Chinook

Jargon
 Chinook
Jargon

The Hidden Language of the

Pacific Northwest

Jim Holton

Wawa Press

San Leandro, California

Copyright © 1999, 2004 by R. James Holton

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo-
copying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the author.

Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication
(Prepared by Quality Books Inc.)

Holton, Jim.
Chinook jargon : the hidden language of the
Pacic Northwest / Jim Holton. -- 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
LCCN: 99-76708
ISBN: 0-9674897-1-7 (hbk.)
ISBN: 0-9674897-0-9 (pbk.)

1. Chinook jargon. I. Title.

PM846.H65 2000 497.41

QBI00-312

Front and back cover art by Duane Pasco

Photo enhancements and maps by Jeffrey Kopp
Printed and bound in the United States of America
First printing, 2004

Wawa Press is an imprint of Adisoft, Inc., P.O. Box 2094, San Leandro, CA,
94577. Web site: www.adisoft-inc.com/chinookbook
 Contents

FOREWORD
1 HISTORY 1
2 PRONUNCIATION 19
3 GRAMMAR 29
4 CONVERSATION 43
5 16 SKUKUM WORDS 47
6 PLACES 55
7 OUTSIDE 61
8 NUMBERS 69
9 SONGS AND STORIES 75
10 RESOURCES 85
CHINOOK–ENGLISH 89
ENGLISH–CHINOOK 111
NOTES 125
BIBLIOGRAPHY 131
INDEX 135
 Foreword
Klahawya tilikêm,

Hayash mersi, thanks very much for looking at this book.

This book didn’t quite go the way I planned it. When I started
researching Chinook Jargon about seven years ago I was
hoping for a topic that I could deal with in about three months. I
thought that the “trade language” was the perfect target. It was
said to have only three hundred words, no grammar and was
long time dead. Simple, right?

Well, the more I looked and researched, the more I saw that all
my original ideas were wrong.

Not only is the language much more complex with a vocabu-

lary of thousands of words and compounds, but it has a well
developed grammar comparable to other languages despite
assertions to the contrary. I found that the language, though
not the lingua franca that it once was, is still very much alive.
It is spoken by some people and it also remains alive in place
names, slang and the culture of the Northwest.

As a simple introduction to Chinook Jargon, this book presents

the language to the reader via the printed media. The
orthography, or spelling system, used in this book has been
chosen to minimize barriers to the language for speakers of
western European languages. By minimizing theses barriers,
the reader can enjoy the discussion on Chinook Jargon’s gram-
mar, world view, culture, and history.

By making Chinook Jargon accessible, I hope to generate

public interest and appreciation of Native American languages
which, hopefully, will lead to general support of the many lan-
guage revival and continuation programs. Native American
languages are part of our heritage and it would be a tragedy
to lose them.
I’d like to thank Tony Johnson for the all the hours in which
he helped me with my Chinook Jargon, as well as giving me
an appreciation of the culture behind it. I’d also like to thank
Henry Zenk for the many days of instruction, as well as Barbara
Harris, Duane Pasco, Tucker Childs, Jeffrey Kopp, my wife
Karen and son Andy for all the help and encouragement they’ve
given me. The mistakes are my own.

Klahawyêm, Jim Holton

May 5, 2004
 1
History
Background
Chinook Jargon is a Native American pidgin language spoken in the Pacic
Northwest. The story of Chinook Jargon is the story of Native American cul-
ture and Pacic Northwest history. In the 1800s there were over one hundred
different languages spoken in the Pacic Northwest. It was one of the most
diverse linguistic areas in the world. Chinook Jargon, often known simply as
Chinook by speakers, was used among Native Americans, and between early
settlers and Native Americans, as a way of bridging the communication gap
created by this diversity. Chinook Jargon deeply reects the oral tradition
and culture of that time and place.
Edward Thomas and Rena Grant, historians who wrote about Chinook
Jargon during the 1930s and 40s, stated that one hundred thousand people
spoke Chinook Jargon in 1875. Speakers ranged from Northern California to
Southern Alaska, and from the Pacic Ocean to the Rocky Mountains. Chi-
nook Jargon was still used in northern British Columbia in the 1970s during
church services. Over a century later, in 1990, perhaps a hundred individuals,
scattered across the region, spoke it. Today however, the situation is chang-
ing. Not only are individuals interested in preserving the language, but The
Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon is reviving
the language. They have a language immersion program for preschoolers,
and use the language on signage and at public events.
Chinook Jargon is different from the “Old Chinook” language spoken by
the Chinook people who lived near the mouth of the Columbia River. Old
Chinook is complex. It is difcult for non-Natives to learn because its con-
jugations and syntax are very different from those of European languages.
On the other hand, Chinook Jargon evolved to be easy to learn and easy
to use. Chinook Jargon is a pidgin language. A pidgin contains a reduced
vocabulary (based on a dominant language) and a simplied grammar of its
own. Chinook Jargon’s vocabulary is based on Old Chinook. There are also
words borrowed from Nuu-Chah-Nulth (Nootka), French, English, and other
indigenous languages.
Some linguists and Native Americans think Chinook Jargon was the
result of contact with the European, Canadian and American traders. Other
linguists and some Native Americans think Chinook Jargon existed long
before non-Natives arrived in the Pacic Northwest.
1
Chinook Jargon

This map shows some of the

many indigenous languages of the
Pacic Northwest. No one person
could ever learn all of them. A
trade language is useful under this
condition.

“Mr. Whidbey estimated the

number of Indians inhabiting the
place [Gray’s Harbor, 1792] at
about one hundred; they spoke the
Nootka language, but it did not
seem to be their native tongue.”
— Captain George Vancouver
(1798, Voyage of Discovery)

“It is a language conned

wholly, I believe, to our North-
western possessions west of
the Rocky Mountains. It orig-
inated in the roving, trading
spirit of the tribes, and has
been added to and increased
since the introduction of the
whites among them.”
— James G. Swan (1857, The
Northwest Coast)

— Jeffrey Kopp

“The expansion of trade seems to have emphasized a growing split

between remaining hundreds of conservative, sedentary tribesmen
and the more numerous and wilder buffalo hunters among the Nez
Perces. The Hudson’s Bay people, if they did not originate the split,
deepened it by their presence. Indian Agent Cain declared that when
he rst arrived in the Nez Perce region he could hardly nd a
member of the conservative group familiar with the trade language
called Chinook, whereas the buffalo group boasted ‘any number’
who could.” — Robert Ignatius Burns (1966, The Jesuits and the
Indian Wars of the Northwest)

2
 History

Native Trade
Native Americans in the Northwest traded as a way of acquiring necessities
and luxuries. What could be produced easily in one area was often in demand
by a neighboring group. A group that had an abundance of camas (or qua-
mash, a bulbous food plant) on its land might trade some of it to another
group for dried salmon or leather hides. Although most of the trade occurred
between neighboring groups on an as-needed basis, there was also a larger
“network” in place within which the movement of goods occurred. In 1806,
Lewis and Clark explained how one group from the Columbia plains north of
The Dalles t into the trading network:
During their residence on the river, from May to September, or rather before
they begin the regular shery, they go down to the falls, carrying with
them skins, mats, silk grass, rushes, and chappelell bread. They are here
overtaken by the Chopunnish, and other tribes of the Rocky mountains,
who descend to Kooskooskee and Lewis’ river for the purpose of selling
bear-grass, horses, quamash, and a few skins which they have obtained by
hunting, or in exchange for horses, with the Tushepaws.
At the falls, they nd the Chilluckittequaws, Eneeshurs, Echeloots, and
Skilloots, which last serve as intermediate traders or carriers between the
inhabitants above and below the falls. There tribes prepare pounded sh
for the market, and the nations below bring wappatoo roots, the sh of the
seacoast, berries and a variety of trinkets and small articles which they have
procured from the whites.
The trade then begins. The Chopunnish, and Indians of the Rocky
Mountains, exchange the articles, which they have brought for wappatoo,
pounded sh, and beads. The Indians of the plains being their own sher-
men take only wappatoo, horses, beads, and other articles, procured from
Europeans. The Indians, however, from Lewis’ river to the falls, consume
as food or fuel all the sh which they take; so that the whole stock for
exportation is prepared by the nations between the Towahnahiooks and the
falls….

This trading network extended from the Pacic Ocean to the Rocky Moun-
tains. Although by 1806, European and East Coast goods had become an
important part of this network, it is probable that the trade network predates
visits by non-Native merchant ships. Large proportions of the goods traded
were of Native American origin.

3
Chinook Jargon

James Swan chronicles the early 1850s in The Northwest Coast, or Three
Years’ Residence in Washington Territory. He conrms that the falls on the
Columbia, or The Dalles, was an important trading site. Swan goes on to
record a trip to California, for purposes of trade, that occurred a number of
years earlier.
The wife of Mr. Ducheney, the agent at Chenook for the Hudson Bay
Company, who is a very intelligent woman, informed me that her father
was a Frenchman and her mother a Walla Walla Indian, and that, when
she was quite a child, she recollected going with her mother and a
party of her tribe to the south for a number of months; that they were
three months going and three months returning; that they took horses
with them, and Indian trinkets, which they exchanged for vermilion
and Mexican blankets; and that on their return her mother died, and was
buried where the city of Sacramento now stands. I asked her how she
knew where Sacramento was, and she replied that some of her friends
had since gone to California, to the gold mines, and that on their return
they said that it was at Sacramento where her mother was buried.
She was too young to remember how far into Mexico they went,
but I judged that the vermilion she mentioned was obtained from the
mountains of Almaden, near San Jose, California. But I have no reason
to doubt the statement, as I have heard similar statements from other
sources.

Even though Swan acknowledges that this appeared a long trip, it’s consis-
tent with other trips he had heard about.

California Here I Come!

Although Chinook Jargon never spread very far into Spaniyol Ilêhi, or
California, Northwest Natives did visit as far south as the San Francisco Bay
area and Sacramento.
“The tribe that had possession “When Fremont rst com-
of the mines was wealthy as it menced hostilities in California,
monopolized the trade in vermil- a large body of Walla Walla Indi-
lion, a paint ever in demand with ans from the Columbia was cre-
warlike savages. These Indians ating disturbances in the region
[in California] did a considerable of Sacramento.” — James Swan
commerce with their neighbors of (1857, The Northwest Coast)
the North, who visited them in
canoes.” — A.S. Taylor (1860,
California Farmer)

4
 History

Early Visitors
Soon after James Cook’s visit to Vancouver Island in 1778, non-Natives
began fur trading in the Northwest. Trade ships, after stopping in Hawaii,
sailed to Vancouver Island to trade manufactured goods for sea otter pelts.
An average sea otter pelt was valued between $450 and $650 in today’s
money. One exceptional sea otter pelt went for $4000 in London. Besides
sea otter there were beaver and other furs. Often $100 worth of manufac-
tured goods could be traded for thousands of dollars worth of pelts.
The sailors and traders involved in this lucrative enterprise soon learned
a jargon based on the language of the Nuu–Chah–Nulth people who live on
the western coast of Vancouver Island. A jargon is a simple list of words
with no grammar or usage rules as opposed to a pidgin, which has its own
grammar. Speakers use jargon words singly or superimpose them on their
own language. Traders in their search for otter pelts were able to use this
jargon beyond Vancouver Island. In 1792, Captain George Vancouver used
Nuu–Chah–Nulth words effectively at Gray’s Harbor near the mouth of the
Columbia River. His log notes, “[T]hey spoke the Nootka language, but it
did not seem to be their native tongue.” We do not know if Nuu–Chah–Nulth
jargon existed prior to non-Native contact or its distribution, but we do know
that Chinook-speaking people along the Columbia River in 1805 used Nuu-
Chah-Nulth words.
“Klush musket, wik kêmtêks musket,” said a Clatsop Chinook person,
when shown the effect of gunshot on a duck by Lewis and Clark. This sen-
tence, meaning “a good musket, but I don’t understand this kind of musket,”
could be the Nuu–Chah–Nulth Jargon or it could be Chinook Jargon. It is
made up of three words from Nuu-Chah-Nulth and one from English. These
Chinook people lived 250 miles away from the Nuu-Chah-Nulth people.
The Chinooks also used other Nuu–Chah–Nulth words like pishak for “bad”
or tayi for “chief.” All these words are found in Chinook Jargon
Along the Columbia, Lewis and Clark met many Native Americans who
could speak some English. They had picked up English from trading ships
that visited before Lewis’ and Clark’s arrival. One Clatsop Chinook told
Lewis, “Sturgeon is very good,” as they came upon a stranded sh while
salvaging items along a beach after a high tide. Lewis and Clark were not
the rst visitors. The Clatsop people gave Lewis and Clark the names of
thirteen different sea captains who had already visited them. They expected
many of these men to return. Some Chinooks had even learned to swear in
English prior to Lewis’ and Clark’s visit. They used the terms “damn rascal”
and “son of a bitch.”
5
Chinook Jargon

Origins
Pidgin languages are a common linguistic phenomena throughout the world.
Often associated with the domination of one group over another, they have
historically been looked down upon as mere “broken” languages. Now linguists
know that each pidgin language has its own unique grammar and often associ-
ated culture. The exact origin of many pidgin languages, however, is uncertain.

Many pidgin languages have existed in North America. An early one was used
between Basque shermen and Native Americans along the St. Lawrence River
in the 1500s. Besides Chinook Jargon, there were Mobilian, Delaware, Ojibwe
(Chippewa), and two types of Eskimo pidgins. Perhaps the most famous though
is the Plains Sign Language.

“The Jargon originated in the primitive and prehistorical

necessity for a trade vehicle. In the beginning the Chi-
nooks picked up some Nootkan words and the Noot-
kans acquired a few Chinook words.” — Edward Harper
Thomas (1927, “The Chinook Jargon”)

John Rodgers Jewitt compiled a word list based on the time

he spent as a slave of the Nuu-Chah-Nulth tayi, Maquinna,
from 1803 until 1806. Of the 87 words he recorded, 10 are
found in Chinook Jargon.

“[Captain Cook] recorded a list of native words which

were afterwards used by other captains until it became
the foundation of the great Chinook jargon, which, as
developed by the Hudson Bay Company, became the
common language of all northwestern Indians from
California to Mt. St. Elias, and from the Rocky Moun-
tains to the Pacic Ocean.” — Edmond S. Meany
(1946, History of the State of Washington)

“The origin of this Jargon, a conventional language

similar to the Lingua Franca of the Mediterranean, the
Negro-English-Dutch of Surinam, the Pigeon [sic] Eng-
lish of China, and several other mixed tongues, dates
back to the fur droguers of the last century. Those mari-
ners whose enterprise in the fteen years preceding
1800, explored the intricacies of the northwest coast
of America, picked up at their general rendezvous,
Nootka Sound, various native words useful in barter,
and thence transplanted them, with additions from the
English, to the shores of Oregon.” — George Gibbs
(1863, A Dictionary of the Chinook Jargon)

6
 History

Chinook Jargon, as we know it today, rapidly spread northward from the

Ft. Vancouver area to Victoria and British Columbia after the Hudson’s Bay
Company relocated its regional ofces to British Columbia in the 1840s.

Non-Native Settlements
The lucrative prots of the fur trade made John Jacob Astor the richest man
in America. In an attempt to monopolize the fur trade in the Northwest, he
established Astoria on the banks of the Columbia River in 1811. This was the
rst permanent non-Native settlement in the area. Two years later the North-
west Company took it over, renaming it Fort George. The Hudson’s Bay
Company acquired the Northwest Company in 1821 and expanded the trad-
ing post system in the Northwest, founding Fort Vancouver at present-day
Vancouver, Washington in 1825. Permanent trading posts changed the econ-
omy of the Northwest from primary subsistence to a trading economy. The
rst trading posts central to this new economy were in the heart of the area
controlled by Chinook–speaking people. This economy increased intertribal
commerce in furs, manufactured goods, liquor and slaves. During this period,
Chinook Jargon rapidly evolved with the majority of its words adopted from
Old Chinook, French and English.

7
Chinook Jargon
From 1829 until 1835, plagues swept through the Northwest, particu-
larly along the Columbia and Willamette rivers. Samuel Parker, an early
missionary, stated that the mortality rate along the Columbia River reached
seventy–ve percent. During this period, Fort George’s importance as a trad-
ing center diminished. The newer Fort Vancouver, across the Columbia River
from present–day Portland, became an important center of trading activity.
Horatio Hale, an ethnologist with the United States Exploring Expedition
of 1841, visited Fort Vancouver and wrote, “There are Canadians and half-
breeds married to Chinook women, who can only converse with their wives
in this speech, and it is the fact, strange as it may seem, that many young
children are growing up to whom this factitious language is really the mother
tongue, and who speak it with more readiness and perfection than any other.”
In 1841, the 500 permanent inhabitants included 100 Canadians, some Hawai-
ians, and many Native Americans from different linguistic groups. There
were a large number of people coming and going all the time. At any one
time there could have been 2000 people at the fort. Chinook Jargon was its
language of commerce. Canadian and Hawaiian men employed at Fort Van-
couver often married Native American women. Many of these new husbands
did not wish to be transferred to other Hudson’s Bay outposts. They left their
jobs at the fort to farm in Oregon’s Willamette Valley and settled down with
their families. Chinook Jargon was the primary language of this Willamette
Valley community.
England and the United States partitioned the Northwest in 1846. The
Hudson’s Bay Company had already moved its main operations from Fort
Vancouver, which became part of the U.S., to Victoria on Vancouver Island,
in present–day Canada. Hudson’s Bay Company personnel continued to use
Chinook Jargon at Victoria and wherever they went in the Northwest. This
spreading of Chinook Jargon by Hudson’s Bay personnel led some people to
refer to Chinook Jargon as the “Hudson’s Bay language.”
Career U.S. Army ofcers often spent a tour of duty in the Northwest
prior to the Civil War. Particularly among Northerners during the Civil War,
knowledge of Chinook Jargon was a fraternal badge. Ulysses Grant and
some of his subordinates knew Chinook Jargon. Chinook Jargon was occa-
sionally used between cronies in telegraph dispatches for fun and to prevent
prying eyes. In a hilarious story, a General Nesmith was accused of passing
encrypted messages to war speculators. As proof of this, the Secretary of
War presented the evidence to Nesmith in the form of a telegram a friend
had sent him. It read, “KLATAWA NIKA SITKUM MOLITSH WEGHT OCOKE KONAMOX
LUM.”1 Nesmith, after giving Secretary Stanton a good ribbing, explained that
his friend, General Ingalls, was asking for a favor. The telegram said, “Send
8
 History

me another half barrel of that same whiskey.” Nesmith and Ingalls enjoyed
corresponding in Chinook Jargon and had been doing so for a year. Stanton
was able to get Nesmith’s story veried immediately. It seems he was the
only ofcer in the War Department who didn’t know Chinook Jargon.

The Heyday
The heyday of Chinook Jargon could be referred to as the “hop days.” New
agriculture, such as hop farming, changed the economy of the Northwest
even more than the fur trade. Changes in the economic and social conditions
of Native Americans perpetuated Chinook Jargon and spread it around the
Northwest in the later 1800s. The earliest immigrant settlers to the Northwest
learned Chinook Jargon out of necessity. Before 1850 these settlers had daily
dealings with Native Americans. Much conversation was in Chinook Jargon.
After 1850, the spread of Chinook Jargon was based on the new movement
and settlement patterns of Native Americans. Native Americans spread Chi-
nook Jargon outward from the Columbia River, Willamette Valley and Puget
Sound areas.
During the 1850s, the U.S. and Canada began acquiring Native Ameri-
can land for exclusive non-Native usage. This policy segregated Native

— Sister M.D. McNamee (1959, Willamette Interlude, Pacic Books)

Archbishop F. N. Blanchet, shown here, nished Bishop M. Demers’ word
list and produced one of the nest Chinook Jargon dictionaries of the 1800s.
Published in 1871, after being edited by Father L. N. St. Onge, this work
included a catechism in Chinook Jargon.
9
Chinook Jargon
Americans from non-Natives except in certain industries. Under the res-
ervation system in the U.S., people who spoke different languages found
themselves living together on reservations throughout Oregon and Wash-
ington. Sometimes traditional enemies were placed side by side. Native
Americans disenfranchised from their land in Canada congregated in urban
ghettos around Victoria, Vancouver and New Westminster. These Native
American “melting pots” fostered the usage of Chinook Jargon and it was
used in the popular arts. Chinook Jargon songs, stories, and even plays our-
ished from 1850 to 1890. In some families, children were raised speaking
Chinook Jargon.
In many parts of the Northwest, Native American traditional law allows
individuals to own the rights to songs. Songs can be traded or borrowed and
are wealth. This is similar to modern copyright practice. Any person who
sings a song that is owned by another is required to make a payment to the
owner of the song. However songs in Chinook Jargon were usually excluded
from this requirement, so they circulated freely. Franz Boas copied down
many Chinook Jargon songs in the 1880s and 1890s. Some of them are quite
rowdy. In the following song, a woman lets her unfaithful lover know how
easily he can be replaced.
Cultus kopa nika. I don’t care.
Spose mika mash nika. If you desert me.
Hyau puty boys coolie kopa town. Many pretty boys are in town.
Alki weght nika iskum. Soon I’ll take another.
Wake kull kopa nika.2 It’s not hard for me.

Hop picking was one of the new economic activities that caused population
shift and movement. Edward H. Thomas wrote:
Seattle and Tacoma are forty miles apart, both on the Sound, but a few
miles back of the shore there is a limited but very rich valley extending
from one city to the other. This, in the [eighteen–] eighties, was one
of the world’s greatest hop-producing centers. Indians constituted the
bulk of the pickers, and came in eets and armies in the fall to what was
to them a great esta, not from the shores of the Puget Sound alone, but
from the Yakima and Klickitat countries across the Cascades, using the
ancient Indian trails. They came from the North, from the Kwakiutl
territory and the islands of the Haidahs and Tsimpsiahns.

Chinook Jargon was carried back and forth by this activity. Thomas goes on
to say, “Thousands went to the hop elds and followed on the homeward trek
just for the fun of it. To these a working knowledge of the Chinook Jargon
was very much of a necessity.”
10
 History
Chinook Jargon was the primary means of communication in many
industries in the Northwest from 1860 to 1890. Native Americans furnished
the bulk of hired labor for seasonal agriculture, especially hop picking, in
Washington and British Columbia until 1890. Fishing, canning, sealing,
ranching and timber also employed many Native Americans who used Chi-
nook Jargon as a common language. Non-Natives who worked with Native
Americans in these industries learned and used Chinook Jargon. Merchants
who served Native Americans spoke Chinook Jargon.
Chinook Jargon was a working person’s language. People not working
in industries dominated by Native Americans or servicing Native American
communities had no need for it. Later immigrants looked down on Chinook
Jargon. A prejudice against Chinook Jargon survives to this day. An article in
a newspaper from the Pacic Northwest on April 22, 1998 described Chinook
Jargon as “a strange admixture of French, English, and Indian, containing
only 300 words, and barely suitable for bartering.” This writer is apparently
ignorant of Chinook Jargon, a language rich in idiom and expression.
Missionaries made use of Chinook Jargon in their efforts to convert
Native Americans. Catholics and Protestants translated hymns and prayers
into Chinook Jargon. Father Modeste Demers compiled an exceptional Chi-
nook Jargon dictionary and catechism in 1839. Father Demers spent a lot of
time among Native Americans studying their languages. He disappeared for
years at a time in his quest to learn the languages of various Native American
peoples. He was especially fond of singing and even after he became the
Bishop of Vancouver in 1847, he conducted choir practice himself. Father
Demers’ work in Chinook Jargon was completed in 1867 by Fathers F. N.
Blanchet and L. N. St. Onge and published in 1871.
Myron Eells was born in Oregon in 1843. He published hymns for
the Methodist missionaries. He learned and used Chinook Jargon while
preaching to Native Americans on Puget Sound in the 1870s. In a separate
evangelical effort, St. Mark’s Kloosh Yiem Kopa Nesika Saviour Jesus Christ
or Gospel According to Mark was published in 1912 by the British and For-
eign Bible Society.3
Another missionary, Father Jean-Marie LeJeune, was stationed at Kam-
loops, British Columbia. Father LeJeune published the Kamloops Wawa
from 1891 to 1904. This was a magazine that reported the diocese’s news
and teachings. The Kamloops Wawa was written in Chinook Jargon as well as
English, French and other Native American languages. Father LeJeune wrote
Chinook Jargon in the Duployan shorthand script. He believed the shorthand
was easier to learn and teach than the Roman alphabet. The Kamloops Dio-
cese published a great deal of religious material in this shorthand.
11
Chinook Jargon

Law, Treaties and The Jargon

Chinook Jargon was used for treaty negotiations in the Pacic Northwest,
as well as in some early court cases involving Native Americans. The proceed-
ings were usually conducted in three or more languages. When a Bastên
spoke, English was translated to Chinook Jargon and then Chinook Jargon was
translated into the required indigenous languages. When a Native spoke, the
process was reversed. Historians like to criticize Chinook Jargon for its part
in the treaties. The double translation slowed the proceedings, but Chinook
Jargon didn’t affect the English copy of the treaties — the subject of debate.
Most likely, Native Americans signed “bad” treaties after seeing the force of the
westward migration. They realized that there were few options open to them.
The Chinook Nation has no treaty with the U.S. for its historical lands. A
treaty agreed to by the Chinooks in 1851 was never ratied by the Senate, while
the Chinooks never signed later agreements.

“The Governor told them how the Great Chief in Washington loved
Indians, and he told them that he loved them as much as if they
were the children of his own loins. Because of his love for them
he was going to have the Great Father buy their lands and he
was going to give them ne reservations and the blessings of
civilization, such as schools and blacksmith and carpenter shops.”
— Archie Binns (1941, Northwest Gateway)

“The rst council was held within the city limits of present Tacoma
between December 24 and December 26, 1854. Though the
Indians appeared in proud nery, Stevens wore the work garb of
the district: red annel shirt, trouser legs thrust inside his boots,
a broad-brimmed black hat with his pipe held in its band. The Indi-
ans sat on the ground in concentric circles outside the evergreen
arbor sheltering the white dignitaries. Standing before them, Ste-
vens made an introductory speech sentence by sentence. Shaw
translated into the Chinook trade jargon; Indian interpreters trans-
fromed that into native dialect. The gathering was then dismissed
to talk over what had been said. The next day the proposed
treaty itself was read and translated phrase by phrase.” — David
Lavender (1958, Land of Giants)

“That young Indian is now standing before a Court of law, to be

tried for his life, before an English Court of Justice, the rst pro-
ceeding of which he does not, cannot understand, with a Chenook
(Chinook Jargon) Interpreter by his side, who neither knows good
English nor [the language of the] Tsimsean Indian.” — Alfred W.
Waddington (1860, “Judicial Murderer,” Who Killed William Robin-
son, ed. Sandwell and Lutz)

12
 History

“After Colonel Mike Simmons, the agent, and, as he has been

termed, the Daniel Boone of the Territory, had marshaled the sav-
ages into order, an Indian interpreter was selected from each tribe to
interpret the Jargon of Shaw into such language as their tribe could
understand. The governor then made a speech, which was trans-
lated by Colonel Shaw into Jargon, and spoken to the Indians, in the
same manner the good old elders of ancient times were accustomed
to deacon out the hymns to the congregation.” — James G. Swan
(1857, The Northwest Coast)

“As in some of the other treaties, the Indians misunderstood the

terms and believed that they were to receive that much a year for
twenty years.” — Archie Binns (1941, Northwest Gateway)

“The difculty was in having so many different tribes to talk to at the

same time, and being obliged to use the Jargon, which at best is but
a poor medium of conveying intelligence. The governor requested any
one of them that wished [to speak] to him. Several of the chiefs spoke,
some in Jargon and some in their own tribal language, which would be
interpreted into Jargon by one of their people who was conversant with
it....” — James G. Swan (1857, The Northwest Coast)

“But it was poorly suited to Euro-American attempts to explain com-

plex matters like land holding and religion. One unhappy result was
a series of treaties negotiated between whites and Indians, the lan-
guage and meaning of which are still a matter of legal dispute.”
— Carlos A. Schwantes (1989, The Pacic Northwest)

“When an Indian spoke the Rogue River tongue it was translated

by an Indian interpreter into Chinook, or jargon, to me, when I
translated it into English. When Lane or Palmer spoke the process
was reversed, I giving the speech to the interpreter in Chinook, and
he translated it to the Indians in their own tongue. This double
translation of long speeches made the labor tedious, and it was not
until late in the afternoon that the treaty was completed and signed.”
— George E. Cole (1905, Early Oregon)

“The Americans will never leave us alone. Let us not concern our
hearts .... We will take [Grand Ronde] .... [W]e will make it our own
place.” — Ki-a-kuts (1855, during negotiations with Joel Palmer),
excerpt from T. N. Leavelle (1998, “We Will Make It Our Own Place”)

“Governor Stevens, rst governor of Washington Territory, before the

Civil War, negotiated a long and complicated treaty with all the Indian
tribes within the territory, and did it all through the medium of the
Jargon.” — Edward Harper Thomas (1927, “The Chinook Jargon”)

13
Chinook Jargon

Chinook Jargon was the community language of the Grand Ronde and
Siletz reservations in Oregon. In both of these places, people from various
linguistic groups lived side by side. Chinook Jargon was the only indigenous
language they had in common and was spoken as a home and community
language. Descendants of Native people from Astoria, Fort Vancouver and
the Willamette Valley, as well as others from the Columbia River to North-
ern California, live today at Grand Ronde. Some of them speak Chinook
Jargon with features not found in the general Chinook Jargon of the North-
west. They claim it is a more developed form of the language.

Decline
The conditions that made Chinook Jargon such a vibrant language eventually
led to its decline. The expanding economy demanded a more efcient way
of moving goods to and from the Northwest. In the rst half of the 1800s
one had to travel for months by foot, horse, wagon, or sailing ship to get in
or out. This restricted immigration to the area. In 1865 this changed with the
completion of the rst transcontinental train track between the eastern U.S.
and California. This was soon followed by track to Oregon, Washington and
British Columbia. A journey that used to take three months could now be
made in a week.
Native American communities nurtured Chinook Jargon while mass
immigration changed the balance of the economy against them. The ofcial
population of Washington jumped from 23,000 in 1870 to 357,000 in 1890.
By 1910 it had climbed to 1,141,000. Oregon and British Columbia expe-
rienced similar growth. But Native American populations remained level.
Native Americans now played a smaller role in a larger economy. New
immigrants to the Northwest no longer had to learn Chinook Jargon to sur-
vive. The reverse was true. The Native Americans had to learn English.
Government policy on both sides of the border was as unfavorable to
Chinook Jargon as it was to most Native American languages. Children
were forbidden to speak Chinook Jargon at school. Whites shunned Chinook
Jargon because of its perceived low social status. Except for a few places
like Grand Ronde, Chinook Jargon was on its way out in the lower U.S.
by 1900. It hung around a little longer in British Columbia and Alaska, but
World War I and motorized transportation exacted their toll and by the 1920s
its usage was in serious decline in the north. Many young men left the area
to ght in World War I. They came back realizing that English, not Chinook
Jargon, was the language of the world and the future. The gasoline engine

14
 History

broke the isolation of remote settlements. Motorized boats, cars and trucks
allowed people to move to larger, English–only towns, where they enjoyed
modern comforts and central services, but still accessed the remote resources
necessary to earn their living. Chinook Jargon gave way to English.
Some old settlers occasionally used Chinook Jargon as a group identi-
er. In one instance Chinook Jargon was used to persuade Simon Fraser
Tolmie, who had learned Chinook Jargon from his father, to run for premier
of British Columbia in 1928. Tolmie refused to consider the job even though
citizens were hounding him to run. On the eve of choosing a party candi-
date, the debate was erce. Henry Pooley, a veteran politician, stood up and
aggressively lectured Tolmie in Chinook Jargon. Nobody else in the room
understood, but Tolmie went on to become the twenty-rst premier.
Chinook Jargon also lingered a little longer in Seattle. Ex-Alaskans,
men and women from the Gold Rush—the last time that Chinook Jargon was
a necessity—used it as a fraternal badge. Chinook Jargon separated the old-
timers from the cheechako or newcomers. Nard Jones wrote:
I remember sitting in the ofce of a former “Gold Rusher” as he
answered the telephone. “Kloshe,” he said, “Arctic Club, twelve o’clock.
Alki, tillikum.”
He replaced the receiver and turned to me as if he had not been
speaking in code. In the Chinook Jargon kloshe meant good or ne.
Alki was soon or in the future or, as the Indians thought of it, “bye and
bye.” As Seattle’s gold rushers disappeared during World War II, so
did their Chinook Jargon.

Chinook Jargon could still be heard in some parts of the Pacic Northwest
well into the twentieth century. There are anecdotes told of shermen and
Canadian Coast Guard members using the pidgin during the 1950s to keep
radio transmissions secret. Today there are only a few people in the North-
west who can still speak Chinook Jargon. They are part of a long line of
speakers stretching back 200 years or more. But for the most part Chinook
Jargon is no longer heard.

Revival
Many linguists and anthropologists have studied Chinook Jargon. Franz
Boas used Chinook Jargon to communicate with Natives, who did not speak
English, while he was studying other languages in the Northwest. In 1936,
Melville Jacobs published a collection of stories told by Native Americans
in Chinook Jargon. He also made the rst serious study of Chinook Jargon
grammar since Horatio Hale’s original work in 1846. Henry Zenk studied
15
Chinook Jargon

the Chinook Jargon used by a dozen elderly people at Grand Ronde, publish-
ing his doctoral thesis in 1984. Dr. Zenk noted that the speakers had all
continued to use Chinook Jargon even though they were all also uent in
English. Dr. Zenk believes that they identied Chinook Jargon with being
Native American.
In the 1890s, Father LeJeune, of Kamloops, proposed that Chinook
Jargon be used as a world language. Father LeJeune argued that Chinook
Jargon had a big advantage over articial languages like today’s Esperanto.
There were actually thousands of people who could already speak it.
Just as Chinook Jargon was slipping into disuse, interest began to
grow in reviving it. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Mrs. Laura
Downey–Bartlett, realizing that the Northwest was losing something pre-
cious, attempted to revive its use. She spoke and sang at many events in
Chinook Jargon. In 1914, she published Chinook-English Songs, translations
of the period’s most popular songs into Chinook Jargon, in an attempt to get
people to use Chinook Jargon. In 1924 she published a dictionary. Many
other dictionaries were produced from 1909 until 1930 to stimulate interest
and satisfy curiosity about Chinook Jargon.

Bound for Alaska

The gold rushers are credited with carrying Chinook Jargon to Alaska, even
though it was well-established there prior to that event. Chinook Jargon was
used as a jargon by the gold rushers, not having the distinct grammar it had along
the Columbia River. Chinook Jargon was popular with Native Americans on the
panhandle, where it was often refered to as the Hudson’s Bay language.

“At present it is spoken from Washington Territory to Lynn Channel, in

Alaska; the older Indians only do not understand it.” — Franz Boas
(1888, “Chinook Songs”)
“By 1900 CJ was effectively obsolete in Oregon. However during
the same period CJ spread to parts of Alaska bordering on British
Columbia.” — Terrance S. Kaufman (1968, “A Report on Chinook
Jargon”)

“Chinook was not spoken by Alaska natives of the interior, and it was
spoken by those of the far southeastern island fringe only after the
Russian cession of Alaska to the United States. The Jargon did not go
into that territory until the Klondike rush, and even then only a few words
were carried there by the Puget Sounders who were among the rst
seekers following George Carmack’s famous nd.” — Edward Harper
Thomas (1927, “The Chinook Jargon”)

16
 History

In more recent times, Duane Pasco, who learned a little Chinook Jargon
during his youth in Alaska, also tried to stir up interest in the pidgin. Duane,
a traditional carver, published a bimonthly newsletter called Tenas Wawa
from 1991 to 1995.
The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde is taking steps to preserve and
invigorate Chinook Jargon usage on the reservation. In 1997, Tony Johnson
was hired as a specialist to put together a language program. “People very
much want to know their Chinook,” said Tony. “That’s the only language
they can say was their community language here. Your grandparents, what
you heard them speaking was the Chinook.”
As part of Grand Ronde’s Twah Sun Chako preschool, three to four year
olds are immersed in Chinook Jargon for 5 hours a day in an attempt to foster
uency in the language. An evening class, in which participants receive Uni-
versity of Oregon foreign language credit, targets adults. Other classes and
activities are provided to members of the community.
Other groups across the Northwest have taken an interest in reviving
Chinook Jargon. Recently a book, an annual workshop and several Web sites
have emerged in an effort to keep this pidgin from dying out.

Tony Johnson, Language Specialist, and Tribal Elder Annabelle “Peachy” Ham
are working on reviving Chinook Jargon usage at Grand Ronde, Oregon.
Besides Chinook Jargon, the people that moved to the Grand Ronde reservation
in the 1850s spoke 30 dialects of 11 Native languages, as well as French and
English.

17
Chinook Jargon

The Threads
If you listen hard enough, you might still be able to hear the echo of Chinook
Jargon in the Pacic Northwest. It might be in the form of a place name, an odd
expression, or if you’re lucky you might run into someone who knows a bit.

“All these words are Chinook Jargon. For Mr.

Walker, they were what remained of his ‘mother’s
tongue’ [in 1953].” — Dell and Virginia Hymes
(1972, “Chinook Jargon as ‘Mother’s Tongue’”)

Atlki was used by Yellow cab drivers in Seattle until computerized

dispatching was instituted in the 1990s. According to Leland
Brajant, a former driver, it was the correct response to a “bell”
or dispatch and indicated that the driver was “right on it.” The
pronounciation simplied the tl to an l and the i was elongated
to an ay as in “eye.”

“As General Grant knew a great deal of Chinook,

he was able to appreciate the joke fully.” — General
Horace Porter (1906, “Campaigning With Grant”)

“I would hear a shouted greeting of ‘Klahowya!’ or be

invited to ‘huy-huy.’ I never knew what these things meant.
(Was it Italian? Yiddish? Swedish?) Sometimes a friend
would make a passing, bafing reference to something
like ‘going klahanie,’ or inquire about my ‘klootchman.’
When I asked about these odd terms, my Seattle friends
would look sort of embarrassed and say, ‘Oh, that’s just
the Jargon... no one uses it any more,’ or something to
that effect, and decline to explain further.” — Jeffrey Kopp
(1998, “Chinook Jargon – An Introduction”)

“I’m a ‘native speaker’ of Chinook, having been

taught it by my grandfather.” - Robert Henderson
(1998, e-mail correspondence)

Duane Pasco learned Chinook Jargon while growing up in

Alaska in the early 1940s, but hadn’t used the language since
then. During the early 1990s, he tried to drum up interest in
the language with a bimonthly newsletter. He gave up because,
“Nobody was really interested.”

18
 2
Pronunciation
The Sounds
The goal of this book is to let English speakers acquire an intelligible pronun-
ciation of Chinook Jargon in as short of time period as possible and to have
fun doing it. In the spelling system used in this book, each letter or letter
combination has a single pronunciation and there are no silent letters. There
are some sounds in Chinook Jargon that are not found in English. Some con-
sonant pairs, such as kl, represent sounds that are different from their normal
English representation, so you should study this chapter carefully.
In 1909, Frederick Long wrote, “[N]othing but a short talking acquain-
tance with the Indians themselves can convey the correct pronunciation” [of
Chinook Jargon]. Native American languages found in the Pacic Northwest
contain sounds that are not found in English. These sounds entered Chi-
nook Jargon in words borrowed from these languages and persist in Chinook
Jargon today. As spoken at Grand Ronde, Chinook Jargon contains sounds
that English speakers don’t normally use. Where an English speaker has a k,
a Grand Ronde Chinook Jargon speaker has to choose from a k, kh, k’, q, qh,
and q’. The k can either be pronounced as a normal English k or the same
sound can be produced deeper in the throat indicated by a q. Each variation
of the k or q is slightly different and can affect the meaning of a word. Grand
Ronde Chinook Jargon speakers have other sounds not found in English.
Historically, because Chinook Jargon was learned by most of its speak-
ers as a second language, not every speaker accurately produced every sound
in any given word. Some varieties of Chinook Jargon differed slightly from
the norm. Even with variation, Chinook Jargon speakers were able to com-
municate with each other.
Some English speakers made do with approximations of sounds that
they found difcult. Other English speakers really did “sound Native” when
speaking Chinook Jargon. Linguistic transcripts of one English speaker’s
Chinook Jargon from Alaska show that this speaker used the barred–L sound
in many words. The barred–L in Chinook Jargon is derived from Native
American languages and is not found in English.
The spelling system used in this book is designed so that Chinook Jargon
can be learned quickly, so some sounds are approximated for the English
speaker.1

19
Chinook Jargon

This is a picture of Maquinna, a Nuu-Chah-Nulth tayi or leader. Maquinna

traded with Europeans who came to Vancouver Island looking for sea otter skins.
He also had two Europeans as slaves in the early 1800s. One of them, John
R. Jewitt, published a book about his experience when he returned home. This
picture was drawn around 1788 by Tomas Suria, a Spaniard.

“Le-yee ma hi-chill signies, ‘Ye do not know.’ It appears

to be a poetical mode of expression, the common one for
‘you do not know’ being Wik-kum-atush; from this it would
seem that they have two languages, one for their songs and
another for common use.” — John R. Jewitt (1816, Narra-
tives of the Adventures and Sufferings of John R. Jewitt)

“Another of the developments of these contacts between the

Indians and the whites was the creation of Chinook jargon.
This was a trade language chiey, with words from Indian
languages, French and English. It had a limited vocabulary
and was not difcult to learn. It was extremely convenient and
became the lingua franca up and down the Island as well as
the mainland.” — S. W. Jackman (1972, Vancouver Island)

20
 Pronunciation

Consonants
Here’s a list of the consonant sounds used in this book’s Chinook Jargon:
b, ch, d, g, h, hw, k, kl, kw, l, m, n, ng, p, r, s, sh, t, tl, ts, w, and y.
Some of the consonant sounds are pronounced or used differently than
they are in English. With a little practice, you can master them:
ch is pronounced as in the English “change” or “each.”
h is pronounced like an English “h” at the beginning of a
word. When it precedes another consonant, thicken it to
make it more audible.
hw The h is the stressed consonant and dominates the w.
k is optionally unaspirated in some words. Skukum often sounds
like sgugum. Some Native teachers wrote “kg” where an
unaspirated-K occurred. For example, kalakala was written
as kgalakgala.

Common Sounds
Sounds used in speaking Chinook Jargon are common across the indigenous
languages of the Pacic Northwest. Some of the sounds were unfamiliar to
non–Natives, who tended to simplify them.
“The sounds used by most [Native] speakers of Jargon are the sounds
used in their native languages and dialects. This results in little or
no phonetic confusion when strangers from far-distant tribes meet and
converse in Jargon.” — Melville Jacobs (1932, Notes on The Structure
of Chinook Jargon)

“As the Jargon is to be spoken by Englishmen and Frenchmen, and

by Indians of at least a dozen tribes, so as to be alike easy and
intelligible to all, it must admit no sound which cannot be readily
pronounced by all.” — Horatio Hale (1890, An International Idiom)

“One important point to remember in speaking Chinook is that there are

in Chinook many gutteral [sic] sounds which the English language has no
letter equivalent for but which are common enough in German. These
must be indicated by comparative word sounds as used in English.” —
W. S. “El Comancho” Phillips (1913, The Chinook Book)
21
Chinook Jargon

kl The kl sound represents a barred-L. A barred-L is the same

sound as the Welsh ll. Put the tip of the tongue against the
roof of you mouth and hiss. This is the preferred sound for
the kl. However, three alternate pronunciations are heard for
the barred-L.
Some speakers use a “t” and an “l” pronounced together. The
“t” and the “l” are pronounced as close to one another as the
speaker can.
Other speakers use an unaspirated-K with an “l.” An unaspi-
rated-K sounds to many English speakers as if it were almost
a “g.” Some people write it as a “kg.” Think of “kgl” and
use the sound found in “ankle” and “oracle.” In Chinook
Jargon, this sound can begin a word.
Still other speakers produce the exact sound as they would
in English for a “kl” or “cl.” These speakers will sound the
“kl,” like they do with every “kl” sound that begins a word,
and produce the sound as in “clean” or “climb.”
Remember, once you settle on one of the possible ways of
saying a kl, be consistent.
kw is the same as the English “qu” in “queen” or “quote.”
ng sounds like the “ng” in “doing.”
tl Use a true barred-L or, as an alternative, a “t” and an “l”
pronounced close together. See the kl sound.
ts is pronounced as in “cats” but occurs in Chinook Jargon at
the beginning of words.
The rest of the consonant sounds are as in English. The consonant pairs bl,
dl, kr, kt, and st also occur in Chinook Jargon words. There are a few words
were the kl is pronounced as in English and not as a barred-L. An example is
lakli, which is from the French la clé. These are noted in the vocabulary.

22
 Pronunciation

Vowels and Diphthongs

This book’s spelling system uses a one to one correspondence between each
sound and letter or pair. Each vowel or diphthong, which is a vowel pair,
indicates a unique sound. Pronounce vowels and diphthongs as follows:
a ah, papa
e bet, men
ê ton, but
i ill, tin
o toe, row, stove
u loop, tune
aw house, trout
ay buy, I, tide
ey pay, bait, grade
iy beat, leap, me
oy boy, toy
uy hoo-eey, oui (French)

They Drift a Bit

Hilu, halo, helo, helu, and elo are recorded as ways to say “none.” While
the vowels drift from dictionary to dictionary and region to region, consonants
remain pretty stable.
“The modern usage of the vowels of the jargon is better dened than
that of the time of the Astoria settlement, for Alex. Ross, one of the Astor
men, in his Chinook vocabulary, represents our klaxta by ‘tluxta,’ ahnkutty
by ‘ankate,’ weght by ‘wought,’ kuitan by ‘keutan,’ kultus by ‘kaltash,’
iskum by ‘eshkam.’ Other early writers indicate the same doubtful vowel
sounds of the Indian speech, which time and usage have brought to
the simpler present forms.” — John Gill (1909, Gill’s Dictionary of the
Chinook Jargon)
“The Indians are very quick to detect any difference in the intonation or
method of pronunciation of the whites, and sometimes think we speak
different languages. An Indian asked me one day (while pointing to a
cow) what was the name we called the animal. I told him ‘cow.’ He said
that he had just asked another white man, and he called it a ‘caow.’” —
James G. Swan (1857, The Northwest Coast)

23
Chinook Jargon

Accent
The trick to pronouncing a Chinook Jargon word is to use the syllable break-
down found in the vocabulary at the back. The correct syllable breakdown
will help you identify consonant combinations and apply the correct accent.
Most Chinook Jargon words are accented on the rst syllable (e.g., nay-ka).
The major exceptions to this are words derived from French nouns. These
are easily identied as they begin with an “l” and are accented on a later syl-
lable (e.g., li-mo-to)

The Barred-L
The barred-L sound (see page 22), represented as an “ł” in the international
phonetic alphabet, is not found in English, but is found in many other languges,
including Welsh. In the mouths of some Chinook Jargon speakers, the barred-L
became a “kl” at the beginning of words and just an “l” in the middle of words.
The pronunciation of Chinook Jargon in slang and place names reects this.
The modern pronunciation of “Alki Beach,” “klahowya,” and “klahanie” are
examples of this.

“The peculiar clucking sound is produced by the tongue pressing against

the roof of the mouth, and pronouncing a word ending with tl as if
there was the letter k at the end of the tl.” — James Swan (1857, The
Northwest Coast)

“LL – a consonant whose difculty is much overrated, and

which can easily be mastered with a little practice. Put the
tip of the tongue against the roof of the mouth and hiss. Llan
(‘church’ or ‘villiage’), Llan–gollen, Llanelli.” — John Bowen
& T.J. Rhys Jones (1960, Welsh)

“ł – is a voiceless ‘l’ made with a somewhat hissing sound:

try setting your mounth to make an ‘l’, then blow gently.” —
Henry B. Zenk & Tony A. Johnson (2003, Chinuk Wawa, As
Our Elders Teach Us to Speak It)

“tł – is like [ł], but made with the tongue initially in position for
t; you will come close simply by trying to say the combination
‘tl’ as if it were English.” — Henry B. Zenk & Tony A. Johnson
(2003, Chinuk Wawa, As Our Elders Teach Us to Speak It)

Henrietta Failing picked up the phrase “klatawa saya” from her father, James
Failing, a Portland pioneer. Henry Zenk noticed that she pronounced kl in
klatawa as a kgl, a noticeably non–English sound. This is evidence that non-
Natives, in the Portland area, targeted the Native ł sound as “correct.”

24
 Pronunciation

Development
The sounds and words of Chinook Jargon were “worked out” by the people
who spoke it, but not everyone contributed equally. The Nuu-Chah-Nulth
contribution, through English, gave a base, but the Chinooks contributed the
bulk. There were borrowings from French, English and other Native American
languages.

“The Nootka [Nuu-Chah-Nulth] no doubt entered the pidgin through

white intermediaries: the marked sounds characteristic of the Chi-
nook– and Salish–derived portion of the lexicon do not occur in any
of the Nootka–derived words, except for the voiceless lateral fricative
/ ł /, and it was apparently late eighteenth–century European traders
who rst introduced a Nootka–based jargon (or incipent pidgin) to
the Columbia River.” — Thomason and Kaufman (1989, Language
Contact, Creolization and Genetic Linguistics)

“The persistence of such features [non-European sounds] is conclu-

sive proof that most Indians learned CJ from other Indians, not from
whites; they also show, I think, that whites were not involved in the
original pidginization process.” — Sarah Thomason (1983, “Chinook
Jargon in Areal and Historical Context”)

“The Indians are at present in the habit of living part of the year
in Victoria, Vancouver, or New Westminster, working in various
trades: in saw-mills and canneries, on wharves, as sailors, etc.
In the fall they go to Puget Sound hop-picking. At these places
members of numerous tribes gather, who use Chinook as a
means of communication. They have their own quarter in every
city.” — Franz Boas (1888, “Chinook Songs”)

“The words of English origin numbered in 1841, 41; in 1863, 67,

and in 1904, 570. Many words of French and Indian origins have
been dropped. The English words are used both by Indians and
whites when they talk Chinook, and have become part of the
language.” — (1909, attributed to Myron Eells by George Shaw,
The Chinook Jargon and How To Use It)

“It might have been expected from the number of Sandwich Islanders
introduced by the Hudson’s Bay company, and long resident in the
country, that the Kanaka element would have found its way into the
language, but their utterance is so foreign to the Indian ear, that not
a word has been adopted.” — George Gibbs (1863, Dictionary of the
Chinook Jargon)

25
Chinook Jargon

Growth
Regardless of Chinook Jargon’s origins, by the end of the nineteenth century it
had grown into an international language.

“It is a language conned wholly, I believe, to our Northwestern posses-

sions west of the Rocky Mountains. It originated in the roving, trading
spirit of the tribes, and has been added to and increased since the
introduction of the whites among them.” – James G. Swan (1857, The
Northwest Coast)

“The ‘Trade Language’ which came afterwards to be known as the

‘Chinook Jargon,’ grew into existence. As nally developed, it has
become really an ‘international speech,’ widely diffused...” – Horatio
Hale (1890, An International Idiom; a Manual of the Oregon Trade
language, or Chinook Jargon)

Regional Differences
Although most Chinook Jargon words are pronounced the same across the
Northwest, there are a small number of regional differences. These differ-
ences are not much of a hindrance in communication but are fun to explore.
Take the word for straight, correct, or truly. It is dêlet in the vocabulary.
It is pronounced dêlet or dêleyt at Puget Sound but dret at Grand Ronde,
Oregon. Dêlet originated from the French droit. Grand Ronde, populated
by people from Fort Vancouver and the Willamette Valley, preserves the
form closest to the old Canadian and Missouri patois used by the voyageurs,
dret. As Chinook Jargon spread and developed, an l was substituted for the
r which many Native Americans had difculty pronouncing. In the 1850s,
as Chinook Jargon was adopted in the Puget Sound area, the d and l sounds
were separated. Dret became dêlet. At some point the second vowel was
elongated. A diverse pool of Native American and European speakers had
begun using Chinook Jargon as a second language during this period. They
required a more emphatic pronunciation of words to avoid confusion caused
by their accents. The word dêlet was often pronounced dêleyt and was
learned that way by new Chinook Jargon speakers. On the other hand, Native
American hop-pickers who spoke Chinook Jargon uently, carried the origi-
nal forms back to Kamloops, where both dêlet and dret have been recorded.
Dêleyt spread northward along the coast from Puget Sound through British
Columbia and into Alaska, while dret is used today at Grand Ronde and dêlet
elsewhere in southern Washington and Oregon.

26
 Pronunciation

Dictionaries
The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw dozens of Chinook
Jargon dictionaries on the market. While some were just money–making
enterprises, other authors struggled to represent the language as best they could
using the French and English orthographies of the times.

“The jargon is essentially a spoken and not a written

tongue ... it is very much alive! There are no hard
and fast rules for the spelling of words, and everyone,
in writing Chinook, follows the dictates of his own
judgement in the fabrication of phonetic equivalents,
which are at best only approximations.” — Dr. C. M.
Buchanan (manuscript quoted in the 1913 edition of
Theodore Winthrop’sThe Canoe and the Saddle)

“With regard to the spelling, it is believed that a suf-

cient number of forms is recorded to enable the
student to identify pratically every word, as well as to
trace the origin of many words of undetermined deri-
vation.” — George Shaw (1909, The Chinook Jargon
and How To Use It)

“The phonology of the Jargon seems simple, but

depends to a great extent on the speaker. Since
most of the dictionaries have been written by native
speakers of English, the more difcult of the sounds
... are represented as they would be pronounced
by an English-speaking person.” — Barbara Harris
(“Chinook Jargon: The Nineteenth Century Trade
Language”)

“In consulting old word lists or dictionaries one is likely

to nd the variation in spelling very confusing. The
difculty lies in the fact that those who recorded the
words made an attempt to spell them phonetically;
but the guttural clucking pronunciation characteristic
of the Indians of the Northwest was extremely difcult
to represent with accuracy.” — Rena V. Grant (1942,
“The Chinook Jargon, Past and Present”)

27
Chinook Jargon

Middle Ground
Chinook Jargon provided a middle ground for the whites who couldn’t learn
a “real Indian” language and for Natives who preferred not speaking English.
Even today, knowledge of Chinook Jargon is a cultural identier.

“The Indians had strange-sounding names for things. The door, which
they entered without knocking, was le pote. The pitch they recom-
mended for starting res was le gome. Head was le tate; the tongue,
le lang; and the teeth, le dents. At rst the settlers thought those were
Indian words, but it turned out to be the language worked out by traders
and trappers and their Indian customers, and the settlers began to learn
the useful Chinook Jargon [from the Indians].” — Archie Binns (1941,
Northwest Gateway)

“Besides the foregoing language, there is another lingo, or rather

mixed dialect, spoken by the Chinook and other neighbouring tribes;
which is generally used in their intercourse with the whites. It is
much more easily learned, and the pronunciation more agreeable to
the ear than the other....” — Alexander Ross (1849, Adventures of
the First Settlers on the Oregon or Columbia River, 1810 –1813)

“Unfortunately, all these languages, — the Nootka, Nasquale, Tshinuk,

Tsihailish, &c, — were alike harsh in pronunciation, complex in struc-
ture, and spoken over a limited space. The foreigners, therefore, took
no pains to become acquainted with any of them.” — Horatio Hale
(1846, “Ethnology Report”)

“They appear to have a great aversion to learning the English language,

contenting themselves with the Jargon, which they look upon as a sort
of Whiteman’s talk.” — James G. Swan (1857, The Northwest Coast)

“It must not be supposed, however, that the pronunciation I have

given is the only correct one; as already stated, there are often
different ways of pronouncing the same word in different localities.”
— George Shaw (1909, The Chinook Jargon and How to Use It)

“The speech thus recorded is very Native-sounding, and includes half

a dozen gutturals completely absent from my grandfather’s Jargon.” —
Robert Henderson (September 1997, “Klahowya, Sikhs!”)

28
 3
Grammar

Like the grammar of any other language, Chinook Jargon grammar provides
a target for speakers. Chinook Jargon was spoken over a large geographical
area and by people from diverse backgrounds. Chinook Jargon varied from
place to place and over time. The main rule in speaking Chinook Jargon is
to speak so you are understood and try your best to understand the other
speaker. You will need to be exible, so hang loose.
A complete grammar of Chinook Jargon is beyond the scope of this book.
In this section you’ll learn the most important rules used by Chinook Jargon
speakers. You will speak good Chinook Jargon if you adhere to these rules.
The best way to learn Chinook Jargon is to nd a friend and start practicing.

Personal Pronouns
The personal pronouns in Chinook Jargon are:
I, me, my, mine nayka
you, your, yours (singular) mayka
he, she, it, him, his, her, hers… yaka
we, us, our, ours nêsayka
you, your, yours (plural) mêsayka
they, them, their, theirs klaska
These pronouns are used as subjects, objects and to show possession.

29
Chinook Jargon

The second column in this issue of Kamloops Wawa, a periodical,

is written in a Chinook Jargon version of Duployian shorthand.
Father Jean-Marie LeJeune, a Catholic priest at Kamloops, B.C.,
published Kamloops Wawa from 1891 until 1904. Kamloops Wawa
not only contained parish news, but also religious instruction,
stories, several plays, and colorful advertisements in the Chinook
Jargon shorthand.
Father LeJeune published other material in the shorthand, such
as catechisms, bible interpretations and a dictionary.

30
 Grammar

Articles
There is no word for “the,” so use ukuk if you are referring to a particular
item. Ukuk means “this” or “that.” There is no word for “a” but sometimes
the word ikt, meaning “one,” or even ukuk, for a specic item, can be used.

a man man
one man ikt man
the man ukuk man
that man ukuk man
Ukuk is sometimes used on its own as a pronoun.
This is my bag. Ukuk nayka lisak.
That [thing] is powerful. Skukum ukuk.

Word Order
The verb normally goes after a pronoun in Chinook Jargon. This is always
the case when the verb indicates an action. When an adjective or noun is
used in place of an action verb (e.g., “I [am] tired”) the word order can be
switched.

I throw a ball. Nayka mash libal.

I go to the store. Nayka klatawa kupa makuk haws.
but
I am tired Til nayka.
or Nayka til.
He’s a coyote Talapus yaka.
or Yaka talapus.
Kupa indicates location and translates “to,” “with,” “at,” “on,” “in,” “from,”
or “by.” Klak, kikwêli, and klahani are three modiers that sometimes appear
before kupa. Klak kupa means “off of” or “away from,” while kikwêli kupa
means “down from” or “underneath.” Klahani kupa means “outside of,” as
in Nayka mitlayt klahani kupa town, “I live outside of town.”

31
Chinook Jargon

Word Types
Even though linguists say that Chinook Jargon words are exible as to usage,
the vocabulary at the back of this book classies each word as being a noun,
verb, adjective, adverb, etc. You should normally use a word according to the
type described in the vocabulary. You will avoid mistakes caused by subtle
shades of meaning if you adhere to this policy. If you really need to use a
word as a different type, here are two rules to follow:
• Combine a noun or adjective with mamuk to use it as a action verb.
Isik refers to a “paddle.” Mamuk isik means “to paddle.”
• Combine a noun or verb with kakwa to use it as an adjective or
adverb to express likeness or similarity. Chikêmin is the noun for
“metal.” Kakwa chikêmin means “metallic” or “like metal.”

A quick warning: Combined words often turn into compound words, which
may have special meanings. Check the vocabulary in the back of the book
for the meaning of some compounds.

More Words
Horatio Hale documented Chinook Jargon as part of an ethnological study of
Oregon conducted by the United States Exploring Expedition in 1841. Hale
revisited Chinook Jargon fty-nine years later. Hale found the language’s gram-
mar was stable during that period, but the number of simple words had increased
from the original 250 he had collected.

“But, as might be expected, the language continued to develop. Its

grammar, such as it was, remained the same, but its lexicon drew
contributions from all the various sources which have been named
[Nootka, English, French, Chinook], and from some others. In 1863,
seventeen years after my list was published, the Smithsonian Institu-
tion put forth a ‘Dictionary of the Chinook Jargon,” prepared by the
late George Gibbs, a thoroughly competent investigator. His collection
comprised of nearly ve hundred words.” — Horatio Hale (1890, An
International Idiom)

“A. P. Grant (1994 MS) is a collection of all morphemes which I have

been able to nd as purporting to belong to the CJ lexicon; these are
divided into well-attested and dubious forms. The latter number over
550; the former ... number 1078.” — Anthony P. Grant (1996, “Chinook
Jargon and its distribution on the Pacic Northwest and beyond”)

32
 Grammar

A “Correct” Jargon?
“Judge Coquille Thompson, now at Warm Springs, but originally
from the northwest Oregon area in which Mr. Walker lived, and
where Jargon was strongest in Oregon, considers that those at Warm
Springs who have some knowledge of Jargon ‘don’t put the words
together right.’ There seems, then, to have been a norm, and a role,
for Jargon, beyond sheer makeshift expediency. Perhaps more of
the outlines and character of the Jargon speech community can yet
be determined, from documents and memory.” — Dell and Virginia
Hymes (1972, “Chinook Jargon as ‘Mother’s Tongue’”)

Context
Context provides the framework in which an action occurs. Words or phrases
marking context are usually placed at the beginning of a sentence. Context
can be tense, time, probability, or place.
She goes. Yaka klatawa.
She will go. Atlki yaka klatawa.
She will go soon. Wik lili yaka klatawa.
She will go a while from now. Bambay yaka klatawa.
Maybe she goes. Klonês yaka klatawa.
She is going now. Alta yaka klatawa.
She went. Ankati yaka klatawa.
She just went. Chiy yaka klatawa.
She went a little while ago. Tênês ankati yaka klatawa.
She’s going alone. Kêpit ikt yaka yaka klatawa.
She went yesterday. Tatlki san yaka klatawa.
She’s unable to go. Hawkwêtl yaka klatawa.
Chinook Jargon relies heavily on context for meaning. Once the context is
established, it does not have to be repeated in each sentence. Context words
can also appear within a sentence if you wish to emphasize other words.

33
Chinook Jargon

Modiers
Adjectives and adverbs are important since Chinook Jargon words never
change for gender or quantity. The word musmus meaning “cow” could be
“a male cow,” “a female cow,” or “cows.” Modiers are placed in front of
the noun or verb. A female cow is a kluchmên musmus.
many hayu
some tênês hayu, wik hayu
all kanawi
big, very hayash
small, little tênês
strong, powerful skukum
quick hayak
slow klawa
male man
female kluchmên

Wik negates the phrase. Wik goes before the subject pronoun and verb in a
phrase. Hilu is a replacement for wik in some varieties of Chinook Jargon,
but implies “nothing.” Hawkwêtl also replaces wik and indicates you are
unable to do something.

I watch. Nayka nanich.

I don’t watch. Wik nayka nanich.
Bob doesn’t see anything. Bob wik ikta yaka nanich.
They don’t have children. Hilu tênas mitlayt kupa klaska.
I can’t see. Hawkwêtl nayka nanich.

In some northern varieties of Chinook Jargon, hilu completely replaces wik.

34
 Grammar

— Duane Pasco (Tenas Wawa)

This cartoon is from Tenas Wawa. Translated it says, “Now, straight
for their heads.”

“The future, in the sense of ‘about to,’ ‘ready to,’ is some-

times expressed by tikeh or tikegh [tiki], which means prop-
erly to wish or desire; as, nika papa tikegh mimaloose, my
father is near dying, or about to die.” — Horatio Hale (1890,
An International Idiom)

Some speakers of Chinook Jargon at Grand Ronde use proclitic pro-

nouns. A proclitic pronoun is reduced in form and placed in front of the
verb. Na is often used for nayka, ma for mayka and ya for yaka. Na
klatawa replaces nayka klatawa for “I go.” The complete longer forms
are used when a speaker wishes to emphasize the pronoun. Nayka na
klatawa means “I am the one who wants to go.” This usage never
caught on outside of Grand Ronde.

35
Chinook Jargon

Pronouns with Other Words

Chinook Jargon speakers include pronouns where they are not used in Eng-
lish. When a noun is the subject, yaka or klaska is generally put in front of
the verb in spoken Chinook Jargon.

That man talks. Ukuk man yaka wawa.

(Linear translation: That man he talks.)
People see you. Tilikêm klaska nanich mayka.
(Linear translation: People they see you.)
I am going to look for…. Nayka klatawa nanich….
(Linear translation: I go watch.)
Mary teaches me. Mary yaka mamuk kêmtêks nayka.
(Linear translation: Mary she teaches me.)

Pronouns also show possession. Without a pronoun, any noun preceding

another noun will become an adjective.

a dog’s house kamuks yaka haws

(Linear translation: dog his house)
a dog house kamuks haws
(Linear translation: dog house)

Bob’s wife’s hat Bob yaka kluchmên yaka siyaputl

(Linear Translation: Bob his wife her hat)

Some people omit the pronoun when a subject noun is present. Even though
people like Charles Tate, Myron Eells, and Father LeJeune were known to
speak Chinook Jargon uently, they adopted a writing style that did not
always use a pronoun with a subject noun.

36
 Grammar

Comparisons
Ilêp, which means “rst,” conveys “more,” and kimta, which means “behind,”
conveys “less.” Use dêlet in front of ilêp or kimta to get the superlative.

better Ilêp klush or manêki klush

worse kimta klush or manêki wik klush
You’re better than I am. Mayka ilêp klush kupa nayka.
best dêlet ilêp klush
worst dêlet kimta wik klush

Paraphrasing can also make comparisons.

You’re better than I am. Wik nayka klush kakwa mayka.
(Linear translation: Negative I good as you.)

Manêki and pus are sometimes used instead of ilêp and kupa.

El Comancho
Using the pen name “El Comancho,” Walter Shelley Phillips wrote books with
titles such as Totem Tales and Indian Tales for Little Folks. In The Chinook
Book, published in 1913, he documents the language as it was spoken on Puget
Sound after the turn of the century. Phillips links Chinook Jargon to Native
Americans culturally. Like any other langauge, a student must understand the
culture, within which the language originated, to speak it uently:

“One may learn to talk Chinook from a study of this book but he
cannot learn to speak it uently without considerable study into other
things than the mere jargon itself.
“The most important knowledge to possess in this connection is a
thorough understanding of the Indian point of view; that is to say, how
the Indian thinks, the mental process by which he arrives at an idea
and, in addition to this, a knowledge of his method of expressing this
idea. Without this knowledge you can never speak Chinook, or any
Indian language, uently.”

37
Chinook Jargon

Question Words
Question words go at the beginning of a sentence. Raise the pitch of your
voice when asking a question, as you would in English.

where ka
when kênchi
how much kênchi hayu or kênchi
why, how kata
what ikta
who klaksta
why pus ikta

Where are you? Ka mayka?

When are you coming? Kênchi mayka chaku?
Who’s there? Klaksta yawa?
What’s the matter? Ikta kata?

The simplest way of turning a declarative statement into a question in Chi-

nook Jargon is to raise the pitch of your voice as you would in English. All
speakers will understand this method of asking a question.
You are running. Mayka kuli.
Are you running? Mayka kuli? (raising pitch)

Chinook Creole?
“Hale reports that in Fort Vancouver many children who were
the offspring of French trappers with Cree wives spoke CJ
equally as well as French, Cree or occasionally English. He
wondered whether a situation would ever develop where
some people used only CJ as a linguistic medium. No
such development is known to have occurred.” — Terrance
Kaufman (1968, “A Report on Chinook Jargon”)

38
 Grammar

More Questions, Conditionals and Imperatives

Chinook Jargon has several words that can be added to the beginning or the
end of a sentence to make it conditional, solicit a conrmation or give an
order. Here are some:

Wikna Wikna is used for wik na and translates as “isn’t it so?” or

“right?” The speaker uses wikna to solicit the listener’s
conrmation. The sentence “It’s good, right?” could be
translated into Chinook Jargon as Klush, wikna?
Nihwa Nihwa is an attention marker, but also signies “why
don’t?” “Why don’t you give me some food?” would be
Nihwa mayka patlêch mêkmêk kupa nayka? Use Nihwa in
place of “please” when making requests.
Klush Klush at the beginning of a sentence indicates a strong
desire on the part of the speaker. “You better go away!”
would be Klush mayka klatawa! Adding pus softens the
command. Klush pus mayka klatawa means “It would be
good if you went away.”
Na Somewhat obsolete, na can also be added before a verb to
turn any phrase into a question. Nayka na klatawa kupa
makuk haws? means “Am I going to the store?” Most
often though, questions are indicated by raising the pitch
of the voice.

Chinook Jargon speakers use these words to be courteous to each other and
to ensure the listener is understanding and agreeing to what is being said.

39
Chinook Jargon

Sermons and Hymns

“Mesplie had been pastor of St. Peter’s church at The Dalles
from 1851. In the spring of 1855, his parish held only 117 Whites
but 300 Indians; of the 500 people baptized up to that date
most were Indians. When Captain Archer paid a tourist’s visit
to this church in March 1856, ‘to see the converted Indians at
their devotions,’ the sermon and hymns were in the trade dialect
Chinook.” – Robert Ignatius Burns (1966, The Jesuits and the
Indian Wars of the Northwest)

Compound Words and Idioms

There are only 500 to 800 simple words in Chinook Jargon. A vocabulary
of 200 simple words is sufcient to be conversant. Chinook Jargon uses
compound words to stretch its vocabulary. Often an idea in Chinook Jargon
is expressed by combining several words together to form a compound word.
A compound word can be a noun or verb. It is treated as a single word.

learn chaku kêmtêks

teach mamuk kêmtêks
sell mash makuk, makuk saya
dream musêm nanich
respond kilapay wawa
die, expire chaku hilu
forget kêpit kêmtêks

Chinook Jargon uses a lot of idiomatic expressions. An idiom is an expres-

sion that has a meaning beyond the meanings of the individual words. Take
the expression Nayka sik têmtêm that literally translates as “I have a sick
heart.” It is often used casually for “I’m sorry.” It doesn’t connote the
emphasis the literal English translation does. Chinook Jargon speakers often
use idioms as if they were single words. The idiomatic expressions are pro-
nounced quicker than the words would be singly. Correct use of idiomatic
expressions is a sign of a good Chinook Jargon speaker.

40
 Grammar

Dialects?
James G. Swan wrote about his experiences in early Washington Territory in
The Northwest Coast (1853). He used Chinook Jargon daily. Several times he
mentions the challenges caused by the different varieties of Chinook Jargon:

“By this means, different Indians who have been with the whites acquire
a habit of pronouncing such English words as they pick up in the same
style and manner as the person from whom they learn them. This
causes a certain discrepancy in the Jargon, which at rst is difcult
to get over. And, again, each tribe will add some local words of their
own language, so that while a person can make himself understood
among any of the tribes for the purposes of trade, it is difcult to hold
a lengthened conversation on any subject without the aid of someone
who has become more familiar with the peculiar style.”

“Colonel B.F. Shaw was the interpreter, and spoke the [Chinook
Jargon] language uently; but, although he was perfectly understood
by the Cowlitz and Satchap Indians, he was but imperfectly under-
stood by the Chenooks, Chehalis, and Queniults, and it was neces-
sary for those present who were conversant with the Coast tribes to
repeat to them what he said before they could fully understand.”

“I experienced the same difculty; for, as I had been accustomed to

speak a great deal of the Chehalis language with the Jargon, I found
that the Indians from the interior could not readily understand me when
making use of words in the Chehalis dialect.”

Stress and emphasis

A word can be stressed in Chinook Jargon by lengthening its vowel.
before now ankati
a very long time ago aaankati
A word can also be stressed by moving it from its normal position to the front
of the sentence and accentuating the word.
I went there. Nayka klatawa yawa.
I went there, not elsewhere. Yawa nayka klatawa.

41
Chinook Jargon

Pitfalls
There is no word for “to be” in Chinook Jargon. Instead, an adjective or
noun will simply take the place of the verb.

She is strong. Skukum yaka.

This is a good book. Klush buk ukuk.
My name is Henry. Nayka niym Henry.
That woman is a doctor. Ukuk kluchman dakta yaka.
Mitlayt or kupa can be used for “to be” when the object physically sits or
resides at a location.

We are in the house. Nayka mitlayt kupa haws.

Tom is there Tom yaka mitlayt yawa.
I am in this canoe. Nayka kupa ukuk canim.
Many nineteenth-century writers felt that Chinook Jargon had no xed gram-
mar. Based on this, many people take liberty with the word order. Use the
word order found in this book, but be open to usage of other speakers.
Try to think in Chinook Jargon. Chinook Jargon is an idiomatic and
expressive language. It is better to use the correct idiom or describe a con-
cept in simple terms rather than go for the fancy word that may not be under-
stood. Learn the idioms and phrases in the following sections. There are
more idioms in the appendix. When you’re comfortable with an expression,
substitute words to use the idiom in a new way.

42
 4
Conversation

You’ll never ever need to use Chinook Jargon on the streets of Seattle or
Vancouver. But a little Chinook Jargon can be a lot of fun among family
and friends. Chinook Jargon will also give you an insight into Native Ameri-
can culture in the Northwest. You’ll be speaking an indigenous American
language when you wawa Chinuk.

Meeting People
Here are some phrases that you and your tilikêms can use in the Northwest.
Practice them with your family and friends while you walk through Gas
Town in Vancouver or visit Pike Place Market in Seattle.

Hello Klahawya
How are you? Kata mayka?
I am… …nayka.
good Klush
tired Til
sad Sik têmtêm
sick Sik
What’s your name? Kata mayka niym?
I’m Jim. Nayka niym Jim.
What do you do for a living? Kata mayka tulo dala?
I am a … …nayka.
doctor Dakta
student Skul tilikêm

43
 I… Nayka…
farm. mamuk ilêhi.
teach. mamuk kêmtêks.
program computers. mamuk computer.
I am unemployed. Wik nayka tulo dala.
That’s useless (or broken). Kêltês ukuk.
Strong, powerful, “cool” Skukum
Please Klush or Nihwa
Thank you. Mersi
You’re welcome. Just smile!
What’s the matter? Ikta kata?
Nothing’s the matter. Wik ikta kata.
Good-bye. Klahawya.
We’ll talk soon. Atlki nêsayka wawa.
Move it! Hayak!
You’re on my foot. Mayka kupa nayka lipiy.
My cell phone doesn’t work. Nayka sel tintin kêltês.
I’m really sorry. Nayka dêlet sik têmtêm.

It’s Not English!

English marks nouns as either singular or plural. Although common among
European languages, this is by no means universal. Chinese uses adjectives
which describe quantity; it does not change the noun or add an article. This is
similar to the Chinook Jargon usage of hayu.

The meaning of alta in Chinook Jargon is given as “now, in the present.”

However, in storytelling, both formal and informal, alta often means “then,”
“and then” or “next.” “Ankati ikt kluchmên yaka musêm kupa yaka biyt. Alta
yaka kêmtêks ikta kupa yaka kwêlan. Alta yaka gidêp.” means, “A certain
woman was sleeping in her bed. She heard something. And then she got
up.” Alta is often used in Chinook Jargon storytelling to give a sequence of
events, indicating that the events took place in the order they are related.

44
Relations
Relationships and family are important to many Northwest Native Ameri-
cans. A second or third cousin is considered close kin. Friendships are
shared across generations. On the other hand, your typical Seattle transplant
may not know how to spell his own mother’s maiden name.

mother mama
father papa
older brother, sister or cousin kapho
brother or male cousin aw
sister or female cousin ats
child tênas
brat têna
son or boy tênês man
daughter or girl tênês kluchmên
husband or man man
wife or woman kluchmên
old woman lamiyay
old man olman
grandfather chup
grandmother chich
friend tilikêm or shiks
boss, leader tayi
family, person, people tilikêm

In Chinook Jargon, there are words for other relations, but they can also
be described. The man who married your sister (brother-in-law) could be
described as nayka ats yaka man, meaning “my sister’s husband.” It is easier
to describe the relation than it is to memorize another word.

45
Chinook Jargon

Food and Drink

Salmon and camas were two important foods to Native Americans. Salmon
is still popular in the Northwest. Camas is a bulbous plant in the lily family.
When roasted it provides a delicious source of starch. Don’t try to harvest
it yourself, though. A similar-looking plant, called “death camas,” is poison-
ous.

I am hungry. Nayka ulu.

I am thirsty. Nayka ulu chêk.
Do you want something to eat? Mayka tiki mêkêmêk?
Please give …to me. Klush pus mayka patlêch …
[kupa] nayka.
an apple ikt lipom
some beef musmus itluli
a bottle of beer ikt labutay or lamchêk
some berries ulali
a biscuit ikt lebiskwi
some bread lipan
some coffee kabi
some sh pish
two eggs makst lisap
a hotdog, sausage ikt sikaluks itluli
some meat itluli
some milk musmus tutush
a pizza ikt pissa
some pork kushu itluli
a potato ikt wapêto
some salmon samên
some water chêk
some wine ulali puyu
Where’s Starbucks®? Ka mitlayt Starbucks®?
46
 5
16 Skukum Words

It’s not the number of words that’s important. It’s how they get used that
counts. Chinook Jargon has a small vocabulary but each word is special and
does double duty. Here are 16 skukum words. You can use them when you
wawa Chinuk wawa, or you can use them mixed with English, as you tramp
around the Northwest.

dêlet This word means straight, direct, without equivocation. Dêlet

wawa is “direct talk” or the “straight truth.” You could say
something’s ukuk klush, meaning “that’s good,” or you could
go with Nawitka, dêlet klush, “Yes, perfect.” Dêlet makes
a statement positive and removes any element of doubt. Any-
thing dêlet is the genuine article.

kêltês George Shaw gave the meaning of kêltês as: “worthless; good
for nothing; abject; barren; bad; common; careless; defective;
dissolute; lthy; foul; futile; rude; immaterial; impertinent;
impolite; no matter; shabby; slippery; unmeaning; untoward;
useless; paltry; worn out.” The real meaning of kêltês is that
the item or activity has no purpose or is somehow diminished.
It’s not a moral issue. It is just in a diminished state. If some-
thing is really wicked, use masachi instead. If something just
lacks a purpose, use kêltês. When you kêltês kuli, you’re just
running around with no destination. When you kêltês nanich,
you’re just looking around. Kêltês wawa is gossip or idle
talk. If something is dêlet kêltês, it’s truly worthless, beyond
a shadow of a doubt. If in doubt, use wik klush or “not good.”
That would be your opinion. Kêltês can also mean weak, the
opposite of skukum. (My son thinks my tennis serve is kêltês.)
In another meaning, kêltês can be “just,” “only,” or “merely.”
If I kêltês nayka mitlayt, I am just sitting.

47
Chinook Jargon

— George Castile (1985, The Indians of Puget Sound)

A patlêch invitation consists of specially shaped sticks wrapped with a
string. In the old days, the invitation was simply left at the front door of the
guest’s house, as the host didn’t want to receive any special attention.

kêmtêks Kêmtêks is understanding. If you kêmtêks something you

understand it or know it. To teach is to “make understood,”
or mamuk kêmtêks, and to learn is to “become knowing,”
chaku kêmtêks. If you “stop knowledge,” or forget, you’ve
kêpit kêmtêks. Don’t forget; wik kêpit kêmtêks!

klahani “Out,” “outside,” and “exterior” describe this word. Klahani

is often used in place names for “the great outdoors” with
various spellings. There’s a Klahanie Road on the way to
Whistler and a Klahhanie Lodge in Port Angeles. Be careful.
If you’re klahani, you’re outside, but to klatawa klahani or
“go klahani” can mean you’re on your way to a restroom.

48
 Skukum

klahawya This is the ordinary salutation or greeting when folks meet or

separate. A klahawya tilikêm or klahowya shiks says it all.
There are a lot of stories about the origin of this word. They
range from its being a corruption of “Clarke, how are you?”
to Nuu-Chah-Nulth for “Did you just arrive on the beach?”
The most believable story is that it is an alternate form of kla-
hawyêm, which is from the Old Chinook root klahauia. Kla-
howyêm means “poor” or “miserable,” but was used as part
of a long salutation when meeting or departing. The saluta-
tion was shortened simply to klahawyêm, and later klahawya.
While klahawyêm can be used as a salutation, klahawya can
never be used to mean “poor.”

makuk Makuk means “to buy.” A useful secret word when browsing
in the many marketplaces of the Northwest. A tiki makuk
to your partner signies a buying strategy in the face of an
aggressive clerk. A makuk haws is a store, and to mash
makuk means you’re selling instead of buying. Hayash
makuk means “it’s expensive” while wik ikta makuk says “it’s
not worth it.”

mamuk This is the busiest word in Chinook Jargon. It is the great

Chinook Jargon action word. Mamuk means to do, to make,
or to work; it’s a deed, exercise, motion, operation, service,
performance, or anything having motion or action. In short,
unless you’re going or coming, you can use mamuk. Mamuk
can turn any noun or adjective into a verb. You can mamuk
your bed when you get up. Mamuk têmtêm is to make up
your mind. If you mamuk mimêlust, you’ve “made dead” or
killed something. If you mamuk something you’re either
making it, building it or using it for its intended purpose.
Myron Eells, a preacher, collected 233 different uses for the
word mamuk. George Shaw’s dictionary lists 34. If you want
to turn any idea into an action, and you don’t have a verb, you
can usually mamuk the thing.

49
Chinook Jargon

mêkêmêk This is Chinook Jargon word that has found its way into
English as “muckamuck.”. Most of us know the phrase, “the
big muckamuck.” A big or high muckamuck is a person
who’s important because, well, he or she is just important. In
Chinook Jargon, mêkêmêk is anything associated with food
and drink. As a noun, it’s the food and drink itself. When
mêkêmêk is used as a verb, it means to eat or drink. In Eng-
lish, “big muckamuck,” a variation of “high muckamuck,”
comes from hayu mêkêmêk, a person who ate at the main
table with the tayi, or chief, where there was lots of food.
These spots were reserved for people of some importance,
although they were often visitors not known to everybody in
the long house. Maybe his or her importance wasn’t always
apparent. One Chinook Jargon place name in California is
Muckamuck Creek, which feeds into the Klamath River near
Hamburg in Siskiyou County. (Siskayu is another Chinook
Jargon word, which describes a bob-tailed horse.) Mucka-
muck Creek may have been a good place to collect food.

mitlayt This word comes from the Old Chinook imperative for “sit
down.” In Chinook Jargon, it does duty for a lot of other
ideas. The place where you sit or mitlayt is where you live.
In Chinook Jargon Nika mitlayt kupa Seattle, means “I live
in Seattle.” If you sit, lie, stay, stop, remain or reside at a
location, you also mitlayt there. In one odd meaning, mitlayt

Legend?
Somebody went “crazy” and he’s been remembered in Chinook Jargon by
having his last name, piltên, used for that condition ever since. However, the
story varies and usually comes second-hand.
“The Indians adopted this word [piltên] from the name of a deranged
person, Archibald Pelton, or perhaps Felton, whom Mr. Wilson P.
Hunt found on his journey to Astoria, and carried there with him. The
circumstance is mentioned by Franchêre, in his ‘Narrative,’ etc.” —
George Gibbs (1863, A Dictionary of the Chinook Jargon)
“The word pehlten [piltên] – insane, crazy – comes from ‘Filion,’
the name of an employee of the Hudson’s Bay who became
insane. Between French and English pronunciation of that
name, the Indians made it pilio, pilian, and at last pehlten,
and adopted the name to mean insane in general.” — (1909,
attributed to Kamloops Wawa by George Shaw)

50
 Skukum

—Edward Keithahn (1963, Monuments in Cedar)

This is Tayi Shakes’ traditional house in Alaska. The Shakes were powerful
Tlingit warriors who fought against Russian imperialism in Alaska. A compari-
son of other “less powerful” people to the Shakes may have given English the
expression “no great shakes.”

provides a concept of possession. Some Chinook Jargon

varieties have the word towên which means “to physically
have,” but mitlayt allows for a more poetic form of owner-
ship. The things that sit with you are the things associated
with you. If the relationship’s right, they are the things you
own. If you own the dog or the dog hangs around you,
you could say kamuks mitlayt kupa nayka or “the dog sits
with me.” In the book, The Canoe and The Saddle, which is
about the young author’s trip to the Northwest in the 1850s,
Theodore Winthrop wrote, “Hyas tyee mika,– hiu mitlite ikta,
halo ikta mitlite copa nika tenas.”1 This literally translates
as, “Big leader you, many reside things, no things reside
with my son,” or “You’re a great leader who has many
things, my son has nothing.” Winthrop, in the amboyant
language of his time, actually translated it as, “Great chief
thou, with thee plenty traps abide, no traps hath my son.”
Times change. Originally when people used mitlayt for pos-
session, the things “sat with” or mitlayt kupa them, but even-
tually, mitlayt became a replacement for “have” and an Eng-
lish–like construction was adopted.
51
Chinook Jargon

nawitka Nawitka means “yes,” “for sure,” “certainly,” or “I’ll get right
on it.” It denotes agreement, conrmation and afrms what
another speaker is saying. Dêlet nawitka means that you
are 100% committed, but hilu nawitka signies that you’re
undecided and sitting on the fence.

patlêch Patlêch comes from the Nuu-Chah-Nulth language. Patlêch

means “to give.” If you patlêch something to someone,
you’re physically giving it to them. It’s not necessarily
without any strings attached though. A gift given with nothing
expected in return is a kêltês patlêch or a “giving with no
purpose.” Patlêch, commonly spelt “potlatch” in English,
also refers to several types of Native American ceremonies
or celebrations. Guests are invited by the host to bear wit-
ness to the event. Their function is similar to the guests at
a European-style wedding or baptism. The patlêch can be
for the naming of a child, a marriage, or an acceptance of
an important position, such as group elder. The host always
pays his guests for witnessing the act, so he patlêches a gift
to them. By accepting, the guests signify they agree with
what is going on. The host also makes sure he has enough
mêkêmêk for everybody. A little entertainment’s not a bad
idea either.

skukum Skukum has a broad range of meanings. Accented on the

rst syllable, it can be anything from a replacement for klush,
meaning “good,” to “strong,” “powerful,” “ultimate” and
“rst-rate.” Something can be skukum, meaning “cool,” or
skukum can be “tough.” A skukum burger is a big hamburger,
but when your Mom’s food is skukum, it’s delicious. If
you have a skukum têmtêm, you’re brave. Skukum chêk is
a river rapid or strong current. If you skukum wawa you’ve
constructed your arguments well, or you’re giving someone
a piece of your mind. The Democratic Club of Seattle was
once called the Skookum Club. When you’re skukum, you’ve
got a purpose and you’re on solid ground. Skukum is the
opposite of kêltês. Skukum is power and strength. In an odd
turnaround, if you accent skukum on the last syllable, it refers
to a bad spirit.
52
 Skukum

tamanêwês George Gibbs writes: “A sort of guardian or familiar spirit;

magic; luck; fortune; anything supernatural. One’s particular
forte is said to be his tamanêwês. Mamuk tamanêwês, to
‘conjure’; ‘make medicine’; masachi tamanêwês, ‘witch-
craft’ or ‘necromancy.’” Your tamanêwês can be your guard-
ian spirit who gives you your strength or a tamanêwês can be
an evil spirit out to steal your soul. A masachi tamanêwês
is an evil spirit, but traditional healers use tamanêwês to cure
many ills.

têmtêm This is the sound of a heart beating. Tum, tum, tum, tum….
Têmtêm signies your insides, your heart, and your inner
feelings. If you têmtêm something, it’s what you think. Your
têmtêm is your opinion or your internals. If you têmtêm
klush, it’s a good idea, but if you’re klush têmtêm, you’ve got
a kind heart or you’re feeling good. Having a sik têmtêm
doesn’t usually mean that you have heart disease but rather
that you’re sad or sorry.

tilikêm Your tilikêms are your people. These can be friends, family,
or your social group. Tilikêm means a person or people, but
has come to signify a friend or ally. Klahawya tilikêm is a
standard greeting in Chinook Jargon.

tiki Tiki means you want or like something. Wanting or liking

something is akin to making it happen in Chinook Jargon, so
tiki can also mean that something is about to occur. If you
say nayka tiki klatawa, you want to go, and you are about to
go. If you tiki someone of the opposite sex, it means you’re
sweet on them.

These words not only have linguistic value, they give you a little insight into
how the inhabitants of the Northwest view the world they live in.

53
Chinook Jargon

How Expressive?
Just how expressive is Chinook Jargon? Those who say it is limited often refer
to Horatio Hale’s description, claiming a need for accompaning sign language.
On the other hand, sometimes there was less gesturing in Chinook Jargon than
in other Native languages.

“We frequently had occasion to observe the sudden change pro-

duced when a party of natives, who had been conversing in
their own tongue, were joined by a foreigner, with whom it was
necessary to speak the Jargon. The countenances which before
had been grave, stolid, and inexpressive, were instantly lighted
up with animation; the low, monotonous tone became lively and
modulated; every feature was active; the head, the arms, and the
whole body were in motion, and every look and gesture became
instinct with meaning. One who knew merely the subject of the
discourse might often have comprehended, from this source alone,
the general purport of the conversation.” — Horatio Hale (1846,
“The ‘Jargon’ or Trade-Language of Oregon”)

“Sometimes Hy-na-um ... found his knowledge of Chinook

insufcient for his purpose. He would then lapse into
his native Ohyaht, supplemented by dramatic gestures.
I believe I sensed what he meant and for the sake of
continuity, I have written these passages of his narration in
Chinook, and then translated them.” — Alfred Carmichael
(“The Legend of the Flood”)

“Doctor Maynard was master of ceremonies, and an interpreter

hacked and jammed the Governor’s English into procrustean Chi-
nook jargon.” — Archie Binns (1941, Northwest Gateway)

“Mother is approaching her 90th birthday and the present

eludes her. But speak some words of the Chinook jargon
and she can come right back.” — Edith Randall (1970, told
to Jess Scott, The Oregonian)

“How can this Jargon pretend to be a universal language? At least

as reasonable as the Volapuk [an early Esperanto-type langauge];
for where is the Volapuk spoken? – whereas, without pretending to
make the Chinook the language of the twentieth century, it is true
to say that it is understood by 20,000 or 30,000 people in British
Columbia, Washington and Oregon.” — Fr. Jean-Marie LeJeune
(1895, Kamloops Wawa)

54
 6
Places

Over a thousand places in the Pacic Northwest have Chinook Jargon names.
Most visitors and residents see them simply as more Native American names.
Recognizing these names as Chinook Jargon and translating them can add
lots of enjoyment to any trip.

Important Words
You can easily translate Chinook Jargon place names because they tend to
come from a small subset of the vocabulary. The same words are used over
and over again. Be on the lookout for variations in spelling as place names
use various historic spellings, which aren’t standardized. For instance, the
word klahani is usually spelled “klahanie” in place names. Kopachuck really
means kupa chêk, or “at the water.” Here are the most important words you’ll
run into:

alkie, alki atlki - future

alta alta - now, presently
chuck chêk - water
coolie, cooley kuli - run (There is another word coulee
which refers to a stream or river that is
dry part of the year. This is not actually
Chinook Jargon but from a French dia-
lect.)
cooliechuck kuli chêk - stream, small river, tidal eddy
cultus kêltês - useless, worthless, no value
delate, delett dêlet - straight, true, very
illahie, illahee, illahe ilêhi - land
kanaka kanaka - Hawaiian native
klahhanie, klahanie klahani - outdoors, outside
kopa, copa kupa - on, near
memloost, memaloose mimêlust - dead
mesachie masachi - bad, evil
muckamuck mêkêmêk - food, to eat
55
Chinook Jargon

ollalie, ollala ulali - berries

owyhee owayhi - Hawaiian
pil pil - red
skookum skukum - strong, powerful, steep
skookumchuck skukum chêk - rapids, river
tumwater, tumchuck têmwata, têmchêk - waterfall
tyee tayi - leader, important, excellent

There are many other words used in place names. You’ll nd many of these
in the vocabulary at the back of this book.

Interesting Places
One of the most commonly used Chinook Jargon words is tayi. Tayi means
“leader,” “chief,” “best,” or “important,” and is spelt in place names as
“tyee.” There’s a Tyee Hotel on Interstate 5 in Washington south of Olympia.
There’s a Tyee Court in Vancouver and a Tyee Road in Victoria. Tyee Drive
is located in Point Roberts. Point Roberts is a little bit of the U.S. that is
totally cut off by British Columbia from the continental U.S. People unfa-
miliar with the area drew up the boundary between Canada and the United
States, isolating Point Roberts from the rest of the United States. Oregon has
Tyee Camp, along with Tyee Wine Cellars and Tyee Lodge. There are many
businesses with “tyee” in their name in the Pacic Northwest.
Tilikêm, commonly spelt “tillicum,” means “person” or “people,” and
often has the connotation of a friend or relative. There’s a Tillicum Mall
along Tillicum Road in Victoria and a Tillicum Street in both Seattle and Van-
couver. Tillicum Village on Blake Island, accessible from Seattle by ferry,
offers a northwest luau, complete with a stage show, for the hungry tourist.
Blake Island is believed to be the birthplace of Chief Seattle.
The Pacic Northwest and the great outdoors are synonymous. There-
fore it isn’t surprising to nd a lot of places named klahani, which means
“outside.” Seattle and Victoria both have Klahanie Drives, while Klahanie
Road is located along the way to Whistler, British Columbia. Klahhanie
Bed and Breakfast is in Port Angeles, Washington, which is at the top of the
Olympic Peninsula.
The Chinook Jargon word têm, spelt “tum” in place names, refers to
the sound of a tumbling brook or beating heart. Your heart is your têmtêm.
Tumwater, Washington, just south of Olympia, was named after the falls on

56
 Places

the Deschutes River. Native American names for the place were Têmchêk,
Têmwata, and Spakwatl. There are several other places named Tumwater in
Washington. Têmwata was the Chinook Jargon name for Oregon City.
Washington also has a place called Tumtum. Têmtêm, besides meaning
your “heart” and “thoughts,” can connote something unusual, such as a large
tree with special signicance. There was a large yellow pine in Tumtum that
was used as a gallows. A local character known as Chief Tumtum greeted
visitors with Hayu têmtêm! or “Good day.”
The Hawaiians, who arrived early on during the fur trade, also left
their mark on the map with two frequently used words. These are owayhi
and kanaka. Owayhi, spelt “Owyhee” in place names, is a corruption of
‘O Hawai‘i or “Hawaii.” Kanaka is the term for “person” in the Hawaiian
language. Both of these words came into Chinook Jargon because of the
Hawaiians who worked at Fort Vancouver.
Owyhee River, which ows into the Snake River in Oregon, was named
in honor of two Hawaiians. They were part of an early fur exploration party
and were killed in a skirmish with Native Americans along this river. There
are Owyhee counties in Idaho and Nevada. Kanaka Point in British Columbia
was also named in honor of an early Hawaiian. There’s a Kanaca Place in
Victoria, while Kanaka Creek and Kanaka Gulch are in the Siskiyou Moun-
tains of Northern California.
Kêltês is also a popular name. Meaning “worthless” and usually spelt
“cultus,” kêltês either signies a place that has no economic value or was
often substituted for more vulgar terms when ofcial recording was done.
Take Cultus Hole, a lake in the Wenatchee National Forest in Washington.
The place was originally named something else by local sheepherders, who
were known for their especially vulgar speech habits. When it came time to

Company Men Turned Family Men

James Swan, in The Northwest Coast, 1857, repeats often that many Hudson Bay
Company employees left the company to settle down with their Native wives.

“A number of the retired servants of the Hudson Bay Company

who had intermarried with this tribe [Nez Perce] had settled in the
Willamette Valley, and to these persons the Indians communicated
the intelligence of the gold discovery.”
“The fact that the [Hudson’s Bay] Company were about to remove
from the Territory, and intended closing up their affairs there, was
well known and talked about by the Indians and by those of the
former servants who had permanently settled themselves on farms.”

57
Chinook Jargon

Their Own Names

While we focus on the names that entered English, many places with English
names also have Chinook Jargon names.

“This talk Leschi had Its Chinook Jargon–speaking inhabitants

brought back to the sound, knew Fort Vancouver as Ski-chut-hwa.
along with a terrifying notion
of polakly illeha, the land The Chinook Jargon of British Columbia
of perpetual darkness (an uses the word stalo for “river.” It comes from
echo, perhaps, of Alaska’s the local name for the Fraser River and the
long winter nights). Polakly Salish–speaking people who live along it.
illeha, so he said, was the
reservation to which the Bastên ilêhi is the Chinook Jargon word for
whites intended to send the the United States. In effect, the whole coun-
Indians when they signed try is named after the city of Boston where
the treaty.” – David Laven- many of the rst Yankee traders came from.
der (1958, Land of Giants)

According to Edward H. Thomas, “Sketsotwa” [Skichuthwa] is also the name

for the lower Columbia river in Chinook Jargon.

According to Edward S. Farrow, Victoria became Biktoli in Chinook

in Mountain Scouting – A Hand- Jargon. While modern tourists are
Book for Ofcers and Soldiers on enamoured with the quaintness of the
the Frontiers, the Chinook Jargon city, early Native Americans often
name for Vancouver [Washington] found it large, cold and impersonal.
was Kits-oat-qua. This is probably a
variation of Skichuthwa.
The Chinook Jargon word for New
Gilbert McCleod gave Matala as the Westminster, BC, Kunspaeli, is
Chinook Jargon name for Victoria in derived from the orginal European
a 1992 interview. name of the area, Queensborough.

“Seattle was growing into a town, and still the big lake to the east was
hyas chuck and the little lake between the big one and the Sound was
tenas chuck. Those were not even proper Indian names. They were
Chinook jargon for ‘big water’ and ‘little water’; identications, but not
names.” — Archie Binns (1941, Northwest Gateway)
In Seattle, hayash chêk became Lake Washington and tênês
chêk became Lake Union.

Olympia, Washington is referred to as Stechas and France is written as

Flance in a 1918 letter written in Chinook Jargon from the “Thomas Prosch
Collection” at the University of Washington.

58
 Places

This Delate Road is located just outside of Poulsbo, Washington, across from
Seattle on the Olympic Peninsula. There are many roads and streets with
Chinook Jargon names in the Pacic Northwest.

draw a map of the area for U.S. Forest Service personnel, the rst word of the
original name was swapped for kêltês to allude to the original meaning. Both
Oregon and British Columbia boast a Cultus Lake. Vancouver has a Cultus
Avenue and a Cultus Court.
The Siskiyous
The largest geographical feature that bears a Chinook Jargon place name
is the Siskiyou Mountains separating Oregon from California. In Chinook
Jargon, siskayu is a bob-tailed horse. George Gibbs explains how this word
came to be applied to the mountain range:

Mr. Archibald R. McLeod, a chief factor of the Hudson’s Bay Company,

in the year 1828, while crossing the mountains with a pack train, was
overtaken by a snow storm, in which he lost most of his animals, includ-
ing a noted bob-tailed race-horse. His Canadian followers, in compli-
ment to their chief, or “bourgeois,” named the place the Pass of the Sis-
kiyou, — an appellation subsequently adopted as the veritable Indian
name of the locality, and which thence extended to the whole range, and
the adjoining districts.

The northern most county in California takes its name from the Siskiyou
Mountains.

59
Chinook Jargon

Name Givers
Many Chinook Jargon place names were given in the old-fashioned way.
Early explorers, trappers, settlers, and Native Americans who knew and spoke
Chinook Jargon referred to geographical features in the language they knew.
The names stuck and were recorded.
On the other hand, real estate agents, property owners and entrepreneurs
use Chinook Jargon names to give a natural or slightly exotic avor to their
wares. Some turn to Chinook Jargon dictionaries in their quest for origi-
nality. The U.S. Forest Service also used Chinook Jargon in an attempt to
give each geographical feature a unique name as an aid to reghting. One
employee, A. H. Sylvester, often turned to his knowledge of Chinook Jargon
as he put an estimated 3,000 names on the map.
In Names of the Land, James Stewart gives this account of Sylvester’s
naming style. Stewart wrote: “Klone [klon] in Chinook means ‘three,’ and
after paying three dollars for a dog, Sylvester named him Klone. ‘His full
name was Klone pee sitkim, three and a half, for I hadn’t had him long until
he killed a chicken for which I had to pay half a dollar.’ Klone Peak, there-
fore, does not mean a triple-pointed mountain, but like many another Ameri-
can stream or hill commemorates a good dog, even though he may have
begun as a chicken killing pup.” Sylvester often turned to Chinook Jargon
to eliminate redundant names. A mountain named Cougar Peak that was too
close to another mountain, also named Cougar Peak, was renamed Puss-puss
Peak.

60
 7
Outside

The Pacic Northwest is synonymous with the great outdoors. When you’re
klahani or outside, you’ll see a lot of animal and plant life. Try using their
Chinook Jargon names when you talk about them.

Animals
Some of these animals are domestic and some of them are your limulo shiks
or wild friends. Some of the words consists of repetitive syllables. For
example, kwiskwis is pronounced kwis–kwis, and kêlakêlama is pronounced
kêla–kêla–ma.
beaver ina
bird kêlakêla
black bear itswêt
bug inapu
cat puspus
chicken lapul
cougar, mountain lion hayash puspus
cow musmus
coyote talêpês
crow kaka
deer mawich
dog kamuks
duck kwehkweh
eagle chakchak
elk mulak
sh pish

61
Chinook Jargon

ea supêna inapu

frog shwakek
goose kêlakêlama
grasshopper klakklak
grizzly bear shayêm
mosquito malakwa
orca kakowan yaka pishak
otter (land, river) nênamuks
otter (sea) ilaki
owl wahwah
pig kushu
porpoise kwisêo
rabbit yutlkêt kwêlan
raccoon kalis
raven hayash kaka
salmon samên
seal ulhayu
sheep limoto
squirrel kwiskwis
vulture hêm latet
whale ikuli
wolf lilu

Chinook Jargon speakers often use the term tênês mawich, “little deer” to
refer to any small animal for which they do not have a name. Other animals
can be described. A turkey is a yutlkêt liku kêlakêla or “long-necked bird.”

62
 Outside

Kopachuck State Park is located on Highway 16 just north of Gig Harbor

in Washington. Kupa chêk means “at the water” in Chinook Jargon.

“The [San Francisco] Times of June 24 [1858] prints a letter

from a Fort Langley miner who says, ‘Mining license is $5 a
month, which the American peeps won’t pay. King George’s
men may if they like, but Boston men, no .... But very few
Indians here speak the Chinook lingo.” — Rena V. Grant (1942,
“The Chinook Jargon, Past and Present”)

“In going up the [Fraser] river they should never interfere with
their Indians, but permit them to go by any route they see t
to select, and to load the canoes as they please. When at Fort
Hope, they should be very careful to select good and smart
Indians, and to have one who can speak the Chenook jargon.”
— W. H. Woods (1858, San Francisco Evening Bulletin)

“The Chinook jargon should be learned by everyone contemplat-

ing a trip to the Fraser River gold mines, as it is the language
used by all the different Indian tribes in British North America
west of the Cascade Mountains, as the means of conversation
with the whites, and a knowledge of it has in many instances
saved the wandering traveller from being scalped, and not a
few from being treacherously murdered.” — Duncan MacDonald
(1862, British Columbia and Vancouver’s Island)

During the period of 1858 to 1862, Chinook Jargon seems to have become
well established in the Fraser River gold mining area.

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Chinook Jargon

Plants
The Pacic Northwest is famous for its hayash stik ilêhi, “big tree country,”
or rainforest. In Chinook Jargon, many trees get their names from their use.
The cedar was the choice for making canoes so it became the “canoe tree” or
kanim stik. The maple and ash were used for paddles so they both became
the “paddle tree” or isik stik. Use the vocabulary in the back of this book to
decipher the names of the other trees.

ash tree isik stik

acorns kênawi
bark stik skin
blackberries klikêmuks
camas lakamas
cedar tree kanim stik or klush stik
corn isatlh
r mula stik
ower tokti tipsu or tatis
grass ilêhi tipsu
hazelnut tree takwêla stik
maple tree isik stik
oak tree kêl stik or kênawi stick
pine tree lagom stik
potato [bastên] wapêtu
salal bush salal
tree stik
wapato [sawash] wapêtu
willow tree ina stik

64
 Outside

Geography
The Pacic Northwest has some of the most stunning scenery in two coun-
tries. See how many of these Chinook Jargon words you can use as you drive
through it.

beach pulali ilêhi

creek tênês chêk
eld klush ilêhi
forest stik ilêhi
hill tênês sahali ilêhi or tênês lamotay
lake chêk
mountain lamotay
ocean salt chêk
opposite shore inatay
place, land ilêhi
pond mimêlust chêk
prairie tipsu ilêhi
rapids, current skukum chêk
river chêk or stalo
salt water, sea salt chêk
seashore nawits
stream tênês chêk
water chêk
waterfall têmchêk or têmwata

65
Chinook Jargon

Directions
These direction words will help you navigate.

across inatay
away from klak or saya kupa
below kikwêli
east ka san yaka chaku
from kupa
shoreward matlhwêli
left kêltês lima
nearby wik saya
north ka kol chaku or stopilo
on top sahali
over there kupa
right klush lima or kenkiyêm
seaward matlini
south ka san mitlayt kupa sitkum san or
stewah
towards kupa
west ka san klatawa or ka san klip

The Fires Below

While most sources provide sahali ilêhi as the word for “heaven,” “hell”
has many different names. Father Demers gives lempel, while some
sources cite kikwêli paya, hayash paya, diyab yaka ilêhi, and kikwêli ilêhi.
Gibbs and many others are quiet on the subject.

66
 Outside

The Sky and the Weather

Here are the names of some of the things you might see in the sky.

cloud kosah smok

fog ilêhi kosah smok
rain snas
sky kosah
snow snu or kol snas
sun san
wind win

International Idiom
There are interesting anecdotes of Chinook Jargon being spoken far from its
home in the Pacic Northwest. Pauline Johnson, a Mohawk poet, used it with
Joe Capilano, a Vancouver Native, in London, 1906. In “The Chinook Jargon,
Past and Present,” Rena Grant tells the story of Captain Dan O’Neill. O’Neill
was the captain of the rst river steamer in the Pacic Northwest, the Columbia,
in 1849 and 1850. In Australia during the 1850s, he relates:
“On one particular evening I was suffering from a lame knee and amused
myself by sitting in one corner with my disabled limb resting on an extra
stool. Upon the starting of music, the dancers soon appeared, and the
seats were all occupied. One rough-looking red-shirted chap, pretty well
lled with ‘tangle-foot’ came over to where I was sitting and took hold
of the stool that I was using as a rest for my knee. I said, ‘You can’t
have that, my friend, I am using it.’ He straightened up a moment, looked
sharply at me and replied: ‘Well, I’m a better man than you are.’ He
was told there was no doubt of that. He continued: ‘I’m a smarter man,
better educated, can speak more languages than you can’ —opening
with ‘Parlez–vous Francais?’ ‘No,’ said I, ‘I don’t parlez vous.’ He then
came back with ‘Sprechen sie Deutsche?’ I shook my head, when he
followed with, ‘Hablar usted Espanol?’ Of this I was also ignorant, and
he seemed quite disgusted over my lack of lingual abilities, the audience
around being amused as well. He stood there hesitating as if in doubt
what he would try me with next. I concluded to try him with a language
not common in that part of the world, and said to him. ‘Nika cumtux
Chinook?’ He gave a startled look for the moment and then burst out
with, ‘now-witka six, nika cumtux Chinook. Nika hyas close wawa—’
and more, all rattled off lively…. He had lived in Oregon in the early
´forties. I acknowledged that he was a smarter man and knew more
languages than I did.”

67
Chinook Jargon

Groups in the Northwest

Sawash is the word used to describe a Native American in Chinook Jargon.
In English this became “Siwash” and is now considered to be derogatory.
Demers doesn’t use this word, instead prefering telikom [tilikêm], which was
the Chinook Jargon word for “people.”
While the derivation of Bastên man for an American and Kinchuch, a
corruption of “King George” for a Canadian or Englishman seem obvious, the
usage of pasayuks for French or French–Canadian is not.

“As most of those who came to these coasts under the Stars and
Stripes were from Boston and as Americans made many inquiries
for the lost ship Boston, which the Nootkans had burned after killing
the crew, the Indians learned to associate the name of Boston with
the Stars and Stripes. To this day ‘Boston-Man’ means American in
the Indian Esperanto, or Chinook jargon, just as ‘King George-Man’
means Englishman.” — Edmond S. Meany (1946, History of The
State of Washington)

“The opposite of ‘sourdough’ in Alaskan (the equivalent of

the ‘tenderfoot’ of the West) is ‘cheechako,’ pronounced
cheechawker, derived from a word in the Chinook jargon meaning
‘newly arrived.’” — Ernest Gruening (1964, The State of Alaska)

“...Pasaiuks [pasayuks], which we presume to be the word Français,

corrupted to Pasai (as neither f, r, nor the nasal n can be pronounced
by the Indians), with the Tshinuk plural termination uks added. The
word for blanket is probably from the same source (françaises,
French goods, or clothing).” — Horatio Hale (1846, The “Jargon,” or
Trade-Language of Oregon)
“Mr. Hale supposed this [pasayuks] to be a corruption of the
French word Français. It is, really derived from the foregoing
[Chinook] word, pasisi, with the terminal uks, which is a plural
form applied to living beings. Lewis and Clarke (vol. ii, p. 413)
give pashisheooks, clothmen, as the Chinook name for the
whites, and this explanation was also furnished me by people
of that tribe. It has since been generally restricted to the French
Canadians, though among some of the tribes east of the Cas-
cade Range, it is applied indiscriminately to all the Hudson’s Bay
people.” — George Gibbs (1863, A Dictionary of the Chinook
Jargon)
Theodore Winthrop, in The Canoe and the Saddle, rst published in 1853,
uses the term “blanketeer” when he talks about voyageurs, the French–
Canadian employees of the Hudson’s Bay Company. He refers to these
same voyageurs as pasaiooks [pasayuks] in his Chinook text.

68
68
 8
Numbers

Counting
Chinook Jargon numbers have an interesting story behind them. Father Jean-
Marie LeJeune wrote this in 1924:

To understand the origin of the numbers, as expressed in the different

languages of these districts, open out both hands, palms facing outside,
the thumbs near each other. The little nger of the left hand is one, next
to it, his helper, his second, two; the third nger, middle hand, three; the
next coming, the index, is a special number, four: they used to keep the
dead bodies until the fourth day. Then comes the thumb, full hand ve;
the next is across to the other hand, the thumb of the right hand, the rst
of the second hand, six. Seven seems to mean second of the right hand
and in fact we have sinamoxt, again two. Eight is also a special number,
an octave, stotekin. The fourth nger of the right hands shows but one,
both hands full but one, kwist, pretty nearly full hands. Then comes
full hands, ten. Notice kwinnum, ve, taghum, across to the other hand,
tahtlum, both hands full, has the same termination….

The numbers in Chinook Jargon are straightforward.

one ikt
two makst
three klon
four lakit
ve kwinêm
six taham
seven sinêmakst
eight stutkin
nine kwayts
ten tatlilêm
one hundred takomunêk

69
Chinook Jargon

Compound numbers are made by using pi to add the simple numbers

together.

eleven tatlilêm pi ikt

twelve tatlilêm pi makst
thirteen tatlilêm pi klon

Placing the multiplier in front of ten (tatlilêm) creates units of ten.

twenty makst tatlilêm

thirty klon tatlilêm
forty lakit tatlilêm
fty kwinêm tatlilêm
sixty–two taham tatlilêm pi makst
ninety–nine kwayst tatlilêm pi kwayst

Numbers can be used as modiers and context dictates whether they indicate
order or are being used to describe quantity. To indicate repetition, i is added
to the end of the number. Use ikti, “once” and maksti, “twice.”
three people klon tilikêm
the second person ukuk makst tilikêm
I went twice. Nayka klatawa maksti.
He is the third. Yaka ukuk klon.

The expression “a lot of” is translated hayu.

70
 Numbers

Days of The Week

Sunday is Santi, while the other days of the week are numbered from that
day. Monday is ikt san. Tuesday is makst san and so on. To avoid confusion
between “the number of days ago” and the days of the week, some Chinook
Jargon speakers will use mamuk [san] for the days of the week. Monday is
ikt mamuk [san]; “rst work day” and Saturday is taham mamuk [san]; “sixth
work day.”

“The other days of the week are usually counted from this
[Sunday]; as, icht, mokst, klone sun kopet Sunday, ‘one, two, or
three days after Sunday.’” — George Gibbs (1863, Dictionary of
the Chinook Jargon)
“Saturday used to be called at the Hudson’s Bay Company’s posts
muckamuck sun, ‘food day,’ as the one on which the rations were
issued.” — George Gibbs (1863, Dictionary of the Chinook Jargon)

“Sunday, Sunday. Ikt sunday; one week. Hyas sunday; a holiday.”

— John Gill (1889, Gill’s Dictionary of the Chinook Jargon)

Time
The months and days of the week are usually expressed in English or numeri-
cally (e.g., January could be ikt mun).

afternoon lah san

day san
evening tênês pulakli
month mun
morning tênês san
night pulakli
noon katsêk san
sunset klip san
tomorrow tumala
week santi or wiyk
yesterday tatlki san

71
Chinook Jargon

Hours are expressed by prexing the number to the word tintin.

six o’clock taham tintin

seven-thirty sinêmakst pi sitkum tintin
(linear translation: seven and a half o’clock)
three-fteen klon pi kwata tintin
(linear translation: three and a quarter o’clock)
two-twenty makst pi makst tatlilêm tintin
(linear translation: two and twenty o’clock)
four-fty tatlilêm ilêp kwinêm tintin
(linear translation: ten before ve o’clock)

Here are some things to say about time:

What time is it? Kênchi tintin?

It’s three fteen. Klon pi kwata tintin.
When can I go outside? Kênchi nayka klatawa klahani?

Numbers Remembered
“Henrietta Failing recalls going with her parents as a small girl to
trade with the Indians. Members of local area tribes, as many as
60 or 70, would set up shop in the open at what is now the site
of Couch School in northwest Portland. There they would barter
and sell their handicrafts – garments, baskets, beaded pouches,
leatherwork and blankets – to Portlanders.
“On such occasions Chinook jargon ew fast and furious.
Knowing your numerals – Ikt, Mox, Klone, Lock-it, Kwin-num,
Tagh-kum, Sin-na-mox, Sto-te-kin, Twaist, Tan-tlum (1, 2, 3, 4,
etc.) was almost essential if you didn’t want to resort to counting
on your ngers.” – Karl Klooster (1989, “Local Lore: The Chinook
Jargon,” The Oregonian)

72
 Numbers

Money
As a visitor or resident in the Northwest, you’re sure to spend some money.
Chinook Jargon uses the American slang terms for the names of the coins. A
dime or ten cents started out as a kêltês bit. With the American term, there
are eight bits in a dollar. Each bit is worth 12 1⁄2 cents. Since the American
dime or Canadian 10–cent piece is short of that, both were referred to as a
kêltês bit or worthless bit. Kêltês was eventually dropped and bit now refers
to 10 cents only. But makst bit or two bits still refer to an American quarter
or Canadian 25–cent piece. This makes for interesting math. In Chinook
Jargon, two 2–bit pieces may be half a dollar, but a half-dollar is worth ve
bits.

one cent peni

ve cents kwinêm peni or sitkum bit
ten cents or dime bit
twenty-ve cents or quarter dollar makst bit or kwata
fty cents or half-dollar sitkum dala
one dollar ikt dala
coins chikêmin
paper money piypa dala

Here are some phrases to help you manage your money:

How much is this? Kênchi hayu dala ukuk?

That’s two dollars. Ukuk makst dala.
That’s very expensive! Hayash makuk!
I’ll give you a dollar and a half. Nayka patlêch [mayka] ikt pi
sitkum dala.
Dad, I want ve dollars. Dad, nayka tiki kwinêm dala.
Keep the change. Wik kilapay patlêch chikêmin.

73
Chinook Jargon

A Trading Language Forever

Chinook Jargon was used as a trading language well into the twentieth
century.

The pocket wordlist Facsimile of

the Chinook Jargon as Used by
the Hudson Bay Company and all
the Indian Tribes and Early Set-
tlers of the Pacic Northwest was
“compiled by an old employee
formerly of the Hudson Bay
Company.” It is small in size, 3
inches by 5 inches, and only 6
pages long. It was meant to be
carried around as a word book,
possibly for use during trading
sessions.

According to Dan Macy, a retired

store keeper from Warm Springs,
Oregon, dentalium and Chinook
Jargon were used in the store there
until the 1940s.

At least one Chinook Jargon

speaker appears on the
money of the United States
of America. President
Ulysses S. Grant is on the
fty dollar bill. Grant
learned Chinook Jargon
when he was stationed in
the Pacic Northwest prior
to the Civil War.

“The handy little 1902 pocket edition loaned to me belonged to

Henrietta’s father, James Failing, youngest brother of Henry Failing,
one of Portland’s most inuential civic leaders in the 19th century.
The fact that banker James Failing kept such a booklet in his
possession attests to the persistence of the jargon as a means
of communication between local whites (Boston men) and Indians
(Siwash) into the early 20th century.” – Karl Klooster (1989, “Local
Lore: The Chinook Jargon,” The Oregonian)

74
 9
Songs and Stories

Chinook Jargon is a wonderful communications medium. From about 1840

until 1920, Chinook Jargon was used to create songs and stories in the North-
west. Since 1990, several people have begun to use Chinook Jargon again
for poetry, storytelling, and journalism.

Songs
Native Americans normally used their rst language in traditional and cer-
emonial singing. Chinook Jargon was used for the little songs that people
often made up to express their feelings as they went about their daily busi-
ness. The last half of the 1800s was a period of change for Native Americans.
People moved away from the traditional village life and into cities and onto
reservations. Many of the songs they composed and sang reected the loneli-
ness they felt and the problems they experienced with their new life. Franz
Boas collected some of these songs. In this one, the singer cries for his former
home:
Ka’nowē sun naika kelai’! I cry always
Saia ē’li naika mitlait alta.1 Far away is my country now

In the next song, the singer suggests that the city is ruder than he would like.
This is a common theme in country western music today. This song could be
titled “In Victoria”:
Haias tlaqauya Very unhappy I was
Kunamokst naika oleman, [Together] With my wife,
Kopa Bictoli. In Victoria.
Hēlo tlaksta Nobody
Wawa tlaqauya nesaika Said good-day to us
Kopa Bictoli. 2
In Victoria.

75
Chinook Jargon

— Edward Keithahn (1963, Monuments in Cedar)

Mungo Martin was a world-renowned artist and uent speaker of Chi-
nook Jargon. Linguists studying Chinook Jargon recorded him. Here he
is seen working on a totem pole.

“Vocabularies and collections of phrases were pub-

lished from time to time, but it is not generally
known that the jargon is even used by native poets.”
— Franz Boas (1888, “Chinook Songs”)

“This legend was told to Hy-na-um by his uncle Cheepsaw;

[his] father was Tsa-tsa-wist-a-a. Hy-na-um told it to me.
Believing that there are many who would like to know what
Chinook sounds like, I have written the legend in the jargon,
each paragraph followed by a somewhat free translation.”
— Alfred Carmicheal (“The Legend of the Flood”)

“Yeah, yeah. Konaway kah nika coolie konaway delate cultus

okoke lalang.3 Yeah, yeah. That’s what they’d say. Didn’t matter
where you went in those days, people talked Chinook. Yeah,
lalang. That’s language.” — Gilbert McLeod (1992, Interview
with Andrea Giles, University of Victoria)

Gilbert McLeod was born in 1903 at Cape Muzon on Dall Island

in southern Alaska. His parents came there as Presbyterian mis-
sionaries.

76
 Songs and Stories

A large number of early songs dealt with love. They carry many of the same
themes that love songs do today. In this song, which mixes English and Chi-
nook Jargon together, a woman asks her lover, Charlie, not to forget her when
he marries another.

Good-bye, oh my dear Charlie! Good-bye, oh my dear Charlie!

Spōs maika iskum tlōtchman, When you take a wife,
Wēk maika ts’ēpe naika.4 Don’t forget me.

And nally, in this song, a husband’s anger has gotten the better of his wife.
She asks him sadly what is wrong:

Ikta maika tiki? What do you want?

Kwansum maika soleks. You are always cross.
Maika ōleman, Your old wife
Hēlo skukum alta.5 Is very weak now.

Some of these songs remained popular for many years after they were rst
sung in Chinook Jargon.

Hymns
Non-Natives dominated this genre. The Reverend Myron Eells wrote Hymns
in the Chinook Jargon Language in 1889. Eells was born in Oregon but
learned Chinook Jargon after he became a minister in Washington. Eells’
Hymn Book Song #4 is perhaps the most popular of the so called temperance
songs. Here is the rst verse of a song-called “Whiskey”:
Ahnkuttie nika tikegh whiskey, Formerly, I loved whiskey,
Ahnkuttie nika tikegh whiskey, Formerly, I loved whiskey
Pe alta nika mash – But now I throw it away –
Alta nika mash. Now I throw it away.
Alta nika mash. Now I throw it away.
Ahnkuttie nika tikegh whiskey, Formerly, I loved whiskey,
Ahnkuttie nika tikegh whiskey, Formerly, I loved whiskey,
Pe alta nika mash.6 But now I throw it away.

77
Chinook Jargon

Whiskey was a very popular theme with Eells and many of the missionaries.
Eells’ Song #5 is also called “Whiskey.” It gives good advice on what drink-
ing does to your savings.
Spose nesika muckamuck whiskey, If we drink whiskey,
Whiskey muckamuck nesika dolla.7 Whiskey will eat up our money.

Further verses of this song have whiskey eating up iktas, wind and tumtum or
“things,” “lives,” and “souls.”

Popular Tunes
Laura B. Downey-Bartlett translated some songs into Chinook Jargon in an
effort to improve Chinook Jargon’s status among non-Natives. Here is the
rst verse to “America”:
Nika illahee, kah-kwa mika,

T’see illahee, wake e-li-te,

Kah-kwa mika, nika shunta.

Illahee, kah nika papa mamaloos,

Illahee, klosh tellicum chaco;

Kee-kwilla konaway lemoti,

Mamook wake e-li-te tin-tin.8

My country ‘tis of thee

Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims’ pride;
From every mountainside,
Let freedom ring.

One thing you’ll notice is that the Chinook Jargon version of the song has
too many syllables to be sung easily to the traditional tune. Ms. Downey-
Bartlett performed in Chinook Jargon at the Pioneer Reunion in Portland on
Thursday, June 19, 1913 and probably on other occasions as well.

78
 Songs and Stories

Stories
It is a mistake to think that Chinook Jargon was used only for bartering
and other functional activities. During his eldwork in the thirties Melville
Jacobs documented that Chinook Jargon was used in traditional storytelling.
One of his consultants makes specic mention of having learned many myths
and narratives in Chinook Jargon that she had not learned in her two tribal
languages. Jacobs wrote in the preface to Texts in Chinook Jargon, “[S]ince
about 1850, no small portion of native culture and knowledge was handed on
of late years in the medium of Jargon.”
The following example is from “The Origin of Death.” Coquille Thomp-
son of the Siletz Reservation told this story to Melville Jacobs in 1935.
łasga-miłet tênas-aya łasga-haus. wel, ik-dilxêm yaga-miłet ik-dênas-
man, yaga-uguk-saya miłet ik-tênas-man. wel, ik-man yaga-tênas uguk-tcagu-
sik, wel, tênas tłunas mak-san yaga-sik, alda yaga-mimlus tênas-man. wel,
uguk-man sgugum-sik-dêmdêm. yaga-klai. wel, yaga-mac kaba ili’i, ya-mak-
ixbu uk-ili’i. wel, k’ilabai kaba-haus, yaga-sik-dêmdêm.9
They dwelt some distance apart in their (respective) houses. Well, that
person had a son, (and) that one yonder (also) had a son. Well, the son of that
man became ill, well, the youngster was sick perhaps two days, and then the
young man died. Well, that man was extremely sick at heart. He cried. Well,
he put him in the ground; he had the ground covered over. Well then, he went
back home, he was sick at heart.
This passage shows the sound shifts in Chinook Jargon. In the above para-
graph, k and t sounds associated with this book’s orthography, and many
other dictionaries, were recorded by Jacobs as g and d. The ł sound is the
barred-L and is similar to the Welsh LL. This book uses the kl and tl for this
sound and its approximation by Bastên speakers. Jacobs also uses hyphens
to show word clustering by the speaker. Accent marks in Jacob’s original
have been omitted above.

The Canoe and the Saddle

The Canoe and the Saddle; or, Klalam and Klickatat, was rst printed
in 1863 with the nal printing in 1913. The author, Theodore Winthrop,
chronicles his trip throughout the Pacic Northwest in the early 1850s.
Throughout the book, Winthrop uses Chinook Jargon in all conversations
involving Native Americans. The style and timing of Winthrop’s Jargon
indicate that he had learned it during his Northwest trip. Winthrop was
killed in the Civil War.

79
Chinook Jargon

St. Mark’s Kloosh Yiem or “St. Mark’s Gospel” was published by the
British and Foreign Bible Society in 1912, after the height of Chinook
Jargon usage in the Northwest.

80
 Songs and Stories

Revival
Several authors have attempted to revive Chinook Jargon by making Chi-
nook Jargon translations of popular literature. Robert Stuart, a contemporary
of Elizabeth B. Downey-Bartlett, made some of these early attempts. Stuart
translated the poem “The House That Jack Built” and circulated it among
people interested in preserving Chinook Jargon. Here is the third verse of the
poem:

Okoak Pish-pish, Here is the cat.

Yaka memaloose tenas mowitch, That killed the rat,
Yaka muck-a-muck la-reh, That ate the malt,
Midlight copa house That lay in the house
Jack yaka mamook.10 That Jack built.

Stuart’s translation is interesting for several reasons. He uses the term pish-
pish for “cat.” Most Chinook Jargon varieties use puss-puss. He also uses
the term tenas mowitch (tênês mawich) or a “little deer” for a rat. Tênês
mawich was sometimes used for any small animal the speaker didn’t know
the name of. According to W. S. Phillips in his Chinook Book, the term
for rat, hyas hoolhool (hayash hulhul) or a “big mouse”, was used, but not
common. Stuart uses the correct Chinook Jargon construction “Jack yaka
mamook” where many non-Native authors might have been tempted to say
simply “Jack mamook.” Stuart also uses yaka instead of directly translating
the implied “who.” This is similar to the later speakers of Chinook Jargon
from Vancouver Island and Alaska who often use yaka in place of klaska and
klaksta. Stuart clearly had a good working knowledge of Chinook Jargon.

Personal Correspondence
Was Chinook Jargon used in personal letters? Revialists and people having
fun certainly used it, but there are cases where it was used as the primary
means of written communication. For example, in “Klahowiam Mr. Smis,”
Barbara Harris analyzes a letter written in Quileute, Washington to an
A.W. Smith in Seattle on February 1, 1881. James Winston wrote two letters
to his grandchildren on November 27, 1891. James Winston, originally
from Richmond, Virginia, arrived in Oregon City in 1846. Another letter,
written in 1900 by Sue Bert to the Oregon Native Son, complains about
the paper’s delivery service. Not a lot of Chinook Jargon letters have been
preserved, but for a “spoken” language, these types of manuscripts indicate
that Chinook Jargon was used in normal personal correspondence.

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Chinook Jargon

Duane Pasco published Tenas Wawa, The Chinook Jargon Voice from
1990 to 1995. Pasco, a leading Northwest Coast-style artist, was born in
Seattle in 1932, but soon moved to Anchorage with his parents. There,
between the ages of four and six, he learned some Chinook Jargon. His inter-
est in it developed as he heard Chinook Jargon off and on throughout the
Northwest. In 1990, he started the “Chinook Write a Letter Club.” Pasco
would write a letter to a person in Chinook Jargon and then he would wait
for a reply. After some time, he would tire of waiting and he would write a
new letter to someone else in the club. He would wait again. In 1990, he
decided to formalize the process by publishing Tenas Wawa. This bimonthly
publication achieved a circulation of 150 subscribers in 1994. Due to the
low circulation and large effort required to produce the newsletter, publica-
tion ceased in early 1995. Here are the rst ve paragraphs from an article
called “Pelton Tilikum Ship,” which appeared in Volume 3, Number 1, Janu-
ary 1992:
Kwinnum ton bronze canim pahtl animal pe tilikum.
Bill Reid pe yaka elan tilikums, klaska mamook hiyu yeah kopa okoke hyas pe
delate. Toketie sculpture pe alta yaka kopet.
October, okoke year, tilikum klaska mitwhit yaka kopa Canadian Embassy,
Washington, D.C.
Yaka delate yahul “Spirit of Haida Gwai” keschi Reid, yaka potlatch nem
“Pelton Tilikum Ship.”
Okoke sculpture, yaka delate le-gley klale kahkwa argillite. Yaka sit kopa
tenas wake klip chuck. Sculpture, yaka delate kloshe kunjie towagh chako
klak chuck pe koko okoke klale klimin canim.11

It’s a ve ton bronze canoe lled with animals and people.
Bill Reid and his assistants worked hard and diligently on this for many
years. This beautiful sculpture is now complete.
October, this year, it was placed at the Canadian Embassy in Washing-
ton, D.C.
It’s ofcially called the “Spirit of Haida Gwai,” but Reid has given it the
name, “Ship of Fools.”
This sculpture is very dark grey resembling argillite. It sits in a shallow
pool of water. The sculpture looks best when the light reected off the
water hits the dark soft canoe.

Duane Pasco also authored the book Klahowya in 1990. Klahowya is a hand-
book for learning Chinook Jargon accompanied by a cassette.
A Voice Great Within Us by Terry Glavin and Charles Lillard explores
the signicance of Chinook Jargon in the culture of British Columbia. In
the poem “Rain Language,” Glavin tells the story of Chinook Jargon through

82
 Songs and Stories

Myron Eells composed many

hymns in Chinook Jargon.
Although born in Oregon in
1843, he didn’t learn Chinook
Jargon until he moved to
Washington in 1874. His
Hymns in the Chinook Jargon
Language was published in
1878 and 1889.

— George Castile (1985, The Indians of Puget Sound)

Duane Pasco is a famous

Northwest Coast artist. From
1990 until 1995 he published
Tenas Wawa, a bi-monthly
publication in and about
Chinook Jargon. He rst
became acquainted with Chi-
nook Jargon as a child in
Alaska during the early 1940s.

83
Chinook Jargon

imagery. He compares linguistic survival to a race between two cars and

the abundance of Chinook Jargon place names to “tsiatko cooley chako halo
kah,” or “ghosts walking out of nowhere.” While giving poetic examples
of how Chinook Jargon words affected the world-view of people in British
Columbia, Glavin weaves in Chinook Jargon songs from the 1800s to bring
the Chinook Jargon experience back to life. Here are the rst 18 lines of the
poem which starts with the race between a Ford and a Chevrolet, or Chinook
Jargon and English:
Yako yiem halo kliminawhit.
This is a true story.
Waum illahie klip sun, kopa Byrne Oakut,
On a late summer evening on Byrne Road,
kimta tenas wahm snass chako,
after a gentle summer rain,
spose hyack cooley konamokst chikchik, Ford pe Chevrolet,
in a race between a Ford and a Chevrolet,
spose Ford tolo kopa tenas-sitkim mile
if the Ford won on the quarter mile
pe Ford man mamook klahwa,
and the Ford guy slowed down
kopet cooley, yaka halo mamook y
soon enough to avoid going airborne
oakut opoots,
at the end of the road,
Ford, yaka skookum chikchik.12
then the Ford was the skookum car.

Since the Chinook Jargon Revival is still picking up steam, it is expected that
a number of new works and teaching aids will become available in the next
few years.

Accross The Wide Missouri

“Across the Wide Missouri” was lmed in 1951. It starred Clark Gable
as mountain man Flint Mitchell and Ricardo Montalban as Ironshirt,
a Nez Perce. Taking place in the 1830s, the Native Americans and
mountain men speak Chinook Jargon to each other. Nipo T. Strongheart
was the technical advisor.
The book, Across the Wide Missouri by Bernard DeVoto, which the
movie is “based” upon, makes no reference to Chinook Jargon.

84
 10
Resources

Now you’re interested in learning more about Chinook Jargon and possibly
even speaking a little. Where do you go from here? I’d be deceiving you
if I said there were a lot of possibilities out there. However, a few exist,
and given the way information moves nowadays, many of these are probably
available to you.

Dictionaries
If you are serious about Chinook Jargon, you will want a Chinook Jargon/
English - English/Chinook Jargon dictionary. A good Bastên–style Chinook
Jargon dictionary, A Dictionary of The Chinook Jargon or Trade Language of
Oregon was written in 1863 by George Gibbs. The last edition was in 1911.
Gibbs lived in Oregon and Washington from 1848 until 1860. According to
James Pilling, while Gibbs was in the Pacic Northwest, he devoted himself
to the study of Native American languages and the collection of vocabularies
and traditions of the region. Gibbs helped the Smithsonian Institution orga-
nize their collection of Native American manuscripts. His Chinook Jargon
spelling was the basis for later dictionaries and place names. Although out of
print, it is still available at large libraries and on at least one Web site.
Another good dictionary is Chinook Dictionary, Catechism, prayers and
hymns composed in 1838 and 1839.… Demers, Blanchet and St. Onge wrote
this. Although the “dictionary” part is a bit jumbled, the wordlist itself is
comprehensive and there are plenty of language examples in the catechism,
prayer and hymn sections. This is readily available on the Internet.
The easiest way to get a physical dictionary is to acquire a copy of The
Chinook Jargon and How to Use It, by George Shaw. This book is valuable
because it includes some words that Gibbs’ dictionary does not. Originally
published in 1909, it has been reissued and is available from Coyote Press,
P.O. Box 3377, Salinas, CA 93912. Coyote Press provides anthropology,
archeology, history and prehistory publications on California and the west-
ern U.S. The price of the Shaw reprint is approximately US$ 10.00 plus

85
Chinook Jargon

Henry Zenk, an anthropologist, recorded and documented the Chinook

Jargon used by some Grand Ronde elders in the early 1980s. People
studying Chinook Jargon nd his Ph.D. thesis to be very useful. It is
titled: Chinook Jargon and Native Cultural Persistence in the Grand Ronde
Indian Community, 1856-1907: A Special Case of Creolization.

US$ 3.00 for shipping and handling. Coyote Press can be reached at (831)
422-4912 or at their Web site at www.coyotepress.com. They answer their
phone “Archeological Consulting,” so don’t hang up! You should check with
them before ordering.
Edward H. Thomas’ Chinook – A History and Dictionary is another
useful book. Although out of print it can still be obtained in bookstores in
the Northwest and from Web bookstores such as Amazon.com or Barnes and
Noble (ISBN: O-8323-0217-1). The price is approximately US$ 15.00– US$
20.00. In creating his work, Thomas basically acquired the rights to Shaw’s
work, publishing an updated volume. He also includes 56 pages of history
before the dictionary.
From time to time, other nineteenth–century dictionaries are reprinted
and can be found in museum shops. Also, if you’re lucky enough to live
in the Northwest, consult your public or university library. Many of the Chi-
nook Jargon dictionaries may still be on the shelves.

86
 Resources

Books
Klahowya – A Handbook for Learning Chinook Jargon by Duane Pasco is
available with an accompanying cassette for US$ 22.50. The book gives
grammar tips and provides exercises in the form of stories that the student
can read and translate. The tape is especially useful. It is one of the few ways
the student can actually hear Chinook Jargon being spoken.
Back issues of Tenas Wawa, a bimonthly newsletter, are available for
US$ 2.00 each. You may obtain all 27 issues for US$ 54.00. Tenas Wawa
was published in Chinook Jargon along with English translations from 1990
until 1995, reporting on Northwest Coast news items and printing short sto-
ries. In August 1992, the saga of “Moola John” was introduced. “Moola
John” is the ctional story of an East Coast immigrant to the Northwest told
within the historical backdrop of the 1850s.
As of April 2004, both Klahowya and Tenas Wawa can be purchased by
sending a check for the total amount along with US$ 3.50 for shipping and
handling, to Duane Pasco, 19330 Widme Rd. N.E., Poulsbo, WA 98370.
A Voice Great Within Us, by Charles Lillard and Terry Glavin, is pub-
lished by New Star Books in Vancouver, B.C. It contains two essays on the
history of Chinook Jargon in British Columbia, the poem “Rain Language,”
a glossary, and a list of eighty Chinook Jargon place names found in British
Columbia. This book costs CAN$ 16.00. You may order it from New Star
Books, 2504 York Avenue, Vancouver, BC V6K 1E3. Include CAN$ 4.00 for
shipping and handling. It’s best to call New Star rst at (604) 378-9429 as
there are also GST and HST taxes. The book is also available through Gen-
eral Distribution Service at (800) 387-0141 if you live in Quebec or Ontario,
or (800) 387-0172 for the rest of Canada. (ISBN: 0-921586-56-6.)

A Chinook Jargon Speech

The Columbia River Bicentennial Commission published an audio cas-
sette, In Their Own Words, in 1993. Side B talks about Chinook
and Chinook Jargon. As part of this discussion, Henry Zenk reads
a reconstruction of a speech that was originally given by Dr. William
McKay as part of the Centennial Celebration of Captain Gray’s discov-
ery of the Columbia River. Dr. McKay gave the 1892 speech in Chinook
Jargon. Since the audience was a gathering of Oregon pioneers, it can be
surmised that many people in the audience understood the speech.

87
Chinook Jargon

Internet
The Internet is an inexpensive way for individuals to publish their thoughts
and to make documents available. It’s hardly surprising that it should become
a forum for the perpetuation of Chinook Jargon. A Web search on “Chinook
Jargon” will turn up a number of sites dedicated to the language.
“The Chinook Jargon: Selected references for students and scholars.” by
Jeffrey Kopp is aptly titled. This site provides links to many dictionaries
and historical texts. Another interesting site is “Tenas Wawa - The Chinook
Jargon Voice.” It has the story of “Moola John,” and provides access to the
Tenas Wawa Bookstore.
Mike Cleven of Vancouver, BC, attempts to carry Chinook Jargon from
the nineteenth directly into the twenty-rst century with his Web site. Besides
offering a look into the role that Chinook Jargon played in the early lives of
British Columbia, Cleven provides a glossary that includes up-to-date words,
such as piahtzum skookumklahwayhut—literally the “re-writing super-free-
road” or the information superhighway, for the Internet. Cleven states, “I am
interested in the adaptation of the jargon for modern use, and am ready to
try and coin terms and usages, rather than regarding it as xed in the past.”
In addition to an original glossary, this site provides Shaw’s dictionary and
examples of Chinook Jargon usage.

Organizations
The primary organization playing an active role in preserving and perpetu-
ating Chinook Jargon is the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, Oregon.
Grand Ronde is currently developing a Chinook Jargon language program
for learners afliated with the tribe, and an introductory Chinuk Wawa class
is held weekly. For more information on the language program and its avail-
ability contact the cultural education coordinator at The Confederated Tribes
of Grand Ronde, 9615 Grand Ronde Road, Grand Ronde, Oregon, 97347.
Beyond Grand Ronde, there is an informal network of people who meet
at the annual Chinuk Wawa Lu’lu; “Chinook Jargon Workshop” and subscribe
to The Linguist List’s Chinook e-mail discussion list. There are occasionally
other groups that meet to practice Chinook Jargon.

“Chinook jargon, the Native American trading language that once linked
Northwest tribes and early U.S. fur traders and settlers, is nding a new
life – on the Internet.” — Courtenay Thompson (1998, The Oregonian)

88
 Chinook Jargon
Vocabulary

The following vocabulary used George Gibbs’ Dictionary of the Chinook

Jargon as a starting point. A standard spelling system has been adopted.
I’ve added some new words and idioms that are used or required by modern
speakers. I’ve omitted some of the terms that Gibbs marked as “not proper
jargon.” This should not be considered a complete dictionary but merely
an introductory list of words.
Please consult Chapter 2 for a pronunciation guide. Accented syl-
lables are bold. For the most part, word classication is as in English (viz.,
noun, adjective, verb, adverb, conjunction, etc.). A marker denotes a type
of adverb that functions as a context marker and is normally found at the
beginning of a phrase. In theory, any adverb can function as a marker, but
adverbs often acquire a special meaning when used in the context marker
position. For grammar information, please consult Chapter 3.
Brackets “[ ]” denote optional or alternative usage. Standard shifts
in pronunciation (e.g., “t” to “d,” “k” to “g” or “p” to “b”) have not been
presented. Within a compound expression or idiom, the bracketed word is
optional and may be omitted.

a•ha adverb yes

al•a interjection oh!, expression of surprise
a•lak•ti marker hopefully, possibly, maybe (usage restricted to Grand Ronde)
a•lim verb rest (usage restricted to Grand Ronde)
al•ta 1. marker now, presently, at this time 2. marker now, next, and then
alta kakwa marker now that’s how, then that’s how
alta wekt marker then again
a•mu•ti noun strawberry
an•a interjection displeasure!, expression of pain or disgust
an•ka•ti marker past
ankati lili marker long ago, a long time ago (modern usage only)
ankati ~ san marker ~ days ago
atl•ki marker near future, soon (alternate form "alki," with the nal vowel pro-
nounced "eye" is used in Northwest English)
atlki wekt letter closing soon again
ats 1. noun sister, younger sister 2. noun female cousin, younger female cousin
aw 1. noun brother, male cousin 2. noun younger brother, younger male cousin
a•ya•hwêl 1. verb lend 2. verb borrow

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Chinook Jargon

ba•dash noun hermaphrodite

bam•bay marker by and by, sometime in the future, a long time from now
bas•tên 1. adjective American 2. adjective foreign 3. noun American 4. person of
European descent
bastên haws noun American style house
Bastên ilêhi noun United States
bastên uyhêt noun road, street, highway
bi•bi 1. noun kiss 2. verb kiss
bit noun dime, ten cents
biyt noun bed
blum noun broom
bot noun boat
bot nus noun bow (of a boat)
bot upuch noun rudder

cha•ku 1. verb come 2. verb become, turn into

chaku dlay verb become dry, dry out
chaku halakl 1. verb open out 2. verb become less dense
chaku hilu verb die
chaku haws verb come in
chaku kilapay verb come back, return
chaku klah 1. verb come up 2. verb open out 3. verb clear up 4. verb sprout
chaku klush verb get well
chaku kêl verb become hard
chaku kêmtêks verb learn, become acquainted with
chaku pil verb ripen
chaku spuok verb fade
chaku tsêh 1. verb become cracked, 2. verb become split
chaku yakwa verb come here
chak•chak noun bald eagle
chêk 1. noun water 2. noun river, stream
chêk chaku noun incoming tide
chêk kilapay noun outgoing tide
chêh noun chip
chet•lo noun oyster
chich noun grandmother
chik•chik 1. noun wagon, cart 2. noun wheel
chikchik uyhêt noun road, street, highway
chik•ê•min 1. adjective metal, iron 2. noun metal, iron
chikêmin chikchik noun train
chikêmin dala 1. noun silver 2. noun silver coin, change
chikêmin lop noun wire, chain
chil•chil 1. noun button 2. noun star
chit•wêt see "itswêt" (particularly in Puget Sound and northward)

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 Vocabulary

chiy 1. adjective new 2. marker recently, just now

chiy klatawa verb start
chiy kol ilêhi noun fall, autumn
chiy mun noun new moon
chiy wam ilêhi noun spring
chup noun grandfather

dak•ta noun doctor

da•la 1. noun dollar 2. noun money
dala siyahwês noun eyeglasses
dê•let 1. adjective physically straight, direct 2. adjective true, direct, without
equivocation 3. adverb physically straight, direct 4. adverb true, direct,
without equivocation 5. marker directly, without hesitation (Some speak-
ers elongate the nal 'e' to "dêleyt." Alternate form is "dret.")
dêlet sick têmtêm 1. verb apologize 2. verb be sorry
dêlet tiki adverb really necessary
dêlet wawa noun truth
dê•lit see “dêlet”
diy•ab noun devil
dlay adjective dry
dlay tipsu noun hay

gid•êp verb get up

gidêp san noun sunrise
gliys 1. noun fat 2. noun grease 3. noun oil

ha•hê•tsêk noun grasshopper (alternate form is "klakklak")

hal see “mamuk hal”
ha•lakl adjective wide, open (as in a forest)
hat•hat noun mallard duck
haws noun house, lodge, building, room
haw•kwêtl marker unable
hay•ak 1. adverb fast, quick 2. imperative hurry!
hayak kilapay verb return quickly
hayak hayak adverb so often
hay•ash 1. adjective large 2. adjective great, very 3. adverb large 4. adverb great,
very
hayash ankati 1. adjective very old 2. marker long time ago
hayash chiy adjective entirely new
hayash hulhul noun rat
hayash hêloyma adjective very different
hayash kaka noun raven
hayash klush 1. adjective very good 2. adverb very well 3. letter salutation dear
hayash kakshêt adjective broken to pieces
hayash kêmtêks verb to be in the habit of
hayash kêmtêks salêks verb be passionate
hayash kwahtin adjective pregnant
hayash makuk adjective expensive
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Chinook Jargon

hayash mamuk kwutl verb haul tight

hayash musêm verb sleep very sound
hayash pulakli 1. adjective very dark 2. noun late at night
hayash puspus noun cougar (Some other names for a cougar are "yutlkêt
upuch" and "swaawa.")
hayash salt chêk noun ocean
hayash stik ilêhi noun rain forest
hayash santi noun holiday
hayash tiki verb long for
hayash takomunêk adjective thousand
hayash wam adjective hot
hayash wawa verb shout
hay•kwa 1. noun large dentalium 2. noun shell money
hay•u 1. adjective much, many, plenty 2. adjective enough
hayu chiy adjective entirely new
hayu haws noun town, city
hayu ilêhi kupa adjective dirty
hayu tilikum noun crowd
hay•u 1. marker continually, constantly 2. verb – continual auxiliary, action per-
formed over a period of time continually, constantly (The usage of
"hayu" for continual action is restricted to the Columbia River area,
especially Grand Ronde)
hêl•oy•ma adjective other, another, different
hêloyma tilikêm 1. noun stranger 2. noun foreigner
hêm 1. noun stink 2. noun smell 3. verb stink
hêm upuch noun skunk
hêm latet [kêlakêla] noun turkey vulture
hêm sikaluks noun dirty diapers
hêntl•ki 1. adjective curled, crooked 2. adjective knotted
hi•hi 1. noun laughter 2. noun amusement
hihi haws 1. noun tavern 2. noun bowling-alley
hik•ê•chêm noun handkerchief
hil•hê•mêtl verb work, toil
hi•lu 1. marker none, absent 2. noun nothing 3. adjective deceased (alternate form
is "hilo")
hilu ~ yaka [mitlayt] idiom he/she doesn’t have any ~
hilu ~ yaka [towên] idiom he/she doesn’t have any ~
hilu gliys adjective lean, thin, skinny
hilu ikta 1. adjective poor 2. adjective destitute
hilu klaksta noun no one
hilu klush têmtêm noun mentally challenged
hilu kwêlan adjective deaf
hilu siyahwês noun blind
hilu shiym mayka idiom aren’t you ashamed!
hilu têmtêm 1. adjective nonsense 2. adjective without a will
hilu win 1. adjective breathless 2. adjective dead
ho•ho 1. noun cough 2. verb cough
ho•kên verb gather
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 Vocabulary

hu interjection hurry!, quick!, turn to!

hul•hul noun mouse
huy•huy 1. noun bargain 2. verb exchange, barter, trade 3. verb change
huyhuy têmtêm verb change one's mind
hwa interjection surprise!, admiration!
hwim adjective fallen
hwim stik noun fallen tree, log

i•ka•num noun legend, traditional story

i•kih noun brother-in-law
ik•ik noun sh-hook
ik•puy 1. verb shut 2. adjective shut, closed
ikpuy kwêlan adjective deaf
ikt 1. adjective one 2. marker once (alternate form is "iykt")
ikt kaw noun bundle
ikt kol noun year
ikt mamuk san noun Monday
ikt mun noun month
ikt [pi] ikt 1. adjective some one or other 2. adjective here and there 3. adjective
side by side 4. adjective once in a while 5. adjective one after/and the
other
ikt san [kêpit santi] noun Monday
ikt santi kêpit noun last week
ikt siyahwês adjective one eyed.
ikt stik noun yard (measure)
ikt tamolêch noun bushel (measure)
ikt tumala adverb day after tomorrow
ikti adjective once
ik•ta 1. interjection well, what now! 2. marker what? 3. noun thing, something 4.
noun merchandise 5. noun clothing
ikta alta marker what will?
ikta kata idiom what's the matter?
i•ku•li noun whale
i•la•ki noun sea otter
i•lay•tih noun slave
il•ê•hi 1. noun ground, earth, land 2. noun dirt 3. noun country, region
ilêhi kosah smok noun fog
ilêhi tipsu noun grass
i•lêp 1. adjective rst 2. adjective before 3. adjective superlative 4. adverb rst 5.
adverb before 6. adverb superlative 7. marker primarily
ilêp klush adjective best
ilêp tilikêm noun an ancient people
i•lih•an 1. noun aid 2. noun alms
i•na noun beaver
ina stik noun willow
i•na•pu noun louse
in•a•tay 1. adjective across, opposite, other side 2. adverb across, opposite, other
side
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Chinook Jargon

inatay chêk adjective other side of river

ip•sut verb hide, keep secret, conceal
ipsut klatawa verb steal away
ipsut wawa 1. noun secret language, code 2. verb whisper
i•satlh noun corn
is•ik noun paddle
isik stik 1. noun ash 2. noun maple
is•kêm 1. verb take, take hold of, hold 2. verb get
iskêm kêmtêks verb learn
iskêm lima verb shake hands
it•la•na 1. noun fathom 2. noun length of extended arms
i•tlê•kêm noun hand game
itl•u•li 1. noun esh, meat 2. noun muscle
its•wêt noun black bear

ka 1. adverb where 2. adverb still, continuing 3. marker where? (alternate form

is "kah")
ka kol chaku noun north
ka ka adjective here and there
ka ukuk noun place
ka san chaku noun east
ka san klatawa noun west
ka san mitlayt kupa sitkum san noun south
ka•bi noun coffee
kah•chi adverb notwithstanding, although
ka•ka noun crow
ka•ko•wan ya•ka pi•shak noun orca
kak•shêt verb break, beat
ka•kwa adverb alike, like, similar to, equal with, as
kakwa chikêmin adjective metallic
kakwa kamuksh adjective beastly
kakwa pus 1. adverb as if, appears, seems to be 2. conjunction as if 3. marker
it appears to me
ka•la•piyn noun rie
ka•lay•tên 1. noun arrow 2. noun shot, bullet
kalaytên lesak 1. noun quiver 2. noun shot pouch
kal•is noun raccoon
ka•mo•sêk noun bead, beads
kam•uks noun dog (alternate form is "kamuksh")
ka•na•ka noun Hawai’ian Native
kan•a•makst 1. adjective together 2. adjective both
kan•a•wi adjective all, every
kanawi ka 1. adjective everywhere 2. pronoun everywhere
kanawi klaksta noun everyone
kanawi tilikêm pronoun everybody
ka•nim noun canoe
kanim stik noun cedar

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 Vocabulary

kap•ho noun elder brother, elder sister, elder cousin

ka•po noun coat
kap•swa•la verb steal
kapswala klatawa 1. verb sneak away 2. verb abandon
kapswala mamuk verb do secretly
kapswala musêm verb commit adultery
kapswala wawa 1. verb disparage, say bad things about
kaw verb tie, fasten
kaw•ka•wak adjective yellow, pale green (see "pêchih" for an explanation of color
usage)
kat verb love, have a romantic crush on
ka•ta 1. marker how? 2. marker why? 3. noun problem
kata alta marker what now?
kata pus mamuk ~? question how do you make ~?
ka•wêk verb y
kay•ah noun entrails
kay•nutl noun tobacco
kay•u•wa adjective crooked
kêh imperative quiet!
kêl 1. adjective hard (in substance) 2. adjective difcult
kêl stik noun oak
kê•la•kê•la noun bird
kêlakêla haws noun bird’s nest
kê•la•kê•la•ma noun goose
kê•lah 1. noun fence 2. noun corral, enclosure
kêlah stik noun fence rails
ke•lok noun swan
kêl•tês 1. adjective worthless, without purpose, worn, nothingness, useless 2.
marker only
kêltês kuli verb stroll, walking around
kêltês hihi noun fun
kêltês klatawa verb stroll
kêltês kupa nika idiom I'm not interested, it is nothing to me
kêltês mash verb waste
kêltês mitlayt 1. verb sit idle 2. verb do nothing 3. verb stop without a
particular reason
kêltês nanich 1. verb look around, look around idly 2. verb curious
kêltês patlêch 1. noun present, free gift 2. verb to give a present
kêltês tilikêm 1. noun insignicant person 2. noun common person, commoner
kêltês wawa noun idle talk, gossip, nonsense
kêltês uyhêt noun cul–de–sac, dead end
kêm•têks 1. verb know, understand, acquainted 2. verb imagine, believe
kêmtêks kleminêhwit verb be a liar
kêmtêks salêks verb be passionate
kê•na•wi noun acorn
kênawi stik noun oak tree

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Chinook Jargon

kên•chi 1. adverb when, ever 2. marker when? 3. marker how many?

kênchi hayu marker how many
kênchi klush idiom just right
ken•kiy•êm noun right (direction)
kê•pit 1. adverb stop, end 2. adverb enough 3. verb stop, end
kêpit hayu mitlayt idiom there is enough
kêpit ikt nayka marker me alone
kêpit kêmtêks verb forget
kêpit ukuk idiom that’s all
kêpit tumala adverb day after tomorrow
kêpit wawa verb stop talking!, shut–up!
kêts•êk noun middle, center
katsêk san noun noon
ki•kwê•li 1. adjective low 2. adjective below, under, beneath
kikwêli chêk noun low tide
kikwêli sikaluks noun underwear
ki•lay verb cry
kil•a•pay 1. adjective upset 2. verb turn, return 3. verb overturn, upset
kilapay wawa verb respond, answer
kim•ta 1. adjective behind, after, afterwards 2. adjective last 3. adjective since 4.
adjective less than 5. marker since
kimta klush adjective not so good, so-so
kimta makst san adverb next Tuesday
Kin•chuch 1. adjective English 2. adjective Canadian (derived from "King George")
Kinchuch man 1. noun Englishman 2. noun Canadian
kip•wêt 1. noun pin, needle 2. noun stinger 3. noun thorn
kish•kish verb drive (as in cattle)
ki•su noun apron
kit•lên noun kettle, basin, can
ki•wa conjunction because
kiy•u•tên noun horse
klah 1. adjective free or clear from 2. adjective in sight
klah•a•ni adverb outside, out
klahani haws noun bathroom, outhouse
kla•haw•ya salutation hello, good-bye (see "klahawyem")
kla•haw•yêm 1. adjective poor, miserable, wretched 2. adjective humble 3. noun
compassion 4. salutation hello, good-bye
klak adverb off, take off, take away, away from
klak•klak noun grasshopper
klak•sta 1. marker who? 2. pronoun who
kla•kwên verb wipe, lick
klap 1. verb nd 2. verb begin
klap shush idiom-verb take off shoes
klap sik verb become sick
klap tênês adjective give birth
klas•ka pronoun they
klat•a•wa verb go
klatawa dêlet verb go straight
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 Vocabulary

klatawa ilêp verb go before, precede

klatawa inatay verb cross over
klatawa iskêm 1. verb fetch 2. verb gather
klatawa kimta 1. verb go behind 2. verb trail
klatawa klah 1. verb escape
klatawa klahani 1. verb go outside 2. verb go to the bathroom
klatawa bot verb sail (a boat)
klatawa kiyutên verb ride a horse
klatawa lipiyi 1. verb walk 2. verb hike
klatawa musêm verb go to sleep
klatawa nanich verb hunt
klatawa tiyawêt 1. verb walk 2. verb hike
kla•wa adverb slowly
klêk•êtl adjective broad, wide (as in a board)
klêh verb tear, rip
klê•payt noun thread, twine
klêm•ê•hên 1. verb stab, wound, dart, gore 2. verb cast, hook
klêm•in•ê•hwit 1. noun lie 2. verb lie
klêh•wap noun hole
klik•ê•muks 1. noun blackberries 2. noun dewberries
klim•in 1. adjective soft, ne, mushy 2. adjective broken (into pieces)
klimin ilêhi 1. noun mud 2. noun marshy ground 3. noun swamp
klimin saplil noun our
klimin klimin adjective smashed
klip adjective deep, sunken
klip chêk noun deep water
klip san noun sunset
klis•kwis noun mat
klitl adjective bitter
kliy•ê1 adjective black, dark green, dark blue
klon adjective three
klon mamuk san noun Wednesday
klon san [kêpit santi] noun Wednesday
klo•nês 1. adverb perhaps, probably, maybe – maybe not 2. marker – indecision in
the mind of the speaker perhaps, probably, maybe – maybe not
klonês kênchi lili marker about so long a time
kluch•mên 1. adjective female 2. noun woman 3. noun wife
kluchmên kiyutên noun mare
kluk adjective crooked
kluk tiyawêt 1. adjective lame 2. noun broken leg
klush 1. adjective good 2. adverb well 3. marker please 4. marker must
klush ilêhi 1. noun farm, ranch 2. noun eld
klush lima noun right-hand
klush mayka marker - imperative
klush mayka iskêm idiom have you any
klush nanich 1. verb take care 2. verb look out
klush nayka tiki idiom I'd really like
klush pus 1. marker shall, may 2. verb please 3. verb it would be good if
97
Chinook Jargon

ko verb reach, arrive

ko ubut verb reach a goal, nish
kol adjective cold
kol ilêhi noun winter
kol sik noun u
kol snas noun snow
kom noun comb
ko•sah noun sky
kosah smuk noun cloud
koy marker would be (only used on the Columbia River, particularly Grand Ronde)
koy klush idiom that would be good
ku•li 1. verb run 2. verb go
kuli kiyutên noun race-horse
kuli chêk noun stream, creek
ku•pa locative to, in, at, with, towards, of, from, about, concerning
kupa tulo idiom to the end (alternate form is "kopa")
ku•pa marker over there, in that place
kup•kup noun small dentalium, small shell money
ku•shu noun pig
kwa•lê•la verb gallop
kwan 1. adjective glad, content 2. adjective tame
kwa•ni•sêm adverb always, forever
kwa•nis noun whale
kwas 1. adjective afraid 2. adjective tame 3. noun fear
kwa•ta noun quarter dollar, twenty-ve cents
kwa•tin 1. noun belly 2. noun entrails
kwatl noun aunt
kwayts adjective nine
kweh•kweh noun mallard duck
kwê•lan noun ear
kwên•in noun count 2. noun numbers
kwêsh interjection refusal!, no!, no you don’t!
kwetl 1. verb wear 2. verb hang
kwêtl 1. adjective squeezed, pushed together, tight 2. verb hit (with a projectile,
such as a ball)
kwêtl•kwêtl verb knock (alternate form "koko" is common)
kwêtlkwêtl stik kêlakêla noun woodpecker
kwêts adjective sour
kwi•im noun grandchild
kwi•kwiy•êns noun pin
kwin•êm adjective ve
kwinêm mamuk noun Friday
kwinêm san [kêpit santi] noun Friday
kwi•sê•o noun porpoise
kwis•kwis noun squirrel
kwit•shad•i see "yutlkêt kwêlan"
kwuy•u•kwuy•u noun ring, nger ring, circle (physical object)

98
 Vocabulary

la•barb noun beard

la•bu•tay 1. noun bottle 2. noun beer (bottle of)
la•gom 1. noun pitch 2. noun glue
lagom stik noun pine, pitch-pine
la•gwin noun handsaw
lah 1. adjective leaning 2. verb lean, tip 3. verb stoop, bend over
lah san noun afternoon
la•hash noun axe, hatchet
lah•lah 1. verb cheat 2. verb fool
lak•a•chi noun clams
la•kam•as noun camas (Scilla esculenta)
la•ka•set noun box, trunk, chest
la•kê•lat noun carrot
lak•it adjective four
lakit mamuk san noun Thursday
lakit siyahwês noun glasses
lakit san [kêpit santi] noun Thursday
la•kli noun key (note: the "kl" is pronounced as in English)
la•kru•a noun cross
la•lam noun oar
la•lang 1. noun tongue 2. noun language
la•lim noun le (metal), emery board
lam noun alcoholic drink
lam chêk noun beer, wine
la•mesh noun Catholic mass
la•mê•tsin noun medicine
la•miy•ay noun old woman
la•mo•tay noun mountain
la•pa•liyd noun bridle
la•pel noun shovel, spade
la•pesh noun pole
la•pey•ush noun hoe, mattock, spade, shovel, clam-digger
la•pi•esh noun trap
la•pip noun pipe (tobacco)
lapip kêlakêla noun band-tailed eagle
la•plash noun board
la•pu•el noun frying-pan
la•pul noun chicken, fowl, poultry
la•push 1. noun mouth 2. noun river mouth
la•pu•shet noun fork
la•pus•mu noun saddle-blanket
la•pot noun door
larp noun uva ursi (a plant which is smoked)
la•si noun saw
la•sel noun saddle
la•sha•lu noun plough
la•shan•tel noun candle
la•shen noun chain
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Chinook Jargon

la•si•et noun plate

la•swey 1. adjective silken 2. noun silk
la•tam noun table
la•tet noun head
la•tla noun noise
la•wen noun oats
la•west noun vest
lays noun rice
le•ba•rê•du noun shingle
le•bis•kwi 1. noun biscuit, cracker, cookie 2. noun bread (hard)
le•blo 1. adjective chestnut colored 2. noun sorrel horse
lê•hwet noun whip
le•kak 1. noun cock 2. noun fowl
le•krem 1. adjective cream colored 2. noun cream colored horse, light dun horse
lê•lu•pa 1. noun ribbon 2. noun tape 3. noun magnetic tape
lêlupa lakaset noun magnetic tape recorder–player
le•mar•to noun hammer
lê•san•chel noun belt, sash
lê•sit•lo noun squash (vegetable)
le•yaub see “diyab”
li•bal 1. noun ball 2. noun bullet
li•du noun nger
li•gley 1. adjective gray 2. noun gray horse
li•kay 1. adjective spotted, speckled 2. noun piebald horse
likay salmon noun spotted salmon, winter salmon, Suckley salmon (salmo
canis)
li•k'lu noun nail
li•ku noun neck
li•li marker a while, for some time, a long time
li•lu noun wolf
li•ma noun hand
li•mel noun mule
li•mu•la 1. noun saw-mill 2. noun machine
mula stik noun r
li•mu•lo 1. adjective wild, untamed 2. adjective skittish
li•mo•to noun sheep
li•pan noun bread (light, raised)
li•piy•i noun feet
lip•lip adjective boiling
li•pom noun apple
li•pret noun priest
li•pu•wa noun pea
li•sak 1. noun bag 2. noun pocket
li•sap noun egg
li•shash noun chair
li•si•pro noun riding spur
li•si•su noun scissors

100
 Vocabulary

li•suk see “shuga”

li•ta noun tooth
liy•si adjective lazy
lo•ka verb drink
lo•lo 1. adjective circular, round 2. adjective whole, entire 3. noun gathering, meet-
ing 4. noun ball (modern usage refers to a meeting as a "lu-lu")
lolo saplil noun whole wheat
lop noun rope
lu•lu 1. verb carry 2. verb load

makst 1. adjective two 2. adjective twice

makst lapush noun river fork
makst mamuk san noun Tuesday
makst pow noun double barreled shotgun
makst san [kêpit santi] noun Tuesday
makst têmtêm adjective undecided
maksti adjective twice
ma•kuk 1. noun bargain 2. verb buy 3. verb sell 4. verb trade
makuk haws noun store
makuk saya verb sell
mal•a•kwa noun mosquito
ma•lah noun tinware, crockery, earthenware
ma•li see "kêpit kêmtêks"
mal•iy verb marry
ma•ma noun mother
mam•uk 1. verb make, do, perform 2. verb work 3. verb help 4. verb – causative
auxiliary to make any adjective or noun a transitive verb, cause, make
happen (along the Columbia River, particulary Grand Ronde, "mamuk"
has acquired a sexual connotation and an alternate form "mamunk," or
simply "munk" is used in polite conversation)
mamuk blum verb sweep
mamuk chaku verb fetch
mamuk dlay verb dry
mamuk halakl verb open (a door)
mamuk hal 1. verb haul 2. verb must haul
mamuk hawkwêtl verb shake
mamuk hêm verb smell
mamuk hihi verb amuse
mamuk hwim verb fell, cut down (a tree)
mamuk ikpuy verb surround
mamuk ilêhi verb dig
mamuk isik verb paddle
mamuk itlêkêm verb gamble
mamuk kata verb offend
mamuk kêmtêks 1. verb teach 2. verb explain
mamuk kênchi verb count
mamuk kikwêli verb lower

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Chinook Jargon

mamuk kikwêli sil verb take in sail

mamuk kilapay 1. verb bring back 2. verb send back
mamuk klah verb uncover, unwrap
mamuk klak verb take off
mamuk klatawa verb send
mamuk klêwhap verb dig
mamuk klimin verb soften
mamuk klush têmtêm verb make friends, make peace
mamuk klêh ilêhi verb plough
mamuk kom verb comb
mamuk kom ilêhi verb cultivate (soil)
mamuk kwas 1. verb frighten 2. verb tame
mamuk kwêlan verb listen
mamuk kwênin verb count
mamuk lalah verb make fun
mamuk lalam verb row
mamuk lapêla verb roast
mamuk lapuel verb fry
mamuk latla verb make noise
mamuk lakli verb lock
mamuk lêhwet verb whip
mamuk liplip verb boil (to cause to)
mamuk lulu 1. verb load 2. verb roll up
mamuk mimêlust verb kill
mamuk mitlayt verb put
mamuk musêm ilêhi verb camp
mamuk patl verb ll
mamuk paya 1. verb cook 2. verb burn
mamuk piypa verb write
mamuk pêkêpêkê 1. verb st-ght 2. verb box
mamuk pu verb shoot
mamuk salêks verb ght
mamuk sil verb sil
mamuk skukum yutlêtl verb have a ne time
mamuk stik verb cut wood, chop wood
mamuk stoh 1. verb untie, undo 2. verb absolve
mamuk tamanêwês 1. verb perform native medicine 2. verb conjure
mamuk têmtêm verb decide
mamuk têpshin verb sew, mend, patch
mamuk til noun weigh
mamuk tintin 1. verb ring (a bell) 2. verb phone, use a phone
mamuk toh verb spit
mamuk tsish verb sharpen
mamuk tsêh verb split
mamuk tsêh ilêhi verb plough
mamuk tsêm verb write

102
 Vocabulary

mamuk wêh chêk verb pour out some water

mamuk wash verb wash
mamuk wam verb heat
mamuk yutlêtl nesayka têmtêm idiom-verb to party
man 1. adjective male 2. noun man
man mulak noun buck elk
man•ê•ki 1. adjective more 2. adverb more (usage chiey along the Columbia
River, particularly Grand Ronde)
manêki chiy adjective newer
manêki klush adjective better
ma•sa•chi adjective bad, wicked
masachi tamanêwês noun witchcraft, necromancy
mash 1. verb toss, throw off, throw away 2. verb remove, take off 3. verb leave
4. verb sell
mash kaw verb untie
mash makuk verb sell
mash pilpil verb bleed
mash ston verb castrate
mash têmtêm verb give orders
matl•hwê•li 1. adverb in shore, shoreward 2. emphatic keep in!
matl•i•ni 1. adverb off shore, seaward 2. emphatic keep off!
maw•ich 1. noun deer 2. noun venison 3. noun wild animal
may•ê•mi adverb downstream
may•ka pronoun you, your, yours (singular)
mêk•ê•mêk 1. noun food 2. verb eat, drink 3. verb bite
mêkêmêk san noun Saturday
mêkmêkmêk verb eat-up
mêl•as•is noun molasses
mer•si verb thank you
mê•say•ka pronoun you, your, yours (plural)
mês•kit noun gun
mim•ê•lust 1. noun dead 2. verb die
mist•mas noun slave
mit•as noun leggings
mit•hwêt verb stand, stand up
mithwêt stik 1. noun ship’s mast 2. noun standing tree
mitl•ayt 1. verb sit, sit down, lay 2. verb live (at), stay (at), reside, remain 3. verb
have, be associated with
mitlayt kikwêli 1. verb set down, put down 2. verb put under
mitlayt tênês verb be pregnant
mu•la see "limula"
mu•lak noun elk
mun 1. noun moon 2. noun month
mus•mus 1. noun buffalo 2. noun cattle
mu•sêm 1. noun sleep 2. verb sleep
musêm ilêhi noun camp
musêm nanich verb dream

103
Chinook Jargon

na 1. interjection Do you hear me!, calls attention to a point or person 2. adjective

– interrogative particle (obsolete)
nan•ich 1. verb see, look 2. verb look for, seek
nanich pehpah verb read
na•wit•ka adverb yes, certainly
naw•its noun seashore
nay•ka pronoun I, me, my, mine
nê•nam•uks noun land otter
nê•say•ka pronoun we, us, our, ours
ni•hwa 1. adverb hither 2. marker why don’t, let’s 3. marker attention
niym noun name
nus 1. noun nose 2. noun promontory

o•lêk noun snake

ol•man 1. adjective old, worn 2. noun old man
o•pi•kwan 1. noun basket 2. noun kettle
op•kat•i noun bow (for arrow)
o•way•hi 1. noun Hawaii 2. adjective Hawaiian (alternate form is "wayhi")

pal•êks noun male sex organ (chiey along the Columbia River)
pa•pa noun father
pa•say•uks 1. noun French 2. noun French-Canadian, Metis
pa•sê•si noun blanket
patl adjective full
patl chêk adjective wet
patl ilêhi adjective dirty
patl lam adjective drunk
patl mun noun full moon
patl•êch 1. noun gift 2. verb give
patlêch lema verb shake hands
patlêch wekt verb give some more
patl•êtl adjective nonsense, full of it (derogatory)
paw•ich noun crab-apple
pay•a 1. adjective ripe, cooked 2. noun re
paya chikêmin noun steel
paya chikchik noun automobile, truck
paya lop noun gas line
paya ulali noun ripe berry
paya saplil noun bread
paya ship noun steamship, motorized ship
paya sik noun venereal disease
pê•chih adjective green ("pêchih" is often used for blue, yellow, and brown as well
as green)
pê•kê•pê•kê 1. noun punch 2. noun st-ght
pêkêpêkê salêks verb ght in anger
peynt 1. noun paint 2. adjective painted

104
 Vocabulary

pi 1. conjunction and, or, then 2. conjunction besides, but

pi [alta] kakwa conjunction therefore
pi wekt conjunction and also
pi•hwê•ti adjective thin (like paper)
pi•ko noun back
pil•tên 1. adjective foolish, crazy 2. noun fool
pil 1. adjective red, reddish 2. adjective ripe
pil chikêmin 1. noun gold (metal) 2. noun copper (metal)
pil dala noun gold (metal)
pil ilêhi 1. noun red clay 2. noun vermilion
pil kiyutên noun bay horse, chestnut horse
pil•pil 1. noun blood 2. noun menstruate
pish noun sh
pi•shak adjective bad
pitl•êtl adjective thick (like molasses)
piw•piw noun pine squirrel
piy•pa 1. noun paper 2. noun letter, any written thing
pli•ey haws noun church
pow noun sound of a gun
pu verb blow out, extinguish
pu•lak•li 1. adjective dark 2. noun night 3. noun darkness
pu•la•li 1. noun dust, sand 2. noun gunpowder
pulali ilêhi 1. noun sandy ground 2. noun beach
pu•li adjective rotten
pus conjunction if, that, supposing, provided that, in order that (alternate form
"spos" is used, especially in literature)
pus alta conjunction and then, if then
pus kakwa conjunction therefore
pus ikta marker why?
pus•pus noun cat (alternate forms "pus" and "pêshpêsh" are commonly used)

sah•a•li adjective up, above, high

sahali chêk noun high tide
sahali ilêhi 1. noun mountains, high land 2. noun heaven
sahali paya noun lightning
sahali tayi noun God, deity
sa•lal noun salal berry (gualtheria shallon)
sal•êks 1. adjective angry 2. noun anger
salêks chêk noun rough sea
sa•mên 1. noun salmon 2. sh
samên ulali noun salmon berry
salt 1. adjective salty 2. noun salt
salt chêk noun sea, ocean
san 1. noun sun 2. noun day
san•dê•li 1. adjective ash-colored, roan-colored 2. noun roan horse

105
Chinook Jargon

san•ti 1. noun Sunday 2. noun week

santi chaku noun next week
santi ubut noun weekend
santi klatawa noun last week
sap•lil 1. noun wheat 2. noun our
sa•wash 1. adjective native 2. noun Native American
sawash kushu noun seal (animal)
sawash lapul noun grouse
say•a adjective far, far off adjective (after word it modies) next, future
saya saya adjective very far
shat noun shot, lead
shat ulali noun huckleberry
shat noun shirt
sha•ti verb sing
shay•êm noun grizzly bear
shêh noun rattle
shêh upuch noun rattlesnake
shiks 1. noun friend 2. noun paramour, mistress (alternate forms are "siks" and
"shiksh")
shiym noun shame
ship noun ship, boat, raft (any vessel that is not a canoe)
ship stik noun mast
ship man noun sailor
shush 1. noun shoes 2. noun moccasins
shu•ga noun sugar
shwa•kek noun frog (alternate form "shwakeyk" is commonly used)
si•chêm verb swim
sik adjective sick
sik mun noun waning moon
sik têmtêm 1. adjective grieved, jealous, unhappy 2. noun jealousy, grief,
sadness
si•kal•uks noun pants, trousers
sil 1. noun cloth, linen 2. noun sail
sil haws noun tent
sin•ê•makst adjective seven
sis•kay•u noun bob-tailed horse
sit•kum 1. adjective half 2. adjective part 3. noun half 4. noun part
sitkum dala noun half dollar, fty cents
sitkum pulakli noun midnight
sitkum san noun noon
sit•ley noun stirrups
siy•a•hwês 1. noun face 2. noun eye
siy•a•putl noun hat, cap
siyaputl ulali noun raspberry
ski•lak•êm•i 1. noun mirror, looking glass 2. noun glass
skin noun skin
skin lop noun rawhide thong
skin shush noun moccasins
106
 Vocabulary

sku•kum adjective strong, powerful

skukum chêk noun river rapids
skukum haws noun jail, prison
skukum têmtêm adjective brave
skukum wawa noun strong argument
sku•kum noun ghost, evil spirit, demon
skwa•kwêl noun lamprey
skwich noun vagina
sla•hal noun slahal game
smit•aks noun large mouth clam
smuk 1. noun smoke 2. noun clouds, fog, steam
snas noun rain
snu noun snow
sop noun soap
spos see “pus”
spu•ok adjective faded, light–colored
spun noun spoon
stik 1. adjective wooden 2. noun stik 3. noun tree, wood
stik ilêhi noun forest, woods
stik ship noun sailing-ship
stik shush noun boots, leather shoes
stik skin noun bark
stach•ên noun sturgeon
stack•ên noun stocks, stockings
stoh adjective loose
ston 1. noun rock, stone 2. noun bone 3. noun horn 4. noun testicles
ston kiyutên noun stallion
stut•kin adjective eight
stuv noun stove (also "stob" is used)
su•lê•mi noun cranberry
su•pê•na verb jump
supêna inapu noun ea

tah•am adjective six

taham mamuk noun Saturday
taham pu noun six–shooter gun
taham san [kêpit santi] noun Saturday
tak•o•mu•nêk adjective hundred
ta•kwêl•a 1. noun hazel–nut 2. noun nut
takwêla stik noun hazel–nut tree
tal•ê•pês 1. noun coyote 2. noun sneaky person
ta•ma•nê•wês 1. noun guardian spirit 2. noun magic 3. noun luck, fortune 4. noun
one's forte, specialty, strength
ta•mo•lêch noun tub, barrel, bucket
tans 1. noun dance 2. verb dance
tat noun uncle
tat•is noun ower
tatl•ki [san] adverb yesterday
107
Chinook Jargon

tat•li•lêm adjective ten

tatlilêm takomunêk adjective thousand
tay•i 1. adjective superior, best, important 2. noun leader, important person
tayi samên noun spring salmon
têm•chêk noun waterfall, cascade, cataract
têm•têm 1. noun heart 2. noun will, opinion
têmtêm klush pus verb prefer that
têmtêm pus verb think that
têm•wa•ta see “têmchêk”
tên•a noun brat, spoiled child
tên•ês adjective small, few, little
tênês chêk noun stream, creek
tênês kol noun autumn, fall
tênês kuli verb go a little ways
tênês hayu adjective some, few 2. noun few
tênês lili marker in a little while
tênês libal noun shot
tênês lop noun cord
tênês makuk adjective cheap
tênês mawich noun small animal
tênês pulakli noun evening
tênês sahali ilêhi noun hill
tênês sik adjective hung over
tênês sitkum 1. adjective quarter, twenty-ve percent 2. adjective small part 3.
noun quarter 4. noun small part
tênês san 1. adjective early 2. noun early morning
tênês wam noun spring
tênês wawa 1. noun word 2. noun small talk
tênês wekt noun a little more
tên•as 1. adjective young 2. noun child, youth
tênas kluchmên 1. noun girl 2. noun daughter
tênas man 1. noun boy 2. noun son
tê•pi 1. noun quill, feather 2. noun wings
têp•shin noun needle
tê•tê verb trot
ti noun tea
tik•i 1. verb want, wish 2. verb will, shall 3. verb love, like
tiki musêm verb be sleepy
tiki salêks verb be hostile
tik•tik noun watch
til•i•kêm 1. noun person, people 2. noun relative, friend 3. noun group, tribe 4.
noun commoner
til 1. adjective tired 2. adjective heavy 3. noun weight
tin•tin 1. noun bell 2. noun musical instrument 3. noun hour
tip•su 1. noun grass, leaf 2. noun fringe 3. noun feathers 4. noun fur
tipsu ilêhi noun prairie
tiy•a•wêt 1. noun leg 2. noun foot

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 Vocabulary
tkup adjective white, light-colored
tkup chikêmin noun silver
tlkop 1. verb cut, hew, chop 2. verb carve
tlkop tipsu verb cut grass, mow a lawn
tok•ti adjective pretty
tokti tipsu noun ower
to•wah 1. adjective bright, shiny, shining 2. noun light
towah lêlupa noun movie
to•wên 1. verb have, be in physical possession of 2. verb store, put away, put up
tsêh noun crack, split
tsêk•ên verb kick
tsêm 1. adjective spotted, striped, marked 2. adjective painted 3. noun mixed colors
4. noun spot, stripe, mark, gure 5. noun paint
tsêm ilêhi noun surveyed land
tsêm piypa 1. noun writing 2. noun letter, printed material
tsêm sil 1. noun printed cloth 2. noun calico
tsêm samên noun trout
tsi adjective sweet
tsi•pi verb miss a mark, mistake, blunder, error
tsipi uyhêt verb take the wrong road
tsiy•at•ko noun nocturnal demon
tsiyk•wên verb pinch
tso•lo verb wander (in the dark), lose one’s way
tu•luks noun mussel (shell sh)
tu•lo 1. verb earn 2. verb win, gain
tulo dala verb to earn a living (at)
tu•ma•la adverb tomorrow
tu•tu 1. verb shake 2. verb sift, winnow
tu•tush 1. noun breast 2. noun milk
tutush gliys noun butter

u•but noun goal, end

uk see “ukuk”
u•kuk 1. article the, that, this, a particular item 2. pronoun this, that, it
ukuk san noun today
u•lal•i noun berry
ul•hay•u noun seal (animal)
u•lu adjective hungry
ulu chêk verb be thirsty
ulu mêkêmêk verb be hungry
ulu musêm verb be sleepy
u•na noun razor clam
us•kan noun cup, bowl
up•tsêh 1. noun knife 2. noun sweetheart
u•puch 1. noun posterior, buttocks 2. noun tail
upuch sil noun breechcloth
uy•hêt 1. noun path, trail 2. noun road, street, highway

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Chinook Jargon

wah•wah noun owl (along the Columbia River, particularly at Grand Ronde, an
owl is called "pupup")
wam adjective warm, hot
wam ilêhi noun summer
wam sik kol sik noun malaria
wap•ê•tu 1. noun wapato, wapato root (Sagitaria sagittifolia) 2. noun potato
wa•wa 1. noun talk, conversation, speech 2. verb talk, speak, call, ask, tell, answer
wawa lakaset 1. noun phone 2. noun answering machine
wêh 1. verb pour, spill 2. verb vomit
wekt adverb again, also, more
wik 1. marker - negates the phrase 2. adjective opposite of 3. adverb no, not
(optionally pronounced "weyk")
wik hayu adjective some, not many, not much
wik ikta pronoun nothing
wik ikta kata idiom nothing is a problem, nothing's the matter
wik klush 1. adjective bad 2. adverb badly
wik kênchi adverb never
wik kênchi wekt adverb never again
wik lili marker soon
wik saya adjective near
wik saya kêpit idiom almost nished
wik skukum latet noun feeble mind
win noun wind
wiyk noun week (chiey British Columbia)
wutl•êt noun male sex organ (chiey British Columbia)

ya•ka pronoun he, his, him, she, it, her, hers

ya•kis•ilt adjective sharp
yak•su noun hair
ya•kwa 1. adverb here 2. adverb this side of, this way
ya•wa 1. adverb there 2. adverb beyond
yay•êm 1. noun story, tale, yarn 2. verb relate, tell, confess
yutl•êtl 1. adjective glad, pleased, proud 2. adjective spirited (of a horse) (alternate
form "yutl" is commonly used)
yutl•kêt 1. adjective long 2. noun length
yutlkêt kwelan noun rabbit, hare
yuts•kêt adjective short

110
 English - Chinook
Reference

This is an English – Chinook Jargon cross-reference list. Using an English

word, nd a possible Chinook Jargon word in the list. Next, look up the
Chinook Jargon word in the previous vocabulary to determine its exact
meaning and the parts of speech to which it belongs. .

abandon — kapswala klatawa arrow — kalaytên

above — sahali as — kakwa
absent — hilu as if — kakwa pus
absolve — mamuk stoh ash — isik stik
acorn — kênawi ashamed — hilu shiym mayka
acquainted — kêmtêks ash-colored — sandêli
across — inatay ask — wawa
admiration — hwa attention — nihwa
afraid — kwas aunt — kwatl
after — kimta automobile — paya chikchik
afternoon — lah san autumn — tênês kol
afterwards — kimta away from — klak
again — wekt axe — lahash
aid — ilihan back — piko
alike — kakwa bad — masachi, pishak, wik klush
all — kanawi bag — lisak
alone — kêpit ikt bald eagle — chakchak
also — wekt ball — libal
although — kahchi bargain — huyhuy, makuk
always — kwanisêm bark — stik skin
American — bastên barrel — tamolêch
amuse — mamuk hihi barter — huyhuy
amusement — hihi basin — kitlên
ancient people — ilêp tilikum basket — opikwan
and — pi bathroom — klahani haws
anger — salêks beach — pulali ilêhi
animal — tênês mawich bead — kamosêk
another — hêloyma bear (black) — itswêt
answer — kilapay wawa beard — labarb
answer — wawa beastly — kakwa kamuks
answering machine — wawa lakaset beat — kakshêt
apologize — dêlet sick têmtêm beaver — ina
appears — kakwa pus become — chaku
apple — lipom bed — biyt
apron — kisu beer — labutay, lam chêk
arrive — ko before — ilêp
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Chinook Jargon

begin — klap break — kakshêt

behind — kimta breast — tutush
believe — kêmtêks breathless — hilu win
bell — tintin bridle — lapaliyd
belly — kwatin bright — towah
below — kikwêli bring back — mamuk kilapay
belt — lêsanchel broad — klêkêtl
bend over — lah broken — klimin, hayash kakshêt
beneath — kikwêli broken leg — kluk tiyawêt
berry — ulali broom — blum
besides — pi brother — aw
best — ilêp klush brother-in-law — ikih
better — manêki klush bucket — tamolêch
beyond — yawa buffalo — musmus
bird — kêlakêla building — haws
bird's nest — kêlakêla haws bullet — kalaytên, libal
biscuit — lebiskwi burn — mamuk paya
bite — mêkêmêk bushel — ikt tumolêch
bitter — klitl but — pi
black — kliyêl butter — tutush gliys
blackberries — klikêmuks button — chilchil
blanket — pasêsi buy — makuk
bleed — mash pilpil calico — tsêm sil
blind — hilu siyahwês call — wawa
blood — pilpil camas — lakamas
blow out — pu camp — mamuk musêm ilêhi, musêm
blue — pêchih, kliyêl, spuok ilêhi
blunder — tsipi can — kitlên
board — laplash Canadian — Kinchuch, Kinchuch man
boat — bot candle — lashantel
boil — mamuk liplip, liplip canoe — kanim
bone — ston cap — siyaputl
boots — stik shush carrot — lakêlat
borrow — ayahwêl carry — lulu
boat — ship cart — chikchik
both — kanamakst carve — tlkop
bottle — labutay cascade — têmchêk
bow (boat) — bot nus cast — klêmêhên
bow (arrow) — opkati cat — puspus
bowl — uskan cattle — musmus
bowling-alley — hihi haws cedar — kanim stik
box — lakaset center — katsêk
box (ght) — mamuk pêkêpêkê certainly — nawitka
boy — tênas man chain — chikêmin lop, lashen
brat — têna chair — lishash
brave — skukum têmtêm change — huyhuy
bread — lebiskwi, paya saplil, lipan cheap — tênês makuk

112
 English Reference

cheat — lahlah mamuk kwênin

chest — lakaset country — ilêhi
chestnut colored — leblo cousin — aw, ats, kahpo
chicken — lapul coyote — talêpês
chief — tayi crab-apple — pawich
child — tênas crack — tsêh
chip — chêh cracker — lebiskwi
chop — tlkop cranberry — sulêmi
chop wood — mamuk stik crazy — piltên
church — pliey haws cream colored — lekrem
circle — kwuyukwuyu creek — kuli chêk
circular — lolo creek — tênês chêk
city — hayu haws crockery — malah
clam-digger — lapeyush crooked — hêntlki, kayuwa, kluk
clams — lakachi cross — lakrua
clear up — chaku klah crow — kaka
cloth — sil crowd — hayu tilikum
clothing — ikta cry — kilay
cloud — kosah smok cul-de-sac — kêltês uyhêt
clouds — smuk cultivate — mamuk kom ilêhi
coat — kapo cup — uskan
cock — lekak curious — kêltês nanich
code — ipsut wawa curled — hêntlki
coffee — kabi cut — tlkop
cold — kol cut down — mamuk hwim
comb — kom, mamuk kom cut wood — mamuk stik
come — chaku dance — tans
come in — chaku haws dark — pulakli, kliyêl
come up — chaku klah darkness — pulakli
commoner — kêltês tilikum dart — klêmêhên
conceal — ipsut daughter — tênas kluchmên
confess — yayêm day — san
conjure — mamuk tamanêwês dead — hilu win, mimêlust
constantly — hayu dead end — kêltês uyhêt
content — kwan deaf — hilu kwêlan, ikpuy kwêlan
continually — hayu dear — hayash klush
conversation — wawa deceased — hilu
cook — mamuk paya decide — mamuk têmtêm
cooked — paya deep — klip
cookie — lebiskwi deer — mawich
copper — pil chikêmin deity — sahali tayi
cord — tênês lop demon — skukum
corn — isalh destitute — hilu ikta
corral — kelakh devil — diyab
cougar — hayash puspus dewberries — klikêmuks
cough — hoho die — chaku hilu, mimêlust
count — kwênin, mamuk kênchi, different — hêloyma

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Chinook Jargon

difcult — kêl every — kanawi

dig — mamuk ilêhi, mamuk klêwhap everybody — kanawi tilikum
dime — bit everyone — kanawi klaksta
direct — dêlet everywhere — kanawi ka
dirt — ilêhi evil spirit — skukum
dirty — hayu ilêhi kupa, patl ilêhi exchange — huyhuy
dirty diapers — hêm sikaluks expensive — hayash makuk
disparage — kapswala wawa explain — mamuk kêmtêks
displeasure! — ana extinguish — pu
do — mamuk eye — siyahwês
do nothing — kêltês mitlayt eyeglasses — dala siyahwês
do secretly — kapswala mamuk face — siyahwês
doctor — dakta fade — chaku spuok
dog — kamuks faded — spuok
dollar — dala fall — tênês kol, chi kol ilêhi
door — lapot fallen — hwim
double barreled shotgun — makst pow far — saya
downstream — mayêmi farm — klush ilêhi
dream — musêm nanich fast — hayak
drink — loka, mêkêmêk fasten — kaw
drink (alcoholic) — lam fat — gliys
drive — kishkish father — papa
drunk — patl lam fathom — itlana
dry — dlay fear — kwas
dry — mamuk dlay, chaku dlay feather — têpi, tipsu
dust — pulali feeble mind — wik skukum latet
ear — kwêlan fell — mamuk hwim
early (morning) — tênês san female — kluchmên
earn — tulo fence — kelakh
earth — ilêhi fetch — klatawa iskêm, mamuk chaku
east — ka san chaku few — tênês, tênês hayu
eat — mêkêmêk eld — klush ilêhi
egg — lisap ght — mamuk salêks
eight — stutkin ght — pêkêpêkê salêks
elk — mulak le (metal) — lalim
emery board — lalim ll — mamuk patl
enclosure — kelakh nd — klap
end — kêpit, ubut ne — klimin
English — Kinchuch, Kinchuch man nger — lidu
enough — hayu, kêpit nger ringer — kwuyukwuyu
entire — lolo, nish — ko ubut
entrails — kayah, kwatin r — mula stik
equal — kakwa re — paya
error — tsipi rst — ilêp
escape — klatawa klah sh — pish
evening — tênês pulakli sh-hook — ikik
ever — kênchi st-ght — mamuk pêkêpêkê, pêkêpêkê

114
 English Reference

ve — kwinêm girl — tênas kluchmên

ea — supêna inapu give — patlêch
esh — itluli give birth — klap tênês
our — klimin saplil, saplil glad — kwan
ower — tatis, tokti tipsu glad — yutlêtl
u — kol sik glass — skilakêmi
y — kawêk glasses (eye) — lakit siyahwês
fog — ilêhi kosah smuk glue — lagom
food — mêkêmêk go — klatawa, kuli
fool — lahlah, piltên go to sleep — klatawa musêm
foot — tiyawêt, lipiyi go to the bathroom — klatawa klahani
foreign — bastên goal — ubut
foreigner — hêloyma tilikêm God — sahali tayi
forest — stik ilêhi gold — pil chikêmin, pil dala
forever — kwanisêm good — klush
forget — kêpit kêmtêks good-bye — klahawya, klahawyêm
fork — lapushet goose — kêlakêlama
fortune — tamanêwês gossip — kêltês wawa
four — lakit grandchild — kwiim
fowl — lapul, lekak grandfather — chup
free (clear) — klah grandmother — chich
free (gift) — kêltês patlêch grass — ilêhi tipsu, tipsu
French — pasayuks grasshopper — hahêtsêk, klakklak
French-Canadian — pasayuks gray — ligley
Friday — kwinêm mamuk, kwinêm san grease — gliys
friend — shiks, tilikêm great — hayash
frighten — mamuk kwas green — pêchih
fringe — tipsu grief — sik têmtêm
frog — shwakek grizzly bear — shayêm
fry — mamuk lapuel ground — ilêhi
frying-pan — lapuel group — tilikêm
full — patl grouse — sawash lapul
full moon — patl mun gun — mêskit
fun — kêltês hihi gun shot — pow
fur — tipsu gunpowder — pulali
future — bambay, saya hair — yaksu
gain — tulo half — sitkum
gallop — kwalela hammer — lemarto
gamble — mamuk itlokum hand — lima
gas line — paya lop handkerchief — hikêchêm
gather — hokên, klatawa iskêm handsaw — lagwin
gathering — lolo hang — kwetl
get — iskêm hard — kêl
get up — gidêp hat — siyaputl
get well — chaku klush hatchet — lahash
ghost — skukum haul — mamuk hal
gift — patlêch have — mitlayt, towên

115
Chinook Jargon

Hawaii — owayhi hunt — klatawa nanich

Hawai'ian Native — kanaka hurry — hu, hayak
hay — dlay tipsu I — nayka
hazel-nut — takwêla idle talk — kêltês wawa
hazel-nut tree — takwêla stik imagine — kêmtêks
he — yaka in shore — matlhwêli
head — latet in sight — klah
heart — têmtêm incoming tide — chêk chaku
heat — mamuk wam iron — chikêmin
heaven — sahali ilêhi it — ukuk, yaka
heavy — til jail — skukum haws
hello — klahawya, klahawyêm jealous — sik têmtêm
help — mamuk jump — supêna
her — yaka just now — chiy
here — yakwa kettle — kitlên, opikwan
here and there — ikt ikt, ka ka key — lakli
hers — yaka kick — tsêkên
hew — tlkop kill — mamuk mimêlust
hide — ipsut kiss — bibi
high — sahali knife — uptsêh
high tide — sahali chêk knock — kwêtlkwêtl
highway — bastên uyhêt, chikchik knotted — hêntlki
uyhêt, uyhêt know — kêmtêks
hike — klatawa lipiyi, klatawa tiyawêt lame — kluk tiyawêt
hill — tênês sahali ilêhi lamprey — skwakwêl
him — yaka land — ilêhi
his — yaka land otter — nênamuks
hit — kwêtl language — lalang
hoe — lapeyush large — hayash
hold — iskêm last — kimta
hole — klêhwap last week — ikt santi kêpit, santi kla-
holiday — hayash santi tawa
hook — klêmêhên late (night) — hayash pulakli
hopefully — alakti laughter — hihi
horn — ston lay — mitlayt
horse — kiyutên lazy — liysi
hostile — tiki salêks lead — shat
hot — hayash wam leaf — tipsu
hour — tintin lean (angle) — lah
house — haws lean (thin) — hilu gliys
how — kata learn — chaku kêmtêks, iskêm kêmtêks
how many — kênchi, kênchi hayu leather shoes — stik shush
huckleberry — shat ulali leave — mash
humble — klahawyêm leg — tiyawêt
hundred — takomunêk legend — ikanum
hung over — tênês sik lend — ayahwêl
hungry — ulu, ulu mêkêmêk length — yutlkêt

116
 English Reference

less than — kimta mark — tsêm

let's — nihwa marry — maliy
letter — piypa, tsêm piypa marsh (swamp) — klimin ilêhi
liar — kêmtêks kleminêhwit mass (Catholic) — lamesh
lick — klakwên mast — ship stik
lie — klêminêhwit mat — kliskwis
light — towah mattock — lapeyush
light-colored — tkup may — klush pus
lightning — sahali paya maybe — alakti, klonês
like (prefer) — tiki me — nayka
like (similar) — kakwa meat — itluli
linen — sil medicine — lamêtsin
listen — mamuk kwêlan meeting — lolo
little — tênês mend — mamuk têpshin
live — mitlayt merchandise — ikta
load — lulu metal — chikêmin
load — mamuk lulu Metis — pasayuks
lock — mamuk lak'li middle — katsêk
lodge — haws midnight — sitkum pulakli
log — hwim stik milk — tutush
long — yutlkêt mine — nayka
long for — hayash tiki mirror — skilakêmi
long time ago — hayash ankati miserable — klahawyêm
look — nanich miss (a mark) — tsipi
look around — kêltês nanich mistake — tsipi
look for — nanich mistress — shiks
look out — klush nanich mixed colors — tsêm
looking glass — skilakêmi moccasins — shush
loose — stoh moccasins — skin shush
lost (way) — tsolo molasses — mêlasis
love — kat, tiki Monday — ikt mamuk san
lover — shiks Monday — ikt san [kêpit santi]
low — kikwêli money — dala
low tide — kikwêli chêk month — ikt mun, mun
lower — mamuk kikwêli moon — mun
luck — tamanêwês more — tênês wekt, manêki, wekt
machine — limula mosquito — malakwa
magic — tamanêwês mother — mama
magnetic tape — lêlupa mountain — lamotay
make — mamuk mountain range — sahali ilêhi
malaria — wam sik kol sik mouse — hulhul
male — man mouth — lapush
mallard duck — hathat, kwehkweh movie — towah lêlupa
man — man much — hayu
many — hayu mud — klimin ilêhi
maple — isik stik mule — limel
mare — kluchmên kiyutên muscle — itluli

117
Chinook Jargon

mushy — klimin old — olman

musical instrument — tintin old man — olman
mussel (shell sh) — tuluks old woman — lamiyay
must — klush once — ikti
my — nayka one — ikt
nail — lik'lu only — kêltês
name — niym open — halakl, mamuk halakl
native — sawash open out — chaku halakl, chaku klah
Native American — Sawash opinion — têmtêm
near — wik saya, atlki opposite — inatay, wik
neck — liku or — pi
needle — kipwêt, têpshin orca — kakowan yaka pishak
never — wik kênchi order — mash têmtêm
never again — wik kênchi wekt other — hêloyma
new — chiy other side — inatay
new moon — chiy mun our — nêsayka
newer — manêki chiy ours — nêsayka
next — alta out — klahani
next week — santi chaku outgoing tide — chêk kilapay
night — pulakli outhouse — klahani haws
nine — kwayts outside — klahani
no — wik, kwêsh over there — kupa
no one — hilu klaksta overturn — kilapay
noise — latlaê owl — wahwah
none — hilu oyster — chêtlo
nonsense — hilu têmtêm, kêltês wawa paddle — isik, mamuk isik
nonsense — patlêtl paint — peynt, tsêm
noon — katsêk san, sitkum san pale green — kawkawak
north — ka kol chaku pants — sikaluks
nose — nus paper — piypa
not — wik part — sitkum
not interested — kêltês kupa nika party — mamuk skukum yutlêtl
not many (much) — wik hayu passionate — kêmtêks salêks
nothing — hilu, wik ikta past — ankati
notwithstanding — kahchi patch — mamuk têpshin
now — alta path — uyhêt
numbers — kwênin pea — lipuwa
nut — takwêla people — tilikêm
oak tree — kêl stik, kênawi stik perform — mamuk
oar — lalam perhaps — klonês
oats — lawen person — tilikêm
ocean — salt chêk phone — mamuk tintin, wawa lakaset
off — klak pig — kushu
off shore — matlini pin — kipwêt, kwikwiyêns
offend — mamuk kata pinch — tsiykwên
oh — ala pine — lagom stik
oil — gliys pine squirrel — piwpiw

118
 English Reference

pipe — lapip rain — snas

pitch — lagom rain forest — hayash stik ilêhi
place — ka ukuk ranch — klush ilêhi
plate — lasiet rapids — skukum chêk
please — klush, klush pus raspberry — siyaputl ulali
plenty — hayu rat — hayash hulhul
plough — lashalu, mamuk klêkh ilêhi, rattle — shêh
mamuk tsêh ilêhi rattlesnake — shêh upuch
pocket — lisak raven — hayash kaka
pole — lapesh rawhide thong — skin lop
poor — hilu ikta, klahawyêm reach (arrive) — ko
porpoise — kwisêo read — nanich pehpah
possibly — alakti recently — chiy
potato — wapêtu red — pil
poultry — lapul red clay — pil ilêhi
pour — wêh refusal — kwêsh
powerful — skukum region — ilêhi
prairie — tipsu ilêhi relate — yayêm
precede — klatawa ilêp relative — tilikêm
prefer (that) — têmtêm klush pus remain — mitlayt
pregnant — mitlayt tênês, hayash remove — mash
kwatin reside — mitlayt
present — kêltês patlêch respond — kilapay wawa
presently — alta rest — alim
pretty — tokti return — chaku kilapay, kilapay
primarily — ilêp ribbon — lêlupa
printed cloth — tsêm sil rice — lays
printed material — tsêm piypa ride (a horse) — klatawa [kupa] kiyutên
prison — skukum haws rie — kalapiyn
probably — klonês right — kenkiyêm
problem — kata right-hand — klush lima
promontory — nus ring — kwuyukwuyu, mamuk tintin
proud — yutlêtl rip — klêh
punch — pêkêpêkê ripe — paya, pil
pushed together — kwêtl river — chêk
put — mamuk mitlayt river fork — makst lapush
put away — towên river mouth — lapush
quarter — tênês sitkum road — bastên uyhêt, chikchik uyhêt,
quarter dala — kwata uyhêt
quick — hayak, hu roast — mamuk lapêla
quiet — kêh rock — ston
quill — têpi roll up — mamuk lulu
quiver — kalaytên lesak rope — lop
rabbit — yutlkêt kwelan rotten — puli
raccoon — kalis rough sea — salêks chêk
race-horse — kuli kiyutên row — mamuk lalam
rails (fence) — kelah stik rudder — bot upuch

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Chinook Jargon

run — kuli ship's mast — mitwhêt stik

saddle — lasel shirt — shat
saddle-blanket — lapusmu shoes — shush
sadness — sik têmtêm shoot — mamuk pu
sail — sil, klatawa [kupa] bot shoreward — matlhwêli
sailing-ship — stik ship short — yutskêt
sailor — ship man shot — kalaytên, shat, tênês libal
salal berry — salal shot pouch — kalaytên lesak
salmon — samên shout — hayash wawa
salmon berry — samên ulali shovel — lapel, lapeyush
salt — salt shut — ikpuy
sand — pulali sibling — ats, aw, kapho
sandy ground — pulali ilêhi sick — sik
sash — lêsanchel side by side — ikt ikt
Saturday — mêkêmêk san, taham sift — tutu
mamuk sil — mamuk sil
saw — lasi silk — laswey
saw-mill — limula silver — chikêmin dala, tkup chikêmin
scissors — lisisu silver coin — chikêmin dala
sea — salt chêk similar to — kakwa
sea otter — ilaki since — kimta
seal (animal) — sawash kushu, ulhayu sing — shati
seashore — nawits sister — ats
seaward — matlini sit — mitlayt
secret — ipsut sit down — mitlayt
see — nanich sit idle — kêltês mitlayt
seek — nanich six — taham
sell — makuk, makuk saya, mash, mash six-shooter gun — taham pu
makuk skin — skin
send — mamuk klatawa skinny — hilu gliys
send back — mamuk kilapay skittish — limulo
seven — sinêmakst skunk — hêm upuch
sew — mamuk têpshin sky — kosah
shake — mamuk hawkwêtl, tutu slave — ilaytih, mistmas
shake hands — iskêm lima, patlêch sleep — musêm
lemah sleep soundly — hayash musêm
shall — klush pus, tiki sleepy — tiki musêm, ulu musêm
shame — shiym slowly — klawa
sharp — yakisilt small — tênês
sharpen — mamuk tsish smashed — klimin klimin
she — yaka smell — hêm, mamuk hêm
sheep — limoto smoke — smuk
shell money — haykwa snake — olêk
shingle — lebarêdu sneak away — kapswala klatawa
shining — towah sneaky person — talêpês
shiny — towah snow — kol snas, snu
ship — ship so often — hayak hayak

120
 English Reference

soap — sop stink — hêm

soft — klimin stirrups — sitley
soften — mamuk klimin stockings — stackên
some — tênês hayu, wik hayu stocks — stackên
some one or other — ikt ikt stone — ston
something — ikta stoop — lah
son — tênas man stop — kêltês mitlayt, kêpit
soon — atlki, wik lili stop talking! — kêpit wawa
sorry — dêlet sick têmtêm store — makuk haws
so-so — kimta klush store — towên
sour — kwêts story — yayêm
south — ka san mitlayt kupa sitkum san stove — stuv
spade — lapel, lapeyush straight — dêlet
speak — wawa stranger — hêloyma tilikêm
specialty — tamanêwês strawberry — amuti
speckled — likay stream — chêk, kuli chêk, tênês chêk
spill — wêh street — bastên uyhêt, chikchik uyhêt,
spirit — tamanêwês uyhêt
spirited — yutlêtl strength — tamanêwês
spit — mamuk toh stripe — tsêm
split — mamuk tsêh, tsêh stroll — kêltês klatawa, kêltês kuli
spoiled child — têna strong — skukum
spoon — spun sturgeon — stachên
spot — tsêm Suckley salmon — likay samên
spotted — likay, tsêm sugar — shuga
spotted salmon — likay samên summer — wam ilêhi
spring — tênês wam sun — san
spring samên — tayi samên Sunday — santi
sprout — chaku klah sunken — klip
spur (riding) — lisipro sunrise — gidêp san
squash — lêsitlo sunset — klip san
squeezed — kwêtl superlative — ilêp
squirrel — kwiskwis surprise — hwa
stab — klêmêhên surround — mamuk ikpuy
stallion — ston kiyutên surveyed land — tsêm ilêhi
stand — mithwêt swamp — klimin ilêhi
star — chilchil swan — kelok
start — chiy klatawa sweep — mamuk blum
stay — mitlayt sweet — tsi
steal — kapswala sweetheart — uptsêh
steal away — ipsut klatawa swim — sichêm
steam — smuk table — latam
steamship — paya ship tail — upuch
steel — paya chikêmin take — iskêm
stik — stik take away — klak
still — ka take care — klush nanich
stinger — kipwêt take in sail — mamuk kikwêli sil

121
Chinook Jargon

take off — klak, mamuk klak, mash toss — mash

tale — yayêm town — hayu haws
talk — wawa trade — huyhuy, makuk
tame — kwan, kwas, mamuk kwas traditional story — ikanum
tape — lêlupa trail — klatawa kimta, uyhêt
tape recorder — lêlupa lakaset train — chikêmin chikchik
tavern — hihi haws trap — lapiesh
tea — ti tree — stik
teach — mamuk kêmtêks tribe — tilikêm
tear — klêh trot — têtê
tell — wawa, yayêm trousers — sikaluks
ten — tatlilêm trout — tsêm samên
ten cents — bit truck — paya chikchik
tent — sil haws true — dêlet
thank you — mersi trunk — lakaset
that — ukuk truth — dêlet wawa
that's all — kêpit ukuk tub — tamolêch
the — ukuk Tuesday — makst mamuk san
then — pi, alta turkey vulture — hêm latet [kêlakêla]
there — yawa turn — hu
they — klaska turn — kilapay
thick — pitlêtl turn into — chaku
thin — hilu gliys twenty-ve cents — kwata
thin — pihwêti twice — maksti
thing — ikta twine — klêpayt
think (that) — têmtêm pus two — makst
thirsty — ulu chêk unable — hawkwêtl
this — ukuk uncle — tat
thorn — kipwêt uncover — mamuk klah
thousand — hayash tukamonuk, tatlilêm undecided — makst têmtêm
takomunêk under — kikwêli
thread — klêpayt understand — kêmtêks
three — klon underwear — kikwêli sikaluks
throw away — mash undo — mamuk stoh
Thursday — lakit mamuk san unhappy — sik têmtêm
tie — kaw United States — Bastên ilêhi
tight — kwêtl untamed — limulo
tinware — malah untie — mamuk stoh, mash kaw
tip — lah unwrap — mamuk klah
tired — til up — sahali
tobacco — kaynutl upset — kilapay
today — ukuk san us — nêsayka
together — kanamakst useless — kêltês
tomorrow — tumala venison — mawich
tongue — lalang vermilion — pil ilêhi
tooth — lita very — hayash

122
 English Reference

very far — saya saya wine — lam chêk

vest — lawest wings — têpi
wagon — chikchik winnow — tutu
walk — klatawa lipiyi, klatawa tiyawêt winter — kol ilêhi
walking around — kêltês kuli wipe — klakwên
wander — tsolo wire — chikêmin lop
waning moon — sik mun wish — tiki
want — tiki without — hilu
wapato — wapêtu without purpose — kêltês
warm — wam wolf — lilu
wash — mamuk wash woman — kluchmên
waste — kêltês mash wood — stik
watch — tiktik woodpecker — kwêtlkwêtl stik kêlakêla
water — chêk woods — stik ilêhi
waterfall — têmchêk word — tênês wawa
we — nêsayka work — hilhêmêtl, mamuk
wear — kwetl worn — kêltês, olman
Wednesday — klon mamuk san worthless — kêltês
week — santi, wiyk would — koy
weekend — santi ubut wound — klêmêhên
weigh — mamuk til wretched — klahawyêm
weight — til write — mamuk piypa, mamuk tzêm
west — ka san klatawa writing — tsêm piypa
wet — patl chêk yard — ikt stik
whale — ikuli, kwanis yarn — yayêm
what — ikta year — ikt kol
what's the matter — ikta kata yellow — kawkawak
wheat — saplil yes — aha, nawitka
wheel — chikchik yesterday — tatlki [san]
when — kênchi you — mayka, mêsayka
where — ka young — tênas
whip — lêhwet, mamuk lêhwet your — mayka, mêsayka
whisper — ipsut wawa youth — tênas
white — tkup —
who — klaksta
whole — lolo
whole wheat — lolo saplil
why — kata, pus ikta
wicked — masachi
wide — halakl, klêkêtl
wife — kluchmên
wild — limulo
wild animal — mawich
will — têmtêm, tiki
willow — ina stik
win — tulo
wind — win

123
Chinook Jargon

124
 Notes
Since there has never been standard spelling for Chinook Jargon, the quoted
passages in this book often represent the same Chinook Jargon word with
different spellings, which in turn are different from the orthography used in
this book. These notes have been provided primarily as an aid to interpret-
ing some of the longer passages. Additional notes have been included on the
technical aspects of the book's orthography.

Chapter 1

1. Using this book's orthography, General Nesmith's message would have

been spelt:

Klatawa nayka sitkum tamolêch wekt ukuk kanamakst lam.

2. Using this book's orthography, the copy from Boas would read:

Kêltes kupa nayka.

Spos mayka mash nayka.
Hayu puti boys kuli kupa town.
Atlki wekt nayka iskêm.
Wik kêl kupa nayka.

3. The translator of this gospel is unknown. The author believes it was

Charles Tate, a Methodist minister who spoke Chinook Jargon. Using
this book's orthography, the title of the gospel would be:

St. Mark's Klush Yayêm Kupa Nesayka Savior Jesus Christ

125
Chinook Jargon

Chapter 2

1. Chinook Jargon was spread around the Northwest in the 1800s via Native
carriers that shared common consonants in their languages. We know this
by looking at both linguistic evidence and historical sources. Native English
speakers do not use all these consonants when speaking English. Although
various groups may have spoken varieties of Chinook Jargon that did not
differentiate between all the consonants, early adopters in each group most
likely learned Chinook Jargon from speakers who used the consonants
described by Terrence Kaufman in 1968. According to Terrance Kaufman,
the following grid represents the consonants used in Chinook Jargon:

p t ts tš k kw q qw ?
p' t' tł' ts' (tš') k' kw' q' qw'
b d g
ł s š x xw X Xw
m n (ng)
r l
w y

There are 8 rules in shifting Kaufman's consonant base to derive the orthog-
raphy used in this book:

1. All k and q based sounds are simplied to the k or kw.

2. Ejectives are transformed to a simple consonant (e.g., p' to p).
3. Glottal stops are removed (i.e., no ?).
4. The x is represented by an h.
5. In most cases the X is transformed to an h. In a couple cases X is
transformed to a k (e.g., ikt).
6. The barred-L (i.e., ł ) is represented by either kl or tl.
7. The tš is transformed to a ch.
8. š is spelled as sh.

So, the “shifted” chart looks like:

p t ts ch k kw k kw
p t kl,tl ts ch k kw k kw
b d g
kl,tl s sh h hw h,k hw,kw
m n ng
r l
w y

126
 Notes

Chapter 5

1. Using this book's orthography, the passage from The Canoe and The
Saddle would be:

Hayash tayi mayka, hayu mitlayt ikta, hilu ikta mitlayt kupa nayka
tênas.

Chapter 10

1. Using this book's orthography, the quote from Boas would read:

Kanawi san nayka kêlay!

Saya ilêhi nayka mitlayt alta.

2. Using this book's orthography, the quote from Boas would read:

Hayash klahauyêm
Kanamakst nayka olman,
Kupa Bictoli.
Hilu klaksta
Wawa klahauya nêsayka
Kupa Bictoli.

3. Using this book's orthography, McLeod's sentence would read:

Kanawi ka nayka kuli kanawi dêlayt kêltês ukuk lalang.

4. Using this book's orthography, the quote from Boas would read:

Good-bye, oh my dear Charlie!

Spos mayka iskêm kluchman,
Wik mayka tsipi nayka.

5. Using this book's orthography, the quote from Boas would read:

Ikta mayka tiki?

Kwanisêm mayka solêks.
Mayka olman,
Hilu skukum alta.

127
Chinook Jargon

6. Using this book's orthography, Ells' Song #4 would read:

Ankati nayka tiki whiskey,

Ankati nayka tiki whiskey,
Pi alta nayka mash-
Alta nayka mash.
Alta nayka mash.
Ankati nayka tiki whiskey,
Ankati nayka tiki whiskey,
Pi alta nayka mash.

7. Using this book's orthography, Eells' Song #5 reads:

Spos nêsayka mêkamêk whiskey,

Whiskey mêkamêk nêsayka dala.

8. Using this book's orthography, the quoted rendition of Downey-Barlett's

Chinook Jargon “America” is written as:

Nayka ilêhi, kakwa mayka,

Tsi ilêhi, wik ilaytih,
Kakwa mayka, nayka shati.
Ilêhi, ka nayka papa mimêlust,
Ilêhi, klush tilikêm chaku;
kikwêli kanawi lamotay,
Mamuk wik ilaytih tintin.

9. The paragraph from The Origin of Death in this book's orthography is:

Klaska mitlayt tênês saya klaska haws. Well ikt tilikêm yaka
mitlayt ikt tênas man, yaka ukuk saya mitlayt ikt tênas man.
Well, ikt man yaka tênas ukuk chaku sik. Well, tênas klonês
makst san yaka sik, alta yaka mimêlust tênas man. Well, ukuk
man skukum sik têmtêm. Yaka kilay. Well, yaka mash kupa
ilêhi, ya[ka] [ma]muk ikpuy uk ilêhi. Well, kêlapay kupa haws,
yaka sik têmtêm.

128
 Notes

10. Using this book's orthography, Stuart's version of “The House That jack
Built” is written as:

Ukuk Pêshpêsh*,
Yaka mimêlust tênês mawich,
Yaka mêkamêk laray**,
Mitlayt kupa haws,
Jack yaka mamuk.

* pêshpêsh is an alternate form of puspus.

** laray is translated as “malt.”

11. Pasco's article would be “Piltên Tilikêm Ship” in this book's orthography
and the quoted text would be:

Kwinêm ton bronze kanim patl animal pi tilikêm.

Bill Reid pi yaka ilihan tilikêms, klaska mamuk hayu years kupa
ukuk hayash pi dêlet. Tokti sculpture pi alta yaka kêpit.
October, ukuk year, tilikêm klaska mitwhêt yaka kupa Canadian
Embassy, Washington, D.C.
Yaka dêlet yayêm* “Spirit of Haida Gwai” kêshki** Reid, yaka
patlêch nêm “Pitlên Tilikêm Ship.”
Ukuk sculpture, yaka dêlet ligley kliyêl kakwa argillite. Yaka sit
kupa tênês wik klip chêk. Sculpture, yaka dêlet klush kênchi towah
chaku klak chêk pi kwêtlkwêtl ukuk kliyêl kanim.

* yayêm is translated as “called.”

** kêshki is translated as “but.”

129
Chinook Jargon

12. This wordlist will help you match Glavin's quoted Chinook Jargon verse
in “Rain Language” to his quoted English verse. Each of the following
entries is respelled in parenthesis using this book's orthography:

chako (chaku) - come

chikchik (chikchik) - wagon, but here is used for “car”
cooley (kuli) - go
halo (hilu) - not
hyack cooly (hayak kuli) - race, literally “quickly running”
kimta (kimta) - after, following
kliminawhit (klêminêhwit) - lie, falsehood
klip sun (klip san) - evening, around sunset, literally “sunken sun”
konamokst (kanamakst) - both, together
kopa (kupa) - on
kopet (kêpit) - nish, stop
mamook klahwa (mamuk klawa) - slow down
man (man) - person
oakut (uyhêt) - road
opoots (upuch) - end
pe (pi) - and
skookum (skukum) - powerful, strong
snass (snas) - rain
tenas-sitkum (tênês sitkum) - quarter, literally “little half”
tenas wahm (tênês wam) - luke-warm.
tolo (tulo) - win
waum illahie (wam ilêhi) - summer
yako (yaka) - means “he,” or “she.” Used here for “this.”
yiem ( yayêm) - story

130
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134
 Index
Accross the Wide Missouri, 84 Cleven, Michael, 88
Adventures of the First Settlers, etc., 23 Coast Guard, Canadian, 15
agriculture, 9, 10 coins, 73
animals, 61–62 Cole, George E., 13
Astor, John J., 7 Cook, James, 5
Astoria, 7 Coyote Press, 85
Barlett, Laura B.D., 16, 78, 81 Dalles Rendez-vous, 3
Basque, 6 Delaware, 6
Bible, 80 Demers, M., 9, 66
Binns, Archie, 12, 13, 25, 54, 58 DeVoto, Bernard, 84
Blanchet, F.N., 9 Dictionary of the Chinook Jargon, A, 6,
Boas, Franz, 15, 16, 25, 75-77 19, 50, 68, 71
British and Foreign Bible Society, 80 directions, 66
British Columbia, 15 disease, 8
British Columbia and, etc., 63 Ducheney, 4
Buchanan, C.M., 27 Early Oregon, 13
Burns, Robert I., 2, 40 economy, 8–11
California Farmer, 4 Eells, Myron, 11, 77, 83
"Campaigning With Grant”, 18 El Comancho see Phillips, W.S.
Canoe and the Saddle, The, 27, 68, 79 Eskimo, 6
Capilano, Joe, 67 “Ethnology Report,” 23
Carmichael, Alfred, 54, 76 Facsimile of the Chinook Jargon, etc.,
Castile, George, 48 74
Chinook - A History and Dictionary, 85 Failing, Henrietta, 72, 74
Chinook Book, The, 21, 37 Failing, Henry, 74
Chinook Jargon and How To Use It, 27, Failing, James, 74
85 Forest Service, U.S., 60
“Chinook Jargon and its distribution, Fort Vancouver, 8, 38
etc.,” 32 Gable, Clark, 84
“Chinook Jargon as Mother’s Tongue,” geography, 65
18, 33 Gibbs, George, 6, 19, 50, 59, 68, 71, 85,
“Chinook Jargon, Past and Present,” 27 86
“Chinook Jargon, The,” 6, 13, 16, 63 Giles, Andrea, 76
“Chinook Jargon: The Nineteenth, etc,” Gill’s Dictionary of the Chinook Jargon,
27 24, 71
Chinook Jargon Workshop, 88 Gill, John, 24, 71
Chinook Language, Old, 1 Glavin, Terry, 82, 84, 87
Chinook Nation, 12 grammar, 29–42
“Chinook Songs,” 16, 25, 75-77 Grand Ronde, 1, 14, 17, 26, 35, 88
Chippewa see Ojibwe Grant, Anthony P., 32
Civil War, 8 Grant, Rena V., 1, 27, 63, 67

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Grant, Ulysses S., 8, 74 lists: animal, 61–62, directions, 66,

Gruening, Ernest, 68 geographical features, 65,
Hale, Horatio, 8, 16, 22, 23, 32, 54, 68 numbers, 69–74, place, 55,
Ham, Annabelle, 17 weather, 67
Harris, Barbara, 27, 81 “Local Lore: The Chinook Jargon,” 72,
Hawai’ians, 57 74
Henderson, Robert, 18, 21 Long, Frederick, 19
History of the State of Washington, 68 Maquinna, 20
hops, 9, 10 Martin, Mungo, 76
House that Jack Built, The, 81 MacDonald, Duncan, 63
Hudson’s Bay Company, 7, 8 McKay, William, 87
Hymes, Dell and Virginia, 18, 33 McLeod, Archibald R., 59
Hymns in the Chinook Jargon Lan- McLeod, Gilbert, 76
guage, 77-78, 83 Meany, Edmond S., 6, 68
Indians of Puget Sound, The, 48 Mobilian, 6
International Idiom, etc., An, 22, 32, 35 money, 73
Internet, 88 Montalban, Ricardo, 84
Jackman, S.W., 20 Monuments in Cedar, 76
Jacobs, Melville, 15, 22, 79 Names of the Land, 60
Jargon or Trade Language, etc., The, 54 Narratives of the Adventure, etc., 20
Jesuits and the Indian Wars, etc., 2, 40 Nez Perce, 2
Jewitt, John R., 20 Nootka see Nuu-Chah-Nulth
Johnson, Pauