donʼt know.
Aag̱áa áwé you have to put, uh, tape it on.
And then
{tle} Tle yáa tléix' xáanaa yáx̱ áwé, 24 hours áwé a káxʼ yéi aya.óo.
So for that one night, 24 hours, she kept it on there.
Tle tsoo wé
Then again that
jig̱wéinaa {uwasxóo ah uwas}
hand towel,
awult'aayí a kaax̱ yéi anasneich tle awult'aayée áwéi tsoo a káx̱ akag̱ayéḵch.
when she had warmed it up, she'd take it off and then when she warmed it up she'd put it on again.
Dax̱dahéen yéi awusneiyéedáx̱ áwé,
After she did this two times,
aawaxaash yá du keey.
she cut his knee.
Aag̱áa áwé
And then
ch'a yóo áwé aax̱ alg̱éikw wé, wé, ah,
she was wiping it off his knee, the, the, uh,
Ḵéetʼ. Ḵéetʼ? Yeah, ḵéetʼ.
Pus. Pus? Yeah, pus.
Infection. Itʼs yellow. You know, when you get an infection.
Á áwéi tle yáa du x̱'oos tsú yee.át ká áwé yáa shákdé yan oostáaych, aag̱áa áwé aax̱,
Then, his leg too, she would probably lay him down on the bed, then,
{he} She kept squeezing his leg and getting that infection out and,
á áwéi
so then
wé ḵáas' áwé ax̱ éeshch du jiyís yéi wsinei.
my dad prepared a stick for her.
My father fixed {a skin} a stick for, for her, and uh, he put, uh, probably used a rag, a towel, or, or a sheet rag, and she put it around it almost like a drum. You know the stick you use for drum?
Á áwé
And then
wé Fels Naptha {sáakw}
Fels Naptha
Fels Naptha soap, ch'áakw
Fels Naptha soap long, ago
chʼoo yéi x̱at gusagínkʼi yéi du.úx̱xʼun.
when I was still small, they used to use it.
It was like, uh, the soap was like,
like what we have for infections.
The soap, what is it now? They, itʼs at the store.
I always used it when the kids were growing up.
Anyway, um, this Fels Naptha soap was strong. They always had it in
in the bags for, I later noticed, you know, like Tide and stuff?
But we had that Fels Naptha soap, and what she did was she soaked it and kinda rubbed off; she used that stick,
and sheʼd just put a lot of that naphtha soap on, on it.
She took it and she just washed it out inside. Oh man, he mu(st)
She had to have put a big lance on it somewhere to be able to, to just wash the inside with that Fels Naptha soap.
Likoodzée x̱á.
Thatʼs amazing you know.
She did it twice.
He died when he was 69. He could run. He never had,
He never even had, um, a, arthritis in it.
And that Japanese man was so shocked when,
when he found out that she saved his leg.
So thatʼs one of the medicines I know.
Like, if I was in a place where somebody got hurt and you couldnʼt get anything else,
Iʼd use one of those soaps that have disinfectant in it.
But thatʼs the one she really explained to me how to use it, my mother.
But it is good for infections.
{tlel x̱waa, tlél} Tlél x̱wasakoowú
I didnʼt know
wé yaana.eit x̱aadí áwé náakw.
that it is medicine, the wild celery roots.
Aa, náakw. Ch'as atx̱á áwé x̱wasikóo.
I only know that it's food.
Ha.é!
Goodness!
Gunalchéesh áwé ax̱ een sh kaydlineegí.
Thank you for telling me.
Aa.
Yes.
Yaa kanajúx gé?
Is it going?
Aaá.
Yes.
Aaá. Wáa sá at woonei i éek'
Yes. What happened to your brother(ʼs)
Wé, um,
du chooní?
his wound?
Yisikóo gé?
Do you know?
Wooneix̱ x̱á k'idéin.
It healed real well.
Aa, yú té káa áwé wdzigeet, yóo wáax kaax̱dáx̱.
Yes. He fell off of the dock onto the rocks.
From the dock, the cannery dock, he fell
he fell on a big rock and he never told mom until it was really infected.
So that, thatʼs how,
how uh, my mother got it well, using that Fels Naptha soap.
She had to do it a couple times to really, thatʼs my mother though. She really believed in Clorox too.
So she did it a couple times, but she saved his leg, you know.
And anything my mother said was, was the law, was the thing.
[At shooḵ]
[Laughter]
Ah, dear. She was just a tiny little lady like my sister Nellie. Just small.
Wáa sá duwasáakw?
What (was) her name?
Her, her word was law in my house.
Um, Emma. Emma Harry.
Emma Situk Harry.
Their father owned that Situk River.
We got some land on there.
Lingít x̱ʼéináx̱ ḵu.aa.
How about in Tlingit.
S'itáḵ.
I tláa ḵu.aa,
Your mother though,
du saayí?
her name?
{du} Ax̱ tláa du saayí áwé Neechdéi Lag̱é yóo duwasáakw
My motherʼs name was Neechdé Lag̱é
ḵa
and
Neechdéi Lag̱é and Ḵéilkʼi Tláa.
Neechdéi Lag̱é and Ḵéilkʼi Tláa.
Oh.
Yóo áwé duwasáakw.
Thatʼs what they call her.
Ax̱ éesh ḵu.aa áwéi Ḵachgé.
My father, though, is Ḵachgé.
Teiḵweidée.
[clan]
Dís Hítdáx̱.
From the Moon house.
Ax̱ tláa ḵu.aa áwés, ah,
My mother though, uh,
No, Gaaw Hítdáx̱ áwé ax̱ éesh.
No, my father was from Drum House.
Ax̱ tláa ḵu.aa áwés Dís Hítdáx̱. Uháan Dís Hít.
My mother is from the Moon House. We are Moon House.
Aaá, yóo Aantleinnáx̱ áwé ḵuwdzitee, ax̱, ax̱ éesh.
He was born of the Arhnklin River area,my, my father.
Ax̱ tláa ḵwá S'itáḵxʼ ḵuwdzitee.
My mother was born in the Situk River area.
Ch'as á áwé k'idéin x̱wasikóo wé náakwx̱ sateeyí ḵa wé devil's club.
That's the only thing I really know that is medicine, and also the devils club.
Wáa sáyá duwasáakw? De a kát x̱at seix'aaḵwch.
Whatʼs it called? I always forget it now.
S'áxt'.
Devil's Club.
S'áxt'.
Devil's Club.
Á tsú.
It also.
Gwál aas k'óox̱'u tsú gé?
Maybe tree pitch also?
Huh? Aas k'óox̱'u tsú ágé?
Tree pitch also?
Oh yeah.
Daa sá yéi adaané wéit'át?
What does that stuff do?
{I don't tlél tlax̱} Hél x̱aan kawduneek á ḵwá.
They didn't tell me that one.
X̱wasikóo ḵwá yéi du.úx̱x'u x̱á.
But I know that they use it.
Tsu chʼa yéi haa, wáaneexʼs chʼa yáa
If we just get an ordinary, maybe just
ah, ḵaa jín wuduḵ'éik'u, or
uh, if somebodyʼs hand is cut, or,
If they had a cut on their hand or something, on their feet, maybe thatʼs what they used it for.
Stitches yáx̱ yatee.
It's like stitches.
Huh? Stitches yáx̱ yatee.
It's like stitches.
I think so. Iʼm not real sure now, you know. Somebody else might really know it.
Támmmm.
[when you can't remember]
Ummmmm.
Aaá.
Yes.
Aa means yes too.
Aa.
Yes.
You gotta be careful what you agree on.
Aa.
Yes.
Ahh, dear. Am.
Wé, dleit ḵáa {x̱'éi-} x̱'éidáx̱ áwé haa yoo x̱'atángi ax̱oo.aa káaxwei.
Some of the words we have from white man's language is 'coffee'.
Káaxwei, ḵa, wáa sá,
Coffee and what (am I going to call it)
coined words,
dleit ḵáa x̱'éináx̱,
in English,
has du x̱'éidáx̱ áwé káaxwei.
coffee is from their language.
Oh, aa.
Oh, yeah.
Aaá.
Yes.
Yeah, káaxwee.
Coffee.
Ḵach'oo, am,
Or, um,
wáa sá duwasáakw, Chinook?
what do they call it, Chinook?
Chinook x̱'éidáx̱ áwé «sitgawsáan».
“Noon” is from the Chinook language.
Ḵa yagéi áwé wé has du x̱'éidáx̱.
And there are many from their language.
Mhm.
Yéi x̱áawé.
That's right.
Wáa sá duwasáakw 'moved,'
How do you say, 'moved,
Lingít x̱'éináx̱?
in Tlingit?
Has wudlitsóow.
They moved.
Has wudlitsóow aadé.
They moved there.
Á áwéi yú Akiak-de.
And to Akiak.
Á áwéi tle ch'a hóoch áwé awshigóok wé Eskimo x̱'éináx̱ yoox̱'atánk.
So she just learned how to speak the Eskimo langauge herself.
Hél du tuwáa ushgú du yat'éixʼ yóo x̱'adutángi yóo áwé haa een sh kalneek.
She didn't want people talking behind her back, that's what she told us.
Potlatch name is Yaax̱oodaḵéit, my great grandfatherʼs name.
His potlatch name is Yaax̱oodaḵéit, my great grandfatherʼs name.
And, we took him dancing, and, I have my two little grandsons, uh, Gabriel is nine and Gavin's six.
And, weʼve been, they've been in the St. Elias Dancers for four years now.
{has du waa gé} Has du tuwáa gé sigóo al'eix̱?
Did they like to dance?
They love it! And little Stryder went! We took him down there, he just started dancing!
He just loved that «Sanadóo, sanadóo»
[name of a song]
Aaá! He right away, he liked it.
Yes!
Kei dahánch gé?
Does he stand up?
He, he just picked that dancing right up, right now!
He, he's just a smart little kid, he, he uh, he makes it fun.
If he did it once, he's going to do again, and he's just happy about it, anything he does!
And he doesn't forget, either.
He got some, some nice um, experience with his mother and father, and just the way of living!
Wáa sá woowáatk'?
How old is he?
He's um, heʼs going to be five in, in June.
Five? He's going to be six, in June.
Likoodzí x̱áawé, wé ax̱ kéilk' tsú.
My niece is really amazing too.
Dleit ḵáa x̱'éináx̱ du een yoo x̱'ax̱la.atk nooch.
I always speak English with her.
Ch'a yéi gugéink' Lingít x̱'éináx̱.
And then a little bit of Tlingit.
Awuskóo ḵu.aa aadé yéi yax̱waḵaayí yé, Lingít x̱'éináx̱. [ḴHS would say: ooskóowch...]
She knows, though, what I say in Tlingit.
Ax̱, ax̱ x̱'éit,
My, to me,
ax̱ x̱'éit aawa.aax̱í ch'a aadé woogoot a dáa yéi dunéi nooch. [ḴHS would say: Ax̱ x̱'éix̱ sa.aax̱ wáa sá yax̱wsaḵaayí tle yéi anasneich.]
she listens to what I say and then she does it.
Ayáx̱ áwé!
That's right!
Támm yéi á woonei ax̱oo.aa. [ḴHS would say: A x̱oo tlél awuskú.]
Some of it just becomes ʼtumm.ʼ (She doesnʼt understand it.)
Aag̱áa áwé
And then
I show her, wáa sá duwasáakw, "I show her"?
how do you say
Áa shukeejeis'.
You show her.
Ash ashukeejeis'?
You show her.
Áa shukwx̱ajeis'.
I show her.
Áa shukx̱wajeis'.
I show her.
Ḵúnáx̱ yák'éi.
Sheʼs very good.
Ch'as keijín, keijín yáx̱ du kataagúx̱ sitee. [ḴHS would say: du katáagux̱ sitee.]
Sheʼs only five, five years old.
Likoodzí x̱áawé.
It's amazing.
Yéi áwé kei neewáat shákdé?
Maybe that's how you grew up.
I was 5 years old when I started interpreting for my mom and dad. Thatʼs why I could switch real easy. Yeah. They couldnʼt speak English or read or write. Everything was in Tlingit in the house. Until I went to school I realized I could talk English and I used to interpret for them when They used have the Army. They had 2000 Army here, GIs out the airport here when they were building the Airport. And, and they had about 200 Navy guys across there. And they would let them come to town on the weekend, on a pass. My sister and I were always together; sheʼs only a year older than me and weʼd walk, be walking down the street, going to visit one of our friends and weʼd have to get out of the way, get on the side of the road because the {nor} roads were just narrow yet. Just like trails.
Tlél gé kootlaa?
Was it not that wide?
Aaa.
Yes.
Á áwé
And then
has du x̱'anaadáx̱ áwé yatoo.aatch x̱á.
we would get out of their way, you know.
Tlél linukdzi át gé yee.oo?
You didn't buy any sweets?
Wé ax̱ shátx̱, Daasdiyaa, ḵa
My older sister, Nellie Lord, and
ax̱ éek',
my brother,
Yag̱uwá,
Roy Henry,
about 3 years gíwé haa shukát ḵuwdzitee,
he was about 3 years older than we are,
ax̱ éek'.
my brother.
Á áwéi hú tsú asg̱eiwú.
And he also seined.
Yeah, aankát áwé nx̱agútch x̱át ḵwá ax̱ tláa,
Yeah, I would walk around in town but my mother,
Ḵeix̱'éix' áwé ch'a yóokʼ {shoo} shoox̱danookch. Wé sdoox tóot oox̱a.aakch.
I would wake right up at dawn. I would start a fire in the wood stove.
Héen coffee yís áwé héen ah, gán káa yan ux̱sa.eench.
Water, I'd put the water uh, on the fire for coffee.
Bacon
eggs, ḵa
eggs, and
grapefruit du tuwáa sigóo ax̱ tláa.
my mother liked grapefruit.
Wé cannery-x' áwé yéi jinéi nuch x̱á x̱áat has, has axash nuch.
She always worked in the cannery you know, they, they would cut fish.
Cannery-de gé?
To the cannery?
Aa, yú cannery-xʼ.
Yes, at the cannery.
Aag̱áa áwé
And then
ah, has wu.aadídáx̱ áwé tsoo gán áa yéi nx̱a.eich yú sdoox x̱án
uh, after they left, I would put more wood by the stove
ḵa héen tsú x̱ayáa.
and Iʼd pack water, too.
Aax̱ áwéi
After that
wé, ah, héen a káa yan x̱usa.eench wé s'íx' tsú kanx̱a.ús'ch.
Iʼd put water on (the stove) and Iʼd wash the dishes, too.
Á áwé nax̱ashxíxch yá tléiḵw een x̱á.
And then I would run and pick berries.
Wé fish akawuls'óogu áwé,
When she fried the fish,
kóox een toox̱áaych.
we'd eat it with rice.
Aag̱áa áwé
And then
tléiḵw.
berries.
When she went to work in the morning at 8 o'clock, after I got everything done, I'd add more water on for tea at lunch time. I'd take a bucket, and those buckets were big, they weren't small like the small ones they have now, but it was about that big. And I used to go around and pick a bucket of salmon berries for her. I would bring it home at 11. And um, then I'd put, build the fire up again and get hot water ready for tea and put the rice on and, and sheʼd bring a fish home for, to fry the fish so we would have it for lunch. She'd go back to work, and sometimes there was a lot of fish. Sometimes she worked till midnight.
Likoodzí x̱á!
That's amazing!
uhuh. Aatlein x̱áat áyóo {a daa} a káa yéi s jinéi nuch.
They say they used to work on a lot of fish.
Á áwé, wáang̱aneins tle taat sitgawsáanidé yéi has jinéi nuch.
Sometimes they'd work til midnight.
And anyway, she'd be so tired. Oooh I used to feel so bad for her. I'd get that, uh, different kinds of back-rub and I'd just rub her down and, and put her to bed practically.
Wáa sá duwasáakw
How do they call
massage?
Uh wé {aan ká aan ká} aan ḵukduchux náakw.
Medicine that people are massaged with.
Ooooh.
Á áwéi,
And then,
yáat ḵúnáx̱ ulsáḵch x̱á yáa du jín ḵa yáa du x̱'oos; wé all day yan uháanch x̱á.
she would be worn out here, you know, her arms and her legs; she would be standing all day, you know.
Mhm.
And then get up at 7 again, build the fire and start all over again. There was so much fish that they work all week long; it wasn't just two or three days then, you know.
Tle all week áwé has, has
All week they, they
x̱áat clean-x̱ has alyex̱ nuch.
they would clean the fish,
And so, I spent a whole summer that way. And in the afternoon after she went to, back to work in the cannery, I used to run down the village; there was a lake there. And I taught myself how to swim. There was nobody around; I'd go down there and just all summer long I taught myself how to swim. [Recording break] Like, I'll sit you on my lap and I'm going to, uh,
Iyakḵwajée
I'm going to discipline you.
means, I'm gonna tell you like
«Tlél, tlél chʼa aadóo sá {yáx̱ d} duyáx̱ dushxeex ḵa tlél aadóo sá xʼáan tóonáx̱ yadugwálx̱.»
“You donʼt just run up to anybody and you donʼt just hit them in the face in anger (with your words.)”
I'm saying, I'm going to sit you on my lap. Now I'm doing it in English again! Anyway, I'm going to sit you on my lap and I'm going to spank you and I'm going to tell you, "You don't, uh, just go run up to somebody and start talking. And you're not going to hit somebody when your mad at them." That's what they call
yadujee.
discipline.
Yadujee.
Discipline.
Mmm.
Okay.
And then there's another one.
Ha yóo g̱iyéis' hítt x̱á áa áx' yadujee.
He's sitting in jail because they're disciplining him there.
He's sitting in jail because they are punishing him.
Goonáx̱ sá?
From where?
It's two words that you can use, for just, you know, either for punishing them, but you got punished because you, I spanked you, and sat you on my lap.
Aa.
I was wondering
a saayí gé ḵudzitee, yáa
Is there a name for
am, atx̱á jikshagóon?
um, eating utensils?
Atx̱á jikshagóon gé?
Eating utensils?
Gwál yáa
Maybe that
wáa sá duwasáakw,
what is the name,
Aan shakdulwusʼk.
Yéi x̱áawé!
That's right!
Yeah.
Náakw aan shak-
Atx̱á aan shakdulwusʼx̱i (át).
(Thing) that you stir your food with.
Aa, aag̱áa áwé,
Yes, and then,
ḵa
and
yá
this
yá hotcakes aan yóo áa yax̱ dutan (át).
the (thing) you turn hotcakes over with.
yóo áa yax̱ du
Ah, shucks! [At shooḵ]
[Laughter]
Yóo áa yax̱ yateeyi át.
Thing that flips it over.
Aa, yóo áa yax̱ dutee át.
Yes, thing that flips it over.
dutee át, aaá.
flip thing, yes.
Haaw!
Oh.
[At shooḵ]
[Laughter]
Oh, let me see.
Wáa sás i, wáa sá iya,
How did you,
Wáa sá yeeyaḵaa dziyáak, wé
What did you say a while ago, the
Lingít x̱'éináx̱ yóo x̱'ali.átk
speaking Tlingit
Am,
Um,
I shantú áwé,
your mind,
wáa sá duwasáakw, tired?
how do you say 'tired'?
Ahah.
Uhuh.
Ch'as,
Only,
tlél ultseen aadé yéi, [ḴHS - tlél ulcheen aadé yei,]
it's not strong, the way,
No, thatʼs not right.
Wáa sá yakḵwaḵáa?
What am I going to say?
[At shooḵ]
[Laughter]
Oh, when your mind is tired,
Aa.
Lingít x̱'éináx̱ yóo {x̱'akg} x̱'akg̱eela.áat. [ḴHS would say: ...yóo x̱'akg̱eetáan]
You're going to speak Tlingit.
Let me see.
Lingít tundatáani.
Tlingit worldview.
Yaa ndaxwétl
It's getting tired
yáa ax̱ shantú.
my mind.
Yá Lingít yóo x̱'atánk,
This Tlingit speaking,
tlél ax̱ éex̱ wudaa de yáa tlákw yóo x̱'ax̱atángi Lingít x̱'éináx̱.
I'm not used to talking in Tlingit all the time.
Can I explain that?
Gwál, {dziya} dziyáagin.
Maybe later.
I feel like I haven't gotten straight to you what I just said.
Tléil du daat áwé yáa yeedát.
It's not about her now.
Oh.
Ch'as,
Just,
Yeah, yaa ndaxwétl x̱áayá yáa ax̱ shantú x̱á.
Yeah, my mind is getting tired.
Mmm.
Á áwé, ách áwé, tlél,tlél tlax̱ ch'a yóok' ax̱ tóox' yéi naneich, wáa sá yakḵwaḵaayí x̱á.
So, thatʼs why whatever Iʼm going to say hasnʼt been coming to me immediately, you see.
Hél ax̱ shaantóox' {yéi} áx̱ koodayaa daasá, wáa sá yakḵwaḵaayée.
Whatever Iʼm going to say isnʼt just there in my mind.
Ch'u shóogu áwé ax̱ een wé, [ḴHS - X̱át tsú yéi x̱at yatee.]
It's the same, [ḴHS - It's the same for me.]
isax̱wa.aax̱í,
when I hear you,
ch'a a daa yóo tux̱aatánk daa sáwé dleit ḵáa x̱'éináx̱.
I think about what it is in English.
[At shooḵ]
[Laughter]
Aa.
Yes.
Támmmm!
Oops.
[At shooḵ]
[Laughter]
Yaa ndaxwétl
Itʼs getting tired
gé yéi yeeyaḵaa? Aaá, yaa ndawétl.
is that what you said? Yes, getting tired.
Yaa ndaxwétl.
Itʼs getting tired.
Mmm.
Aa, ḵachʼu x̱ʼax̱wdixwétl. [SÉDA would say, «X̱at x̱ʼawdixwétl»]
Yes, or my mouth is tired.
[At shooḵ]
[Laughter]
X̱'aydixwétl gé?
Is your mouth tired?
Aa, x̱at wudixwétl.
Yes, I'm tired.
Yeah, yáat'aa x̱á,
Yeah, this one, you know,
aan ḵaa kaduchux náakw áyá.
this is the medicine that they rub people with.
Oh! Aaá.
Oh! Yes.
Aan ḵaa ka,
Yáatʼaa ḵu.ayáas,
As for this one here,
kadunutʼxʼi náakw áyáa.
these are pills. (Round medicine that is swallowed).
Kadunutʼxʼ
Round medicine that is swallowed.
Medicine you swallow.
Aaá.
Yes.
Ḵa yáat'aa tsú,
And this one too.
Ḵaa sháan néegoo áyá,
This is (for) headaches,
Náagoo, ḵaa sháan náagoo áwé.
Medicine, headache medicine.
Kʼe tsu at g̱atudanaa kwshé?
How about we drink some more now, huh?
Ch'a nanóot'!
Just swallow it!
[At shooḵ]
[Laughter]
Kindatóog̱un nanóot'!
Drink it upside down. [Kindatóog̱un - ʼbottoms upʼ, is a drinking toast. Maybe why Achkwéi begins talking about alchohol.]
Yáa Russians ḵa yóo Europeans haat has wuḵoox̱óodáx̱ áyáa,
After the Russians and Europeans came here,
x̱á ldakát át a saayí yéi ḵunastéen x̱á chʼáakw.
you know, everything was getting a name, a long time ago.
Ḵaa yáa miners wé gold wudut'eiyí yóo naakéex' x̱á.
And when the miners found gold up north.
Á áwé,
So,
hásch áwéi yáa Lingít ée has awlitúw wé náaw,
they were the ones that taught the people the alcohol,
géewaa yéi daané x̱á.
how to make beer, you know.
L yeewuyáatʼee áwé tle chʼa yáa
It didn't take long before
tle ch'a yáa Lingít tsú wé {gée} géewaa yéi has adaané.
the Tlingits were making alcohol too.
Ch'a a daa yóo tux̱atangi nuch.
I just think about it.
Chʼoo shukát x̱á tlél tsu aadóo sá at udaná x̱á.
Nobody drank at all before, you know.
Dleit ḵáa x̱'éináx̱ kagax̱duldáal'
They will type it in English
dziyáagin áwé.
later.
Yá, yáa at.shí áwé,
That song,
at.shí {ka} kei kawduwashée
they sang a song
yá náaw daat.
about alcohol.
Yisikóo gé yáa at.shí?
Do you know that song?
Ḵaawus.aa {x̱'ash} x̱'ayaḵá,
[name of Dry Bay Chief George] says,
«Ch'a ldakát,»
“It's everything,”
Yisikóo gé yú at.shí?
Do you know that song?
Tlél k'idéin áwé x̱washagóok ách áwé ix̱'anḵawóos'i!
I don't know it well, that's why I wanted to ask you!
«Yaw a ei yaw a ei a ei ee yaw a hei,»
[vocables]
Támmmmm!
Um.
«A kát shoowaxixi náaw yáx̱ iyatee.»
“Youʼre like the last drink of whiskey.”
That's as much as I know. "To me youʼre like..."