This material is based on work supported by National Science Foundation grants BCS-0651787 and BCS-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.

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Symobls used in the transcription

  • {false start}
  • (added for clarity)
  • [translator/transcriber's note]
  • ??? = can’t understand
  • «Lingít quotation marks»

Software Used

Time-aligned text for this video was accomplished using ELAN, Versions 6.0 (2020), 6.1 (2021), and 6.3 (2022) Nijmegen: Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, The Language Archive. Retrieved from https://archive.mpi.nl/tla/elan

We use SLEXIL to render ELAN XML output as interactive web pages. Pronounced "sluck-HAIL", SLEXIL means daylight in the Lushootseed language, for which it was originally developed. The name may also be understod as an acronym: Software Linking ELAN XML to Illuminated Language.

SLEXIL is documented here, maintained on github, can be run interactively on the web, and is actively supported by Paul Shannon who welcomes your feedback.

To compare your pronunciation to that of the Tlingit elders, click on the microphone icon located at the right top of the main page. This opens the "RECORD YOURSELF" window in which you can record your own pronunciation of any line of interest.

Begin by clicking on the number of a line of an elder speaking. It may help to do this repeatedly, LISTENING more than reading, absorbing the sounds of their speech. (In English, we donʼt talk the same way a printed word is spelled. The same is true for Tlingít.)

When you're ready to record yourself, click RECORD in the "RECORD YOURSELF" window, then STOP, then PLAY. You can keep recording yourself with the same line and hear your pronunciation improving!

Usage notes from Alice Taff
Using a Macbook Air M4, Sequoia 15.5, the record-self works fine:
  1. with Firefox 140.0.2
  2. with Safari 18.5
  3. with Chrome 138.0.7204.158
Video Size
Tlingit Conversation #82

Speakers are Kooshdaakʼw Éesh William B. Fawcett (Yéil, Lukaax̱ádi, Deishu Hít, Tʼeinaag̱ʼei Ḵwáan, Gunanáa Yádi, grandchild of Daxk Ḵwáan Jim Boss) and G̱unaakʼw Fred White (Eagle, Thunderbird, Thunderbird House, DryBay/Alsek River Ḵwáan, Lukaax̱ádi Yádi, grandchild of Lʼuknax̱.ádi). Recorded June 4, 2012, in Juneau, AK, at the home of Bill and Barbara Fawcett by Ljáaḵkʼ Alice Taff.
Tlingit transcription by Shaag̱aw Éesh Devlin Anderstrom. English translation by Shákʼsháani Margaret Dutson with Ljáaḵkʼ Alice Taff. Edited by X̱ʼaagi Sháawu Keri Eggleston.
-tudanéek áyá sʼé,
-we tell here first,
haa Lingít saayí,
our Tlingit names,
Lingít saayí.
Tlingit name.
Ḵa daaḵw naax̱ sá isateeyí,
And which clan you are,
wáa sá i katáagu yakoogéi.
how old you are.
Kóoshdaakʼw.
Little Land Otter.
Kóoshdaakʼw Éesh
Little Land Otter Father
ax̱ saayí.
my name.
{Nasʼgad} How you say ʼ88ʼ? Nasʼgadooshú-
How you say ʼ88ʼ? Eight- [Kooshdaakʼw Éesh was born in 1924.]
«Nasʼgadooshú jinkaat ḵa nasʼgadooshú áyá ax̱ katáagu.»
"88 is my age."
Nasʼgadooshú jinkaat ḵa nasʼgadooshú ax̱ katáagu
88 is my age.
Lingít yinaanáx̱,
through the Tlingit side (in the Tlingit way),
ah, Lukaax̱.ádi,
uh, Lukaax̱.ádi clan,
Yéil Hít.
Raven House.
Yéi áwé.
That is the way.
I yádi.
Your child (asking him who he is a child of, that is, his fatherʼs clan).
A yádi
Its child
Dleit ḵáa yádi ákwé isitee? Aaá
Are you the child of a white man? Yes.
X̱át ḵu.aa, G̱unaakʼw yóo x̱at duwasáakw.
Me, though, G̱unaakʼw is how I am called.
Yéil naax̱ áyá x̱at sitee.
I am of the Raven moiety.
Ah, ax̱ katáagu áyá, {kei} keijín jinkaat ḵa nasʼgadooshóox̱ x̱at sitee yáa
Uh, this is my age, I am 58, this
June two thousand twelve, yawux̱eiyí.
when June 2012, has come to pass.
Xeitl naax̱ x̱at sitee, ḵa
Iʼm Thunderbird Clan, and
Lʼuknax̱.ádi Yádi áyá x̱át.
Iʼm a child of Lʼuknax̱ádi.
G̱unaax̱oo Ḵwáanx̱ x̱at sitee.
I am of The People of Among the Athabaskans [the Dry Bay area].
{haa, tsʼu}
{chʼa goo} Chʼa goodáx̱ sá
From wherever
daak sh kayilneegí hél wáa sá utí.
you come out storytelling is all right.
{goona} Goonáx̱ sá
Through where
ḵuwtudzitee. Mhm.
we came into existence. Yeah.
Ax̱ shagóon,
My origins,
ax̱ léelkʼw, Whitehorse.
my grandparent, Whitehorse.
Whitehorse-dáx̱ áwé.
From Whitehorse.
Keish yéi dusáagun.
Keish is how he was called. [This is a Daḵlʼaweidí clan leader name, also the name of Skookum Jim]
Chief.
Chief.
Chief Boss.
Chief Boss.
And ah, my mother, ax̱ tláa, Ḵus.een.
And uh, my mother, my mother, Ḵus.een.
Ḵus.een.
Ḵus.een.
Lake LeBarge, hél x̱wasakú whatʼs its, a saayí.
Lake LeBarge, I donʼt know it, whatʼs its, its name.
G̱unanaa saayí.
An Athabaskan name.
He was born at, ldakát ax̱ léelkʼu hás,
He was born at, all of my grandparents,
G̱unanaa Ḵwáan.
Athabaskan People.
Haaw.
Oh.
Ax̱ káak,
My maternal uncle,
Jim Kasko,
Ḵaa Tʼaawú,
Ḵaa Tʼaawú, [name]
from Tenakee.
Haines.
Austin Hammond, my, on ah, a kát x̱at seiwaxʼáḵw du Lingít saayí. [Daanawaaḵ]
Austin Hammond, my, on uh, I forgot his Tlingit name. [Name]
Lingít yinaanáx̱ ax̱ húnx̱ux̱ áwé sitee.
Through the Tlingit side (in the Tlingit way), he is my older brother.
Haaw.
Oh.
Du tláa,
His mother,
du tláa ḵa ax̱ tláa,
his mother and my mother,
has du saayí Ḵus.een.
their name was Ḵus.een.
Ah, ax̱ léelkʼw,
Uh, my grandmother,
{ax̱ l ax̱ l} ax̱ léelkʼw.
my grandmother
{Jim Kas} Jim Kasko {du d} du dlaakʼ.
Jim Kasko, his sister.
G̱unanaa,
Athabaskan.
{ji} ah, Jim Boss,
Yukon-dáx̱ áwé yaa woogoot asháaxʼw.
he left the Yukon to ask ask her hand in marriage.
Áwé {ax̱} ax̱ léelkʼúx̱ wusitee.
So she became my grandmother.
G̱unanaa x̱oodé ajiwlihaa.
He brought her among the Athabaskans.
And they had, keijínnáx̱ gíwé wootee, ???
And they had, maybe they were 5,
du yátxʼi.
her children.
Ḵa Jim Boss.
And Jim Boss.
Nate, Dave, Dave Boss,
my mother, Lena Boss.
And uh, I forget the other one, itʼs been so,
xʼoon táakw sáwé tle
how many years now
yaa ḵux̱wlig̱át du (saayí).
I have forgotten his/her (name).
{a} Anyway, I was born, {my my} my father was killed before I was born, and my brother and my mother,
ax̱ tláa,
my mother,
Whitehorse-dáx̱ áwé yaa woogoot.
she left Whitehorse.
Yeisú, {yeisú k}
Still,
hél ḵooḵasteech.
I hadnʼt been born yet.
Tenakee, du káak, Jim Kasko,
Tenakee, her maternal uncle, Jim Kasko,
and ah, Ḵaanta.éexʼ,
ax̱ káak Dave,
my maternal uncle Dave
they came down du káak x̱ánxʼ, Jim Kasko
they came down by her maternal uncle, Jim Kasko
brought ʼem down, {du tláa} has du tláa wunaawú.
brought ʼem down when their mother died.
Mhm.
They were young babies, pretty young.
Thereʼs Alice, Sakwéitʼ.
['name']
And another one, thatʼs the one I forgot, five of them, Sakwéitʼ.
and ah, six months later I was born in Tenakee.
And ah, {tlél yéi, tlél,}
tleidooshú táakwx̱ x̱at sateeyí gíwé ax̱ tláa woonaa.
when I was maybe six years (old) my mother died.
And ah, ax̱ léelkʼu hásch áyú x̱at wusiwát.
And uh, my grandparents were the ones who raised me.
in Tenakee until I was, until I was, ah, tleidooshú jinkaat katáagu.
in Tenakee until I was, until I was, uh, sxity years old. [Probably should be, jinkaat ḵa tleidooshú, 16]
Not tleidooshú,
Not 6,
Sixteen? Tleidooshú.
Sixteen? 6.
And I was raised subsistence style, life.
Ax̱ léelkʼu hás tlél educated, they had {no} no education.
My grandparents were not educated,
And they raised me {the} they raised me subsistence way.
Tenakeexʼ ákwé?
Was that in Tenakee?
In Tenakee, yeah.
Tʼaay X̱ʼé.
Hot Springs.
Tʼaay X̱ʼé yéi ákwé duwasáakw?
Hot Springs, is that how it is called?
Tʼaay X̱ʼé is hot springs, you know.
Hot Springs
The real name of Tenakee is ah,
{Tʼei-} Tʼeinaa G̱eiy.
['lit: Hindward-side Bay']
Tʼeinaa G̱eiy, yéi áwé duwasáakw Tenakee. Yeah, Tʼeinaa G̱eiy, Tenakee.
Hindward-side Bay, that is how it is called, Tenakee. Yeah, Hindward-side Bay, Tenakee.
Hidden Inlet dleit ḵáa x̱ʼéináx̱.
Hidden Inlet in the white manʼs language.
Hidden Inlet.
Áxʼ áwé iwawát.
It was there that you grew up.
Yeah.
Áwé x̱at uwawát ʼtil I was,
So I grew up (there) ʼtil I was,
sixteen. I was working, I was working even when I was fourteen years old in CC Camp.
Tléixʼ dáanaa yagiyee ká,
One dollar for a day,
{a can} ḵa a can of fruit.
and a can of fruit.
Haa jiḵéixʼi once a week.
Our pay, once a week.
Get a can of fruit once a week, and we get a dollar a day, and when they give you a coat or pants to wear, they cut it down to fifty cents a day.
Gooxʼ sáwé yéi jiyeenei?
Where did you work?
All over Tenakee Inlet we were building roads.
Up and down the inlet, around, uh, Chatham Straits.
Daat yís sáwé dei dulyeix̱ín?
For wht purpose were roads being built?
Itʼs to create work I think. Thatʼs the when uh, the hard times, you know?
Aaá.
Yes.
Ách áwé
Thatʼs why
yeedát tlax̱ yéi yakoogéi wé
now there are so very many of those
hiking trails.
And uh,{we we uh} we built a trail from uh, head of Tenakee Inlet over to Idaho Inlet on the other side. Came out of Icy Straits side, I think someplace. When {shaa}
Thatʼs it!
My side.
And uh, from that time, I was, uh, oh! When I was sixteen, I was, me and my uncle, uh, me and my uncle, uh, Jim Paddock, were working underneath the dock in Tenakee building that dock. It was underneath, uh, it was, it was under the CC. (Civilian Conservation Corps)
Wáa sá dusáagun Jim, Lingít x̱ʼéináx̱?
How was he called, Jim, in Tlingit?
Haalʼikáts.
['name']
Haalikáts.
Yeah.
And I was underneath uh, the dock, putting up pilings for the dock when the war started.
When the Japanese hit uh, hit uh, Pearl Harbor.
Haa sháadeháni
Our boss
haat uwagút.
came here.
Yéi haa een sh kalneek:
He tells us (the news) this way:
{Japanese haa éet jiw} «Japanese haa éet jiwdigút.»
"The Japanese have come to fight with us."
«Yáa Alasgeet has jiwdi.át,» yóo gé?
"They have come to Alaska to fight," is that the way?
Pearl Harbor.
December 7th.
Thatʼs where, thatʼs where I was, underneath Tenakee dock, building. And,
Tlél gé wé Japanese een yéi has jinéiyin?
Did they not work with the Japanese?
Yee x̱ooxʼ gé yéi aa téeyin?
Were there some that were among you?
Tléikʼ.
No.
Déix̱.
Two.
Déix̱ Japanee áwé áa yéi téeyin, Tenakee.
Two Japanese used to live there, in Tenakee.
One owned the tléixʼ restaurant.
One owned the one restaurant.
Harry. Harry Dorky.
And then, there was another one there, but I donʼt know, I didnʼt know his name.
Hél x̱wasakú du saayí.
I donʼt know his name.
But he, when the, when the Army, Army uh, came and picked him up, for uh, {when they, when they} when they were gathering up the Japanese, they came and got him, too. And uh,
Tle aatx̱ has yawduwax̱áa.
They were taken away on a boat.
Yeah.
Xʼoon táakwx̱ sáwé isitee aag̱áa?
How old were you at that time?
16
Tleidooshú, Tleidooshú, jinkaat.
6, 6. 10. (16)
And uh, and all of a sudden there was, that was, I heard there was a lot of work in Juneau, "Go over there and get a job."
So, «Góok.»
So, "Go ahead!"
We got on the mailboat, me and uh, Ed, another kid from here, same age as me. And we, we got a job in the mine, AJ mine.
I couldnʼt get in, ʼcause I was just sixteen. They couldnʼt accept you ʼtil youʼre eighteen. So he said, so the boss, said, "{go get go} If youʼre eighteen years old, why arenʼt you registered for the Army?" I said, "Oh," so I went and got {my} I registered in the Army and I lied about my age. And January, and I signed up January and February 3rd I was in the Army.
Chʼu sixteen, chʼu tleidooshú jinkaatx̱ isateeyí.
Still sixteen, when you were still sixteen (here he says ʼsixtyʼ but meant ʼsixteenʼ).
And I got a job in the mines. And uh, I thought I was going to get rich, you know, five dollars a day, five dollars and eighty cents a day, compared to fifty cents a day and a can of peaches a week, you know.
Daa sáwé áxʼ yéi daa.eenéiyin, wé mine-xʼ?
What did you do in the mine?
I would, I worked at, uh,
Lingít x̱ʼéináx̱.
In Tlingit.
Ah, kadux̱ʼálʼaa.
Uh, crusher.
Where you, the, I worked at the, at, té tlénxʼ. Crusher.
big rocks. [He is miming dumping rocks into a rock crusher.]
Crusher.
Á ákwé kadux̱ʼál'aa yéi iyasáa kadux̱ʼálʼaa? Yeah, kadux̱ʼálʼaa, yeah.
Is that what you called crusher? Yeah, crusher, yeah.
{and ah, my first pay} Ax̱ jiḵéixʼi,
My payments,
I think I made the first week thirty-five dollars, I think it was.
And my rent was twenty-seven dollars a week. And uh,
{ax̱ ax̱} ax̱ sʼeináyi, one dollar a month.
my lights, one dollar a month.
And uh, groceries,
atx̱á át
food items
store,
wé keijín dáanaa yagiyee ḵu.aa tl(e) hóochʼ.
that five-dollar-day though, it was gone.
That, ax̱ hídi, ax̱ hídi ḵéixʼi,
That my house, my house payments,
x̱waḵéiyi,
when I pay it,
tle x̱at kaawawálʼ.
then Iʼm broke. [lit. ʼBrokenʼ but also used to describe the financial state.]
Neilxʼ ḵu.aa, Tenakee-xʼ ḵu.aa áyá,
At home though, in Tenakee, though,
I had ldakát át áwé ax̱ jeewú, ax̱ hídi,
I had everything, my house,
{ax̱ wu ax̱} ax̱ atx̱aayí,
my food,
ax̱ sʼeináyi.
my lights.
Even if I make násʼk jinkaat dáanaa a month,
Even if I make thirty dollars a month,
ldakát áwé ax̱ jeex̱ dutee.
they give me the whole thing.
Juneau-xʼ ḵu.aa, ldakát áwé
In Juneau though, all of it
i jeet wuduteeyí,
when they give it to you,
ldakát ḵáach áwé.
then everything.
Tle i jeetx̱ yóo duwateek. Yeah.
Then itʼs just taken from you (right after you get it).
And youʼre, tsu ikaawawálʼ tsu.
And youʼre, and youʼre broke again.
Til next jiḵéixʼ i jeet wuduteeyí áwé.
Until the next time that you are given your paycheck.
Tle same thing tsu.
Then the same thing again.
Gooxʼ sáwé at yix̱áayin?
Where did you used to eat?
Chʼa áxʼ wé mine-xʼ ágé yee x̱ʼéix̱ at dutéeyin? No, that, no, no,
Just there at the mine, did they feed you guys?
you gotta bring your own,
chʼa wa.éich, you {brought a b}
just you yourself,
chʼa wa.éich áwé i éenwu.
just you yourself, your take-along-food.
You eat your own food.
Daa sá éenyux̱ yiliyéx̱?
What did you use for take-along-food?
Oh, peanut butter.
Peanut butter ḵa héen. Yeah.
Peanut butter and water.
Coffee. Thereʼs no, there wasnʼt enough,
hóochʼ dáanaa.
no more money.
Tléixʼ i rent-i yiḵeiyí áwé tle hóochʼ dáanaa.
You pay your rent once and no more money.
Ahah.
Uhuh.
There wasnʼt enough money {to go} to go around for everything else.
Xʼoon gaaw x̱ʼáak sáwé yéi jeené tléixʼ yagiyee?
For how many hours do you work in one day?
Eight hours.
Nasʼgadooshú, gooshúḵ gaaw.
Eight, nine hours.
Taatxʼ ákwé tsú yéi {ji} jeenéiyin? Yeah.
At night also did you work?
Day and night.
Two shifts?
Yeah, two or three.
Three shifts. Six, eight hour shifts.
Eight, sixteen, and twenty-four.
Taat kanax̱ {ḵu.aa} ḵu.aa, wáa sáyá ḵeeyanóok taatxʼ?
Over the night, though, what do you do at night?
At eex̱ʼáan ágé?
Do you make dryfish? [G̱unaakʼw is joking here]
Hóochʼ.
All gone.
Xweitl.
Tired.
Heavy, heavy work. Heavy work.
Ḵúnáx̱ idaxwétl.
You get very tired.
You, you walk out, you
neildé yaa neegúdi tin áwé tle hóochʼ.
as you are walking home, itʼs just all gone.
{tle tle} Tle hóochʼi aayí daséigu tin áwé {neilt} neilx̱ eegoot.
Then you go home with your last breath.
{Go to} Tayeedé.
Off to bed.
{tlél tsʼu atx̱á tee} Tlél tsu atx̱á teen?
Not with food even?
Hél tsu atx̱á teen tsá áwé wáang̱aneens.
Not even with food first sometimes.
Tle wé atx̱á áwé store
Then that food, at the store
there was uh, the guy I was renting from {had a} had the house, and he had the store. Jim Allen.
Thatʼs where you paid your rent and your groceries, they didnʼt give you uh, you only had so much, and you cashed your che-
i jiḵéixʼi.
your paychecks.
Tle ldakát át áwé aax̱, {a}
Then all of it away from,
i dahéesʼi aax̱ tle {tle}
your credit, then
{he} he takes everything off, gives you
{daa sá} daa sá aax̱ ḵoowdi.óo i jeex̱ dutee.
whatever was left is given to you.
Hóochʼ.
Itʼs all gone.
And then, "Uncle Sam Wants You."
I got in February, February 3rd, in the Army.
Yáa Juneau-dáx̱.
From Juneau.
Yeah, Juneau. Yeah. Yeah, I got drafted. I was sixteen years old.
Xoondáx̱ ákwé kéi yijixíx?
Did you run away from the north wind?
I kát gé ayawditee? Wáa sáyá ḵeeyateen?
Did it storm on you? How is it that you traveled?
Steamboat? What you mean, from,
Aandaayaagú gé?
Rowboat?
From Tenakee?
From Tenakee?
Ah, yeah, yeah mine-dáx̱ wé-
Uh, yeah, yeah, from the mine, that-
army-dé iwdux̱oox̱ú.
when you were called to the Army.
We went to Chilkoot Barracks. We just went on the-,they, they had a boat. The Army had their own boat.
Yú Deishóode ákwé?
Was that over to Haines?
Yeah.
Fornance yéi duwasáakw, Fornance.
Fornance is how it is called, Fornance. [Boat name?]
And we, Iʼm uh, I donʼt know, about twenty-five, thirty of us went up there at one time.
Ḵúnáx̱,
Really,
wáa sá duwasáakw Lingít x̱ʼéináx̱ ʼtrainingʼ?
how is it called in Tlingit, ʼtrainingʼ?
Yee ée s at wududlitúw.
Things were taught to you all.
Áxʼ ákwé? Ḵúnáx̱ á, yeah, Chilkoot Barracks.
Is that where? Really, yeah, Chilkoot Barracks.
Ḵúnáx̱ áwé óonaa tín,
Really with a rifle,
[Recording break] -s ix̱ʼei.áx̱ji.
-as they (donʼt) understand what you say.
Yeah. Lidzée.
Yeah. Itʼs difficult.
Lingít x̱'éináx̱ yoo x̱ʼatánk ḵa dleit ḵáa x̱ʼéináx̱.
Speaking in the Tlingit language and in the white manʼs language.
Ha, {chʼa} chʼa yéi áwé, {aadé}
Well, thatʼs just how it was,
aadé haa uwawádi yé áwé.
that is the way that we grew up (speaking Tlingit and some English).
Lingít x̱ʼéináx̱ gíwé?
Speaking in Tlingit?
Lingít x̱ʼéináx̱ yóo x̱ʼatánk ákwé a tóonáx̱ iwawát.
Did you grow up through speaking in the Tlingit language?
Yeah. Shuxʼwáanáx̱.
Yeah. At first.
Ldakát
Every
Lingít x̱ʼéináx̱ yóo x̱ʼayee
in the Tlingit language
Lingít x̱ʼéináx̱ {daak} daak x̱ʼax̱wditán.
I started speaking Tlingit (from birth).
Ax̱ léelkʼu hás, ax̱ léelkʼw x̱ʼéináx̱. Hél dleit ḵáa x̱ʼéináx̱ aa sá yoo x̱ʼeitánk.
My grandparents, my grandfatherʼs language. Nobody spoke in the white manʼs language.
{ax̱ l}
My oldest, ax̱ léelkʼw,
My oldest, my (great) grandmother,
shaanákʼw,
a little old person,
gwál
maybe
tléixʼ hándit {jin}
one hundred
tléixʼ hándit táakw áwé du,
one hundred years, her,
du katáagu.
her age.
Haa x̱ánxʼ yéi yatee
She stays with us
Tenakee-xʼ.
in Tenakee.
Ax̱ léelkʼw du tláa.
My grandmotherʼs mother.
Ax̱ léelkʼu hás, ah,
My grandparents, uh,
keijín, maybe,
five, maybe,
tleidooshú jinkaat áwé du katáagu.
sixty was her age.
Ḵáa aa, ax̱ tláa, ax̱ léelkʼw,
The male one, my mother(ʼs side), my grandfather,
Hú du
Him, his
hú du tláa áwé.
him, that is his mother.
{x̱áat wuli} Lingít x̱ʼéináx̱
The Tlingit language
x̱áat wulitúw.
she taught it to me.
Hél yoo x̱ʼatánk.
No language (English).
Dleit ḵáa yoo x̱ʼatángi ḵu.aa du jeet
The white manʼs language, though, to her hand
It just came.
Wé mine-xʼ yéi jeeneiyí ákwé
Was that while you were working at that mine?
dlleit ḵáa x̱ʼéináx̱ yóo x̱ʼeeyatánk, ḵachʼu wé CCA?
that you spoke in the white manʼs language, or that CCA?
No, just, it, {we we} we mixed our language.
Haa yoo x̱ʼatángi,
Our language,
itʼs all, dleit ḵáa ḵa Lingít x̱ʼéináx̱.
itʼs all, in the white manʼs and in the Tlingit language.
Ahah.
Uhuh.
{wé daa}
Ah, gwál ldakát Lingít gíwé yéi yatee.
Uh, maybe all Tlingit might be that way.
Lingít ḵa dleit ḵáa x̱ʼéináx̱ daak x̱ʼadatánch.
They start to speak in Tlingit and white manʼs language.
You know?
Of course, of course ldakát ax̱ káak hás,
Of course, of course all of my maternal uncles,
dleit ḵáa x̱ʼéináx̱
in the white manʼs language
yoo s x̱ʼadli(.átk)
they speak.
Dleit ḵáa x̱ʼéináx̱
In the white manʼs language
chʼa tlákw dleit ḵáa x̱ʼéináx̱
always in the white manʼs language
x̱aan has sh kalnik nuch.
they would tell stories to me.
Chʼa yéi áwé.
That was just the way.
{Tlél dleit} Tlél Lingít has ax̱ʼei.áx̱ch.
They didnʼt understand Tlingit.
Ax̱ káak hás.
My maternal uncles.
Paddock.
Little bit. The Paddocks were my uncles, too.
Jim, and uh, Martin, and Tom, and, there were about five, six of them.
But they, theyʼre the, their mother, their father was an Irishman.
Ldakát dleit ḵáa x̱'éináx̱
Everything in white manʼs language
x̱aan yoo s x̱ʼala.átgi nuch.
they would speak with me.
Yéi áwé kaawagei, déi áwé ax̱sakóowu dleit ḵáa x̱ʼéináx̱.
That is all that there was, so that then they would know the white manʼs language.
Wé Lingít x̱ʼéináx̱,
The Tlingit language,
ax̱ léelkʼu Lingít x̱ʼéináx̱ x̱aan,
my grandparents, in the Tlingit language, with me
x̱aan yoo s x̱ʼala.átgi nuch
they would always speak to me
{theyʼd} neilxʼ.
at home.
Ax̱ káak hás x̱oo yéi x̱at teeyí ḵwá áwé
When I was among my maternal uncles, though
dleit ḵáa x̱ʼéináx̱ x̱aan yoo s x̱ʼala.atgi nuch.
theyʼd always speak to me in the white manʼs language.
Ách áwé
Thatʼs why
daak x̱ʼax̱wdataaní,
when I started to speak,
dleit ḵáa x̱ʼéináx̱ ḵa Lingít x̱ʼéináx̱ yoo x̱ʼax̱aatánk.
in the white manʼs language and in the Tlingit language I speak.
Aaá.
Yeah.
{woos} Wóosh tin.
Together.
Wé mine-xʼ yéi jeeneiyí ḵu.aa,
When you were working at the mine, though,
Cháanwaan teen ákwé yéi jeené?
was it Chinese people you were working with?
Filipinos.
Filipinos áwé {át ḵu} át yawdiháa.
Lots of Filipinos showed up there.
Mostly Filipinos.
And that, no Lingít.
And that, no Tlingit people.
Hé Lingít,
The Tlingit people,
Lingít was all on the crusher; ldakát Lingít.
The Tlingits were all on the crusher; all of the Tlingit people.
I think {the fil} the Filipinos were ah, were down, down in the ball mill side and uh, and uh, the sorting tables and stuff like that.
Ḵúnáx̱ dleit yéide, l x̱wasakú a saayí Lingít x̱ʼéináx̱.
Really just the white manʼs way, I donʼt know its name in the Tlingit language.
Tle chʼa koogéiyi áwé {du} duséix̱
They just say it any old way
wé a saaxʼú.
their names. [The words for mining operations.]
Goodé sá.
Toward wherever.
Wé Lḵóotxʼ ákwé wé Army-dé yaa ḵuneetíni,
Up in Chilkoot, when you were going to the Army,
{xʼoon} xʼoon dís yáx̱ sáwé
for how many months was it
áxʼ i ée wdudlitúw wé óonaa la.únt?
was it taught to you there, shooting a rifle?
{tlél yéi kawuyáatʼi yá} Tlél yéi kawuyáatʼi wé
It wasnʼt a long time, that
x̱ʼéit wuduwatán.
it was closed.
Uh, maybe, I was there maybe, uh,
gwál
maybe
déix̱ dís gíwé {áa yéi} áa yéi haa wutee, {ch}
about two months maybe we were there,
Chilkoot barracks.
Chilkoot barracks.
I x̱oonxʼí ákyú, i páadnayi teen ákwé? Ohhh, lots.
Were those your friends, with your partners, was it?
Yeah, lots of them. Oh everybody from, all the way from Kichx̱áan,
Ketchikan,
all the way up through Hydaburg,
and people from all over, even from Haines. Uh
I forget them ,boys from Haines, their name, even. I just thought of his name, too, the other day.
Chauncy Jacobs, from Haines. And we, and then they moved the whole she-bang,
Ldakát hás áwé, ldakát aháan,
All of them, all of us,
you know, Army barracks. They moved to here. This is where we were at, right here. This whole area was Army.
['From around 58°22\'34.3"N 134°34\'45.1"W']
Yáa Juneau-xʼ gé?
Here in Juneau?
Yeah. Right here, yeah. All the way to the glacier, had barracks, tents. {sʼ}
['To around 58°24\'20.0"N 134°32\'39.9"W']
Sʼísaa hít.
Tent.
Sʼísaa hítxʼi x̱oo.
Among the tents.
Hah.
Oh.
And thereʼs one corrugated iron building still sitting over there, across the street from the church.
['In 2022 the corrugated iron building was demolished.']
Ó, x̱wsiteen.
Oh, I saw it.
Yeah, uh, yeah, it used to be the hospital.
Áxʼ ash koox̱alyádin. Yeah.
I used to play there.
Used to, this was all Army, there was nothing, no, not, no, no people living out here.
Hél daa sá yáat.
There is nothing here (at that time).
Chʼa kʼikát i atx̱aayí ágé yee éex̱ kadu.oowún, x̱áat ḵachʼu,
Was it just every once in a while your food was rationed to you all, fish, or,
No.
Chʼas wé rations ákwé eex̱á?
Was it just rations that you eat?
No, they had good,
they had good meals. Yee x̱ʼéis at dus.ée?
They cooked for you all?
Oh yeah, they had mess hall, they had a big {me}
áa at dux̱a át.
a thing (place) where things are eaten (mess hall).
And ah, good. We used to haul water from the glacier, uh, from the lake, in big,
wáa sá duwasáakw ʼwash tubsʼ?
how are they called, ʼwash tubsʼ?
In big barrels, we bring up to the mess hall to wash up. To right here.
And then we got, and uh, after we got through training,
yan uwaḵúx̱.
it (boat) came ashore.
Haat uwaḵúx̱ wé kínde yaakw.
That upright boat came here.
I think it was uh, Northwest, big, General Gorgus.
They all tried, they all got transferred on there.
Government yaagú. Government, yeah.
A government ship.
Well, itʼs a transport. And uh,
they scattered the ground all over Southeast Alaska; from the Aleutian Chain, up
up and down and, {I ended up} I ended up in uh,
I ended up in Whittier. They let me off there; a bunch of us. All Southeast got off.
Chʼa át yeeyḵoox̱. Yeah.
You all just went around on a boat.
And some of them went on to Aleutian Chain.
Ḵulagaaw yís ákwé yan yee woonéi óonaa teen? Yeah, yeah.
Were you all ready for a battle with guns?
We trained for that, for that, when that,
Japanese-g̱aa ákwé ḵuyitéesʼ? Yeah, Japanese. Yeah, Attu, yeah.
Are you all watching out for the Japanese?
Attu, but they let us off. And we {tr} no,
we, we got, they took us to Excursion Inlet first.
Áxʼ áwé tsu
Then there again
train shaayadaa,
train(ing) around the mountains,
yaa nagút.
walking.
Train and train. Train everyday, but they
and thatʼs where we got transferred from, I got a, {ax̱}
Dleit géwé daak wusitán tsú aag̱áa? Oh, man.
Did it snow, too, at that time?
There was, ḵúnáx̱, ḵúnáx̱, ḵúnáx̱ dleit {daak} daak satánjin that time.
There was, really, really, really the snow always fell at that time.
G̱aadlaan.
Itʼs deep.
Dowtown there was
downtown when youʼd
aan x̱ʼayeex̱ yaa neegúdi you can
when you walk through the streets you can
look in the second (floor) window.
Thatʼs how deep the snow was downtown.
They had no {re} snow removal. Everything was shoveled off the.
And Tʼaaḵú.
And Taku (wind).
Holy smokes. It blew Tʼaaḵú and it donʼt blow now. I donʼt know what happened.
It blew that Tʼaaḵú wind downtown. It used to pick up
chʼa yaa neegúdi, hóochʼ! Xóooooooow.
as youʼre just walking along, itʼs over! [Sound of wind blowing]
Kashix̱ʼílʼgin ákwé wé Army téeli? Oh, man. Yeah.
Were they slippery, those Army shoes?
Chʼa yéi ákwé duwasáakw {wé x} wé xóon?
Is that just how that (specific) north wind is called?
Tʼaaḵú. Tʼaaḵú.
Taku (wind).
Tʼaaḵú.
Taku (wind).
Aatx̱ daak yadateex̱éech ákwé?
Is that because it would blow out from there?
Yeah, the Tʼaaḵú
comes out of Taku Inlet and over. It come over.
Over Taku and comes down above Juneau, and it just come xóooooooow, and all the way to Douglas.
Wé a saayí, wé Tʼaaḵú,
That name, that Taku,
áwé,
so,
chʼa g̱óot yéide yáx̱ áwé x̱aa.áx̱ch aadé kadunik yé.
I heard it a different way, the way someone told it.
Hél x̱wasakú aadóoch sáwé yéi kéi kaawaník.
I donʼt know who told it that way.
Tʼaawáḵ ilḵú, yóo áwé kéi kawduwaník, áwé s du een kax̱anéek,
Geese Are Flooding, thatʼs the way they told it, so I tell them,
«Hél tʼaawáḵ á.»
"There are no geese there."
Fish and Game yú, ah, dleit ḵáa {yáa s} yáa state-xʼ has x̱ʼax̱waawóosʼ,
Fish and Game, those, uh, white people at the state, I asked them,
«Tʼaawáḵ ágé áwu?»
"Are there Canada geese there?"
«Tléikʼ. Hél áxʼ yéi has utíx̱wxʼ.
"No. They donʼt live there.
Tle yóo naaléi
Itʼs far over
interior-dé áwé s nadaḵínch wé
toward the interior they fly, those
hél tsu áxʼ yéi has ushḵáḵch.»
they donʼt even land there."
Hél tʼaawáḵ á.
There are no Canada geese there.
Tʼáa, Tʼaaḵú is
Taku is
Tʼá is, Tʼá is king salmon.
Ḵú ḵú.aa áwés,
Ḵú though is,
Ḵú, thatʼs where they are, thatʼs where they go.
Bay. Á ásí éiḵ
It seems that itʼs shore.
Bay, or inlet. Lingít, Lingít x̱ʼéináx̱ ix̱ʼawduwóosʼi,
In Tlingit, when somebody asks you,
«Daag̱u ku,
Daag̱u ḵwáan sáwé wa.é?»
"Which regional group of people are you from?"
Daag̱u ḵwáan.
Which regional group of people.
«Goodáx̱ sáwé wa.é, downtown?»
"Where are you from, downtown?"
«Daaḵw aa ḵwáan sáwé wa.é?»
"Which one of the regional groups of people are you from?"
«{tʼaaḵw} Tʼaaḵú.
"Taku.
{yéi ax̱} Tʼaaḵú Ḵwáan áyá x̱át.»
I am of the Taku Region People."
Or, Tʼaa-
I would say,
Hél ḵu.aa tle wé áx̱ daak kadéix̱ yé áxʼ yéi ḵootí, tle naaléi wé héen yíkde áwé,
But there werenʼt people living where it (Taku River) flows out into the ocean, it was far up inside that river,
áxʼ yéi ḵunatíx̱wxʼ ákwshé {g̱u} G̱unanaa x̱ooxʼ?
thatʼs where they lived, right, among the Athabaskans?
Yeah. {wé taa} Wé Tʼaaḵú Héeni.
The Taku River.
{tʼaaḵú t'aaḵú héen} Tʼaaḵú.
Taku.
{tlél tlél tlél tlél} Tlél Tʼaawáḵ Héeni áwé.
Itʼs not the Canada Goose River.
{a áxʼ yéi x̱a yéi yéi}
Yéi x̱at gushagéinkʼi,
When I was little,
kaduyiḵ g̱eiwú,
a seine net,
kaduyiḵ geiwú tin áwé,
with a seine net it was,
tlél gillnet yaagú ḵoostéeyin.
there never used to be gillnet boats.
Kaduyiḵ g̱eiwú éeḵdáx̱.
A seine net from the beach.
Tʼách {shula} shulahíkjin.
King salmon used to fill it up.
Ohhh, king salmon.
G̱aat.
Sockeye.
G̱aat.
Sockeye.
Every kind of fish, well, humpies,
cháasʼ, lʼook,
humpy, coho,
téelʼ,
dog salmon,
tʼá.
king salmon.
Tlél ḵu.aa tʼaawáḵ á.
But there are no Canada geese there.
Yeah, thereʼs no Tʼaawáḵ Héeni.
Yeah, thereʼs no Canada Goose River.
Hél tʼaawáḵ.
Not Canada goose.
Hél x̱wasakú goodáx̱ saa sáwé á,
I donʼt know where that name came from,
tʼaawáḵ.
Canada goose.
Itʼs tʼá.
Itʼs king salmon.
Tʼaaḵú is king salmon.
Tʼá. Lingít x̱ʼéináx̱, is tʼá.
King salmon. In the Tlingit language, itʼs tʼá.
Wé «ḵú» ḵu.aa «inlet» yéi áwé.
That ʼinlet,ʼ though, ʼinlet,ʼ thatʼs the way.
Inlet.
«Ḵú» is where youʼre from, itʼs where itʼs at.
ʼDenʼ is where youʼre from, itʼs where itʼs at.
Ḵú.
Den/dwelling place.
You know. Ḵú.
Wé, am, wé Army {yáa yéi} yáaxʼ yéi wuteeyí,
That um, that Army, when it was here,
{yéi s} ldakát yéide x̱áat gé tsú át yahínjin wé, wé glacier?
did all kinds of fish used to swim around over there, at the glacier?
Yeah.
Ḵa {yáa} yáa héen yanax̱,
And this river, on this side,
I forget the name of this,
Ó wé, ah, Duck Creek {Yóo, yóo, yóo} All these Duck Creek,
Oh that, uh, Duck Creek?
and ah, Switzer, and, and ah, I donʼt know how many creeks, all these creeks were full of salmon.
Ldakát áwé
All of them
téelʼ a yíx̱ ya.aayín.
dog salmon used to run in them.
Wé éiḵ,
That beach,
yéi x̱at gushagénkʼi tsú ax̱,
when I was little, too, my,
{Iʼd c} Iʼd come here with my father, and Iʼd stay with my father in the
{le} Xeitl Hít.
Thunderbird House.
Xeitl Hít áwé du hídix̱ satéeyin.
Thunderbird House was his house.
Johnny Fawcett, Tsʼeexwáa.
Wooshkeetaan ákyú?
Was he Wooshkeetaan? [clan]
Wooshkeetaan, yeah.
Á ákwé {wé aa} wé aan ká,
Is that that one downtown,
aan kát la.áayin, Juneau? Yeah.
it used to sit downtown in Juneau?
Yeah, yeah. Xeitl Hít. Xeitl Hít.
Thunderbird House. Thunderbird House.
And uh, when they used to come from uh,
aatx̱ ḵuwtooteení, Tenakee-dáx̱,
when we would leave on a trip, from Tenakee,
{haat} haat haa ulgáasʼch, yáaxʼ, yá aan.
we would move here, here, this town.
Ḵutaan á, ḵutaan.
In the summertime, summer.
subsistence food,
atx̱ʼéeshi,
dryfish,
tséit,
indian potato,
gáalʼ, yalooleit,
clams, cockles,
g̱uwakaan dleeyí,
deer meat,
tsaa dleeyí,
seal meat,
xóots dleeyí,
brown bear meat,
ldakát át áwé yan kawdulgáaych.
they used to put up everything (for winter).
Haa léelkʼw, du yaagú, yíkt áwé haat haa wulgáasʼ.
Our grandfather, in his boat we moved here.
And uh, {aax̱ áwé} aax̱ áwé s ahún nuch.
And uh, then they would always sell some of it.
Yakʼéiyi dáanaa síyá.
It seems itʼs good money.
Has du ji.eetí áwé s ahóon? Yeah, yeah.
They sell their handiwork?
Ldakát chʼas Lingít jeedé ákwé has ahóon, ḵachʼu ldakát ḵáa jeedé? Ldakát lingít, yeah.
Do they just sell it all to Tlingit people, or to everyone? All the people, yeah.
Ldakát ḵáa,
Everybody,
Lingít, ḵa dleit ḵáa too.
Tlingit, and white people too.
Dleit ḵáa chʼoo?
Even white people?
Yeah, yeah, {they like} has du tuwáa sigóo x̱á.
Yeah, yeah, they like it, you see.
{Lingít}
Lingít atx̱aayí.
Tlingit food.
Eex̱ x̱oo dleeyí ḵúnáx̱.
The meat stored in oil, really.
Eex̱ x̱oo dleeyí,
Meat stored in oil,
five dollars a gallon, five dollars, five gallon can.
Wé sʼeek ákwé?
Was that the black bear meat?
Ldakát át.
Everything.
Yeah, sʼeek,
Yeah, black bear,
tsaa dleeyí,
seal meat,
and ah, g̱uwakaan.
and uh, deer.
G̱uwakaan ḵu.aa, wáa sá eix̱ x̱ooxʼ yéi du.úx̱xʼun, a eix̱í, chʼa á a eix̱í ákwé, ḵachʼu tsaa eix̱í ákwé?
Deer, though, how did they used to keep it in the oil, its oil, was it just its own oil or was it seal oil?
Tsaa eix̱í tóo, yeah, tsaa eix̱í. Tsaa eix̱í.
In seal oil, yeah, seal oil. Seal oil.
Everything was tsaa eix̱í.
Everything was seal oil.
It was kind of a preservative.
Wudusxoogú áwé s tsaa eix̱í táade. Yeah.
When they have dried it then into the seal oil.
You do it, {you you} after you dry it,
wudusxoogúdáx̱ áwé tsu dus.éex̱ kʼidéin.
After they have dried it, it is cooked again, well.
And then you put it, and then
tsaa eix̱í x̱oodé.
among the seal oil.
Wé atx̱ʼéeshi tsú tle ḵúnáx̱ uxúkch tle
That dry fish, too, it gets very dry, then
yáa tʼáa yáx̱ áwé uxúkjeen. Yeah, yá tʼáa yáx̱ áwé uxúkjin, yeah.
it would get dry like this board. It would get dry like this board, yeah.
Ax̱ éeshch {haa} haa x̱ʼeis as.eeyín. Yeah, yeah.
My father used to cook it for us.
Yagiyee kanax̱ áwé stoox káxʼ yan oos.éeych.Yeah.
He would cook it on the stove for a whole day.
Áwé, litsʼáa nuch. Yeah.
Oh, it always smells good.
Áwé tʼáa yáx̱ áwé tʼéexʼin du ji.eetí. Oh, yeah.
It was hard like a board, his handiwork.
{yéi yéi áwé} Yéi áwé {tlél tlél tlél}
That is the way,
{tlél a that}
lushkʼidéin yoo uneik.
(It doesnʼt) go bad. [suggestion from G̱FW]
Tlél lushkʼidéin yoo uneik, yeah.
It doesnʼt go bad, yeah.
Téeyi, wé
Soaked dry fish, that
I think, aadé, wé tʼáa yáx̱ wudusxoogú x̱á,
how, when it has been dried like a board, you see,
Á ákwé téeyi yéi duwasáakw? Yeah, téeyi, yá eex̱,
Is that what they call téeyi? Yeah, soaked dry fish, the oil,
áwé kadux̱óox̱,
so it is covered,
áwé, daa sá,
so, whatever,
héen, héen,
water, water,
kadulkélx̱.
it is soaked.
Ahah.
Uhuh.
Tsu wé éiḵ wé ḵéesʼ a káx̱ daaḵ kadéix̱ yéixʼ yéi du.úx̱xʼ. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And on the beach, where the tide comes up to, they leave it there. [The half-dried fish is in gunny sacks, weighted down with rocks, to soak.]
Haaw, likoodzí.
Gosh, itʼs amazing.
Ax̱ x̱ʼóolʼ áwé microphone tóode duwa.áx̱ch.
You can hear my stomach in the microphone.
[At shooḵ] Hóochʼ áwé.
[Laughter] Thatʼs all.
{xʼoon a}
Whittier-dé iyawdux̱aayí,
When you were transported to Whittier,
tle chʼas wé yaakw, transport yaakw káxʼ ákwé yéi iwootee?
then just that ship, were you just on the transport ship?
No, uh.
Whittier-xʼ áwé haa jiwduwanáḵ.
It was at Whittier we were left.
Yóot yee wdudlikélʼ. Yeah.
You folks were chased off (the ship).
Yá hítxʼ
These houses
{I wa when I} wé yaakw yíkdáx̱ áwé tulatín áwé, wé hítxʼ.
from inside that boat we watched them, those houses.
{there was ten} Some of them were jinkaat x̱ʼoos yéi kunaaléi {wé wé w}
Some of them were ten feet away
{wé} wé porch,
that porch,
a daa, {wé} wé doors
around it, the doors
x̱ʼaháat.
tdoors.
And you come up on the step.
Jinkaat.
Ten.
And ah, hél wuduskú wáanáx̱ sáwé {tlax̱ yéi}
And uh, nobody knows why
tlax̱ yéi dikéexʼ yéi yatee, {wé} wé x̱ʼaháat.
it is so very high up, that door.
Ḵúnáx̱ táakw, haa táakw,
Really (in) winter, oh winter,
dleit daak wustaaní,
when it is snowing,
dleit yei kanadláni,
when the snow is getting deep,
ách áwé wé x̱ʼaháat (tlax̱ yéi dikéexʼ yéi yatee).
that is why those doors (were up so high).
Chʼu a kanáak ḵu.aa chʼu jinkaat ḵaa x̱ʼoos yéi teeyí. Jinkaat, maybe,
It is still over the top of it, though, being ten feet. Ten, maybe,
Twenty-eight feet.
Chʼu a yáx̱ kag̱adlánch, dleit a yáanáx̱ kag̱adlánch. Yeah.
It would get just as deep, the snow would get deeper.
And ah, {wáa} yaa nalléini,
And uh, when it starts melting,
táakw eetí,
(in the) spring,
basin yáx̱ áwé yatee wé Whittier,
that Whittier is like a basin,
yú shaayadaadáx̱.
from the sides of those mountains.
Á áwé hítxʼ.
Then the houses.
{hítxʼ that}
{á} Ách áwé
That is why
yú x̱ʼaháat ten feet high,
that door (is) ten feet high,
{and wé dleit teen that wé dleit}
dleit wullaayí,
when the snow melts,
tle yaa shanatl'ítʼ wé
it starts to fill up (with liquid) that
wé Whittier.
that Whittier.
Wé héen.
The water.
And uh, no snow removal {the way}
kadaháa {wé wé} wé dleit.
the snow is dug.
Chʼa aan áwé yei kanadlán.
Even still, it is piling high.
Séew,
Rain,
séew ḵa dleit, séew ḵa dleit.
rain and snow, rain and snow.
{ha tle a yáx̱ wé}
Juneau-xʼ áwé x̱wsiteen.
I saw that in Juneau.
Yáaxʼ, Juneau.
Here in Juneau.
Dleit ḵa séew.
Snow and rain.
Whittier is the worst, any place I ever lived in Alaska.
Séew ḵa dleit tín.
Rain and snow together.
Wé army-ch gé yee jiwduwanáḵ ákwé?
Did the Army let you folks go? [This verb is used to mean ʼreleased from a job or positionʼ]
No, no we, {chʼa áxʼ}
Chʼa áxʼ áwé yá Army, weʼre still in the Army.
Just there it was, the Army, weʼre still in the Army.
We were transferred. We were transferred to the infantry. We were still training.
Yeisú.
Still.
There was ah, Japanée on, on uh, Giyooḵ Ḵwáan
There was uh, Japanese on, on uh, Aleut (land) [During WWII, Japan occupied Attu Island and bombed Unalaska, both in the Aleutians.]
Aleuts.
Giyooḵ.
Aleuts.
Giyooḵ Ḵwáan. Lingít x̱ʼéináx̱ yéi, «Giyooḵ.»
Aleuts. In the Tlingit language, thatʼs how, ʼGiyooḵ.ʼ
Yéi s wuduwasáa, «Giyooḵ Ḵwáan.»
Thatʼs what they were named, ʼPeople of Giyooḵ.ʼ [Geeyáḵw, or Kayak Island on the Gulf Coast of Alaska.]
Hás ágé tsú yee een?
Were they with you guys too?
Hah?
Huh?
Hás ágé tsú yee een Army tóoxʼ yéi s wootee? Ldakát, yeah, yeah.
Were they also with you folks in the Army? All, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, weʼre all in there together there-,weʼre all, {all all} all the Eskimos,
X̱ʼatasʼaaḵ
Eskimos
yéi s duwasáakw
is how they are called
Lingít x̱ʼéináx̱, Eskimos, «X̱ʼatasʼaaḵ.»
in the Tlingit language, Eskimos, 'Bone-in-mouth.ʼ
And uh,
Dleit Ḵáa x̱'éináx̱ gé yóo s x̱ʼayatánk {wooch een} yee een?
Do they speak in English to you?
Yeah. Chʼa has du yóo x̱ʼatángi teen. Yeah, chʼa {yóo} has du yóo x̱ʼatángi, chʼa,
Just with their language. Yeah, just in their language,
There were groups {that}, and uh,
each, each uh,
ldakát uháan áwé {chʼa hú wé wé}
all of us
{wooch wooch wooch a}
Lingít ḵa Tsimsian
Tlingit and Tsimshian
ḵa Haidas,
and Haidas,
theyʼre in the same group and weʼre all mixed together. They all talk their own language together.
Lingít tsú.
The Tlingit too.
Aháan.
Us.
But we all live together, you know, itʼs all mixed. But all groups get together, yoo x̱ʼatánk.
But all groups get together, speaking.
Ldakát ḵáa ḵu.aa yá dleit ḵáa x̱'éináx̱.
Everybody though (is speaking) English.
And then, {after the} we didnʼt get to {back that} back in that, too, with the
{they,they} they brought up
{the} deikée,
out in the ocean,
California-dáx̱ áwé kei s ajiwliháa.
they brought them up from California.
Theyʼre gonna fight, they bring up a big transport from California.
Full of troops, for Attu, out of the sunny country.
Ḵutaan.
Summer.
{ḵutaanxʼ} Ḵutaanxʼ
In the summer,
{a} ḵúnáx̱
really
ḵúnáx̱ has du ée wootʼéexʼ.
it was really hard for them.
{the} Them boys {from c} from down south.
Tle yax̱ has yawlitʼíxʼ.
Then every one of them froze.
Oh man, {they were} they were miserably cold.
Some of them, they grow their whiskers before they come up here because theyʼre coming to Alaska.
{x̱ʼad} Has du x̱ʼadaadzaayí.
Their beards.
Áwé {woot}
So
when they got cold, the steam {from their} from their mouth froze around their face.
And they had to break it off with their skin, and they, a lot of them,
ldakát
all of
has du yá,
their faces,
all peeled off. Itʼs thirty, forty below zero, you know?
Itʼs cold. Out in the open. And them Aleutian Islands is cold.
And uh, thereʼs more casualties from the cold {than there was} than there was {the} the Battle of Attu, I think. Thatʼs what I heard, anyway.
But we, the ones that were trained for it, didnʼt even go. We were left. We were scattered all over Alaska.
Xʼoon táakw sáwé wé Army tóoxʼ yéi iwootee?
How many years were you in the Army?
{Three, ah} Eight years.
Eight years?
Yeah.
Chʼas yá Alásgixʼ gé?
Just here in Alaska?
Yeah, just all over Alaska. I volunteered.
I was in the National Guard for
for three years, no, six years.
Ijiduḵéi?
You are paid for your work?
Yeah, yeah. No, we didnʼt get, we didnʼt get paid for National Guard; we just got clothes.
Coats and pants and shoes. Some, maybe some, not all. No rifles.
But I was the regular Army for four years. And I volunteered.
Ldakát át áwé
Everything
ldakát át tóode áwé yaa nx̱agút.
I joined everything.
Paratroopers, I did, {they,when that, then}
to get out of Alaska to go someplace else, and I never got to go no place.
A saayí gé ḵustéeyin paratroopers Lingít x̱ʼéináx̱?
Was there a name in Tlingit for paratroopers?
No. Some of them went to Georgia, and then they shipped us all back again.
Talk about hot, holy smokes. Camp, Camp Bennet I think it was.
Sdéen káa kát ákwé át yee wlixít?
Was it on a train that you were delivered? [sdeen káa = steel car]
Steam.
Railroad, train.
Ldakát yéide áwé yaa haa nanein, x̱á.
All kinds of things are happening to us, indeed.
Wé Army ítdáx̱, gooxʼ sáwé {woo} ah, i neilí {goo} yiliyéx̱?
After the Army, where did you build your home?
Goot sáwé ḵeeyatín {yan} yan shaylaheegí wé Army tóot aa?
Where did you travel to when you had finished your term in the Army?
Just in Anchorage, and {all all} all up and down, from Nome to, Nome and all down to Kotzebue and, and uh, Moses Point, I was Moses Point. A couple, three months here, two-three months there.
Four or five months here. All the, they transfer you around like, you know in, by company.
Lingít x̱ʼéináx̱ áyá
In the Tlingit language
kux̱a.aaḵw i een sh kax̱alneegí.
I am trying to tell stories to you.
Gooxʼ sá yéi iwootee a ítdáx̱?
Where did you live after it?
Haines, Haines-de ákwé ḵeeya-
Was it Haines you trav-
Deishúde ákwé ḵeeyateen?
Did you travel to Haines?
No. When I got discharged? Mhm. I came back to Juneau.
When I got discharged I came back, and uh,
things were tough. There was no work, nothing.
We were getting that twenty-some dollars a month.
Twenty-six dollars a month, for, just like unemployment, you know.
Twenty-six dollars a month. I think we got it for about six months; six or seven months.
But I fished.
The AJ Mine was closed. You couldnʼt work there. Everything was closed, there was no work there, nothing. The town was dead.
Hóochʼ.
All gone.
{yéi jiné tlél}
Tlél tsu yéi jiné ḵoostí.
There was no more work.
And a couple years later, I donʼt know, then they got the, uh,
CC Camp tsú.
CC Camp also.
Tsu g̱unéi yaawaxíx.
It started up again.
And they upped their wages to two dollars a day, CC Camp.
So that started after the war again.
Yáa Juneau-xʼ?
Here in Juneau?
Yeah, so, lot of unemployed people went to work there. They built roads here and they built cabins.
Hítxʼis(áani).
Little cabins.
Wáa sá duwasáakw? Road,
How are they called? Road,
Hítxʼisáani ldakát yéixʼ {yaw} yawdudliyéx̱.
Little cabins were built all over the place.
Aadóo jeeyís sáwé?
For who?
Yeah, yeisú át aa la.áa.
Yeah, some of them are still standing there.
By the lake over here. On the other side of the lake. Itʼs made out of rock.
Yeisú áwu á.
Itʼs still there.
Yeisú át la.áa.
Itʼs still standing there.
Hít ákyú?
Is it a house?
Yeah, itʼs built by CC Camp, 1940.
ʼ48-ʼ49.
Yaakw.
A Boat.
Yaakw.
A boat
Ax̱ káak hás;
My maternal uncles;
Jim Kasko,
Dave Kasko, and uh, my relatives, they all had seine boats.
Yáa asg̱eiwú.
These seiners.
Deishóoxʼ ákwé?
In Haines?
No, {right} Tenakee. All the boats, seine boats, were in Tenakee.
{wé tʼena} Wé Tenakee,
That Tenakee,
Tʼeinaa G̱eiy.
Tenakee. [Hindwater Side Bay (Thornton 2021, p 115 #33)]
Tʼéinaa G̱eiy.
Tenakee.
Tʼeinaa G̱eiy.
Tenakee.
Tʼeinaa G̱eiy.
Tenakee.
Ḵa
And
Tʼaay X̱ʼé.
Hot Springs Mouth.
Tʼaay X̱ʼé was that one, was the, was the words we used
when we talked in Tlingit about Tenakee.
Tʼaay X̱ʼé.
Hot Springs Mouth.
Itʼs a hot springs. I was practically, uh,
Yaakw yíxʼ áwé x̱at uwawát.
I grew up on a boat.
My father,
ax̱ éesh, he had a boat named Frisco, and I was, I think uh, I donʼt know, I was
My father, he had a boat named Frisco,
dei g̱unéixʼ x̱waagút, x̱at {kasa} kasayaayí.
I had already started to walk, I was too lively.
My mother was working in the cannery, I was a little boy, I donʼt know how big.
Port Althrop.
Áwé {héen} héent x̱at wudzigít.
I fell into the water.
Wé g̱eiwú
The net
kéi x̱ʼakawdudziyíḵ,
they closed it and pulled it up,
wé g̱eiwú.
that net.
Inian Island.
Inian Island.
Lingít x̱ʼéináx̱,
In the Tlingit language
Sʼeenáatug̱eey yéi duwasáakw, wé sʼeenáa áa yalʼúk.
they call it ʼBay Inside the Lights,ʼ the lights blink there.
Tug̱eeyxʼ áwé adusg̱eiwú.
People seine there inside the bay.
{bi} Yagéi fish, man.
Big fish, man.
Ḵúnáx̱ gé yadaa {wé} wé héen?
Does it really flow there, the water?
Éey Yík áwé duwasáakw.
Inside the Rapids is how they call it. [Inian Pass]
Éey Yík.
Inside the Rapids.
Yeah, I, uh, Inian Islands.
Éey Yík, cause
Inside the Rapids, because
héen
water
héen yík, héen yík yéi {kuwa na na}
in the water, in the water like this [He motions with hands water flowing away.]
tle xʼaas yáx̱ nateech
itʼs like itʼs a waterfall
yei naléini.
when the tide is going out.
Yéi x̱at gushagéinkʼi, gwál
When I was very small, maybe
I just
g̱unéi x̱wagoodí,
when I started walking,
my father had me on the boat so my mother could work in the cannery.
Lingít cannery-xʼ yéi jiné.
She works at the Tlingit cannery.
Áwé héent x̱at wudzigít
So I fell in the water
wé fish x̱oot.
among the fish.
I donʼt, I remember that, I came to just a little bit.
Yaa ḵux̱dzigéi.
I came to.
Tlél x̱wasakú
I donʼt know
wáa sá aax̱, wáa sá aax̱
how off, how off (how I fell off)
{wáa sá} and the, the seining,
asg̱eiwú,
seining,
ḵutaan.
(is in) summertime.
I start seining with my uncle.
Dave Kasko, he had a boat, seine boat.
Du yaagú,
His (seine) boat,
"Earl M". And I seined with him for about, off and on for about, two years. And then, and then uh, that was after I came back from the army, but I was on a boat all my life.
Á yaakw yíxʼ áwé yéi x̱at wootee.
I lived on a boat.
Yaakw yíxʼ áwé x̱at uwawát.
I grew up in the boat.
All ax̱ káak hás yaakw has aya.óo.
All of my maternal uncles own boats.
See, we were going from boat to boat. When weʼre going for something, we go on a different boat.
When you go for seal hunting,
tsaa lʼóon,
seal hunting,
they take us in another boat.
G̱uwakaan lʼóon.
Deer hunting.
Daat káaxʼ sáwé yaa kagajúxjin wé yaakw?
What did those boats used to run on?
They had twenty-horse, mostly had twenty horse standards in them.
Wé eix̱ ák.wé asgánin?
Did they burn oil?
Yeah, {áy} aaá.
Yeah, yes.
Diesel?
Oh yeah, uh gas, gas, no, I think there was only one diesel boat that I remember.
All on the rest were gas.
Anyway, so I fished up and down Chatham Straits all the way to Ketchikan.
Chʼa ldakát yéide áwé
All over the place
{Chatham} Chatham-dáx̱.
from Chatham.
Ḵutaan yan shuwushx̱eení, yáaxʼ
When summer ended, here
Southeast, up here, Tenakee and uh,
x̱ʼéit wudutaaní,
when it (fishing) is closed,
Ketchikan-dé áwé,
to Ketchikan,
Ketchikan-dáx̱ áwé, {hít}
from Ketchikan,
ah, Cape Ommaney-dáx̱ áwé
it was from Cape Ommaney
x̱éide yoo shujix̱ín.
it would open (and close).
Sheey, ah, sheey,
Gnarled wood (limb/knot), uh, gnarled wood,
sheey, ah, Sheey Yá,
gnarled wood, uh, Face of the Gnarled Wood,
Sheey Yá,
Face of the Gnarled Wood,
Cape Ommaney, Sheey Yá.
Cape Ommaney (is called) Face of the Gnarled Wood.
Sheey means gnarled wood.
Sheey.
Gnarled wood.
{thatʼs the way that all} Thatʼs the way that Cape Ommaney was; the trees were so gnarled.
Thatʼs why they call it
‹Sheey› Lingít x̱ʼéináx̱.
'gnarled woodʼ in the Tlingit language.
And from there,
aax̱ áwé {héi y} héit yoo shujix̱ínk.
from there is where it (hunting season) regularly opens.
All the way down to Portland Canal. Anyway to, and when we leave, when,
{yáadáx̱} yáadáx̱ g̱unéi, {g̱un-}
from here begin,
yáadáx̱ g̱unéi yawugoowú yaakwxʼ,
From here, when the boats begin to run,
tle, ah, Deikee Ḵwáan x̱oot áyá.
then, among the Oceanside People.
Deikee Ḵwáan
The Oceanside People
is Haidas.
Deikée, it means, deikée,
Out in the ocean, it means, out in the ocean,
Oceanside People.
Deikee Ḵwáan.
Oceanside People.
From Deikee Ḵwáan is Kíchx̱ Aan Ḵwáan.
(The next one) from Oceanside People is Ketchikan People.
Kíchx̱ Aan Ḵwáan,
Ketchikan People,
is a big birds that flies around in the ocean.
['Albatross', ' Laysan albatross', ' "phoebastria immutabilis"']
Kíchx̱ Aan.
Gooney Bird Town
And Ketchikan became the name.
Lingít x̱ʼéináx̱,
In the Tlingit language,
Kíchx̱ Aan Ḵwáan.
Ketchikan People.
Kíchx̱ Aan.
Gooney Bird Town.
Thatʼs named after the big birds, big gooney birds.
Kíchx̱ Aan.
Gooney Bird Town.
And pronounce it Ketchikan.
And, it was
ḵustí.
life.
Hydaburg and the other town, I forget the name of it, Craig and uh, Klawock? Craig and Klawock and Hydaburg.
Ḵéex̱ʼ?
Kake?
Ḵéix̱ʼ. Ḵéex̱ʼ.
Kake.
Ḵéex̱ʼ.
Kake.
Kake {was still that} was still inside Southeast (AK).
Up farther this way, itʼs inside, itʼs inside,
ah, anyway.
Hás tsú chʼa has du yaagú has aya.óo tsú?
Them as well, did they just own their boats too?
Oh yeah, the company boats were the Libbyʼs, had a big fleet. Libby McNeil, from uh,
from Craig. Only Native lingít, Lingít captains.
from Craig. Only Native people, Tlingit captains.
Fisherman, and
ách áwé
thatʼs why
Kíchx̱ Aan Ḵwáan ḵoowdzitee
Ketchikan people came about
ḵa Deikeenaa.
and Haida. [This is the more common Tlingit name for Haida people.]
And ah,
oh, {thereʼs a} thereʼs a big rock out there, just on the other side of
Cape Ommaney. Thatʼs the other one, Cape Ommaney. And Cape something, I forgot the other oneʼs Cape,
Chʼa g̱óot yéide kḵwasáa. Ocean.
Iʼm going to name it differently.
Ocean uh,
gah, anyway that, in Tlingit name, that rock,
that rockʼs name is «Noow.»
that rockʼs name is 'Fort.ʼ
Deikee Noow.
Ocean Fort. [Far out to sea fort]
Ocean Fort. Deikee Noow.
Ocean Fort.
Thatʼs uh, the English name is uh, oh, gee. Anyways, thatʼs where we did all our fishing, all that
['Big Hazy Islet']
asg̱weiwúdáx̱.
from seining.
Yáa yáatʼaa yan shuwushx̱eení áwé,
When this one here is closed,
{aa} g̱unéi {aa}
begin
asg̱eiwú
seining
down to
Hydaburg-dé and Deikeenaa x̱oodé.
toward Hydaburg and among the Haidas.
And uh, and uh,
Kíchx̱ Aan Ḵwáan,
the Ketchikan People,
Tsʼootsxán,
Tsimshians,
and uh, then they got the word
there was a lot of ah, {ir} not Irish, Italians, fishermans, bring up boats.
Shatʼoochʼ.
Black-head(ed) (Italian).
The black-headed people, Shatʼoochʼ, they called Italians.
The Black-headed People, Shatʼoochʼ, they called Italians.
Because they had black hair, like, you know, like Natives, but,
Shatʼoochʼ.
Black-head(ed).
Pelican ágé tsú ḵustéeyin?
Did Pelican exist, too (at that time)?
No, Pelican.
Pelican was, later on Pelican, Cannery áwé wusitee.
It was a cannery.
Later on they built Pelican, 19,
probably {1935} 1938.
probably 1938.
{pel uh} Cannery-x̱ ákwé wsitee?
Was it a cannery?
Yeah, cold storage. Cold storage?
{and then they added} Then they added a cannery onto that later. Crab cannery and salmon cannery. But it was, Pelican was really built for troll fleet.
The trolling fleet was out of there. Hundreds of boats fished out there.
Yaa yandudláḵ gé?
Are people succeeding?
Oh, yeah, it was good, {but the boat fish, I}
gwál,
maybe,
ten cents a pound, ten cents, king salmon.
Tléixʼ x̱áat. Sometimes
One fish.
Tléixʼ x̱áat.
One fish.
Sometimes, theyʼd, and,
and when they never used to buy anything that was under twenty pounds,
and they gave you twenty-five cents for anything that was
under twenty, twenty pound fish.
The rest youʼd get rid of it, itʼs just...
Anyway, when the trolling start, then they started that thirty-two inch; it was still a pretty good-sized fish.
Gúxʼaa tóode áwé yéi daadunéiyin, or?
They put them in cans, or?
No they, no they, they froze it, mostly. Mostly froze it.
Cold storage froze all their fish. Later on,
gúxʼaa tóode
into the cans
wé kénani, kénani,
that cannery, cannery,
cannery {wudulyei}
then thereʼs, gúxʼaa tóode.
then thereʼs, into the cans.
Port Althrop was doing all the,
Ldakát áwé Porth Althrop-dé,
All of it to Port Althrop,
asg̱eiwú.
seining.
Port Althrop was a big cannery. Maybe four lines, big, four-line cannery.
Four, four uh, they call it,
dleit, chaan Chink.
(dleit ḵaa English language) (chaan China) [Chink is an old cannery term for automated cutting machine that replaced Chinese workers.]
Iron chink. Cutting the heads off.
Lingít x̱ʼéináx̱ hél x̱wasakú a saaxʼú.
I donʼt know the names of it in Tlingit.
Ách áwé dleit ḵáa x̱ʼéináx̱
Thatʼs why in English
{yóo} yóo {x̱a-} x̱aasáakw.
I call it that way.
Yisikóo yeedát aadé tle tʼéexʼ x̱oodé áwé yéi daaduné wé x̱áat. Chʼáakw ḵu.aa, hél yéi utéeyin. Yeah, yeah.
You know, now, the way they put the salmon on ice. A long time ago, though, it was not that way.
{wáa s} Lushkʼidéin gé yaa naneich wé x̱áat?
Would the salmon start to go bad?
{I the} X̱áat
Salmon
héende kdaháa.
is pushed into the water.
What they canʼt, what,
daa sá, daa sá, daa sá aax̱ ḵuwdi.oo
Whatever, whatever, whatever was left over,
{they} héende kdaháa.
they pushed it into the water.
Thereʼs more
dei xʼoon,
how many now,
xʼoon scow sáwé shaawahík.
how many scows were full.
Yeisú,
Still,
cannery, wé {du} daat
cannery,
daa sá tlél {can-x̱}
whatever is not
gúxʼaa tóode yéi wdusnei.
put into cans.
yá x̱áat
this salmon
seig̱ánxʼ áwé aax̱ ḵuwdi.oowu aa tle héende kdaháa.
the next day, the ones that are left over are pushed into the water.
??? Port Althrop when I was a
tlél x̱at ulgeiyí áwé, {that that}
when I was not large,
I seen
x̱áat
salmon
the base of that fish
['The base of that pile of fish.']
about twice as big as this house.
Yá hít koogéiyi.
(Twice) the size of this house.
And about, I think, from the bottom, from the bottom of that dock, where they, where uh,
aax̱ héende kdahaayí, wé fish,
when they were pushing it into the water, that fish,
king salmon, everything, sockeyes,
g̱aat,
sockeye,
cháasʼ,
humpy,
lʼook, tle
coho, then
ldakát át.
everything.
And,
gwál tléixʼ hándit x̱ʼoos.
maybe a hundred feet.
Yéi áyá a taax̱ kunaaléi,
This is how far it was from the top,
yú cannery, {tle} tle a tayeet kaawa.úk.
that cannery, and it was piled right up underneath it (to the ceiling).
Aax̱ áwé
From there
a kaadé kdahaayí tle
as theyʼre pushing it out, then
it spreads out.
The base, itʼs about a hundred feet wide with dead fish.
Yóode dulít x̱áat áwé.
That was the fish that they throw away.
Yeah, héende kduháa.
Yeah, they push it into the water.
Haaw.
Well.
Yéi áwé ḵutx̱ shoowaxeex,
Thatʼs how they were depleted,
x̱áat.
salmon.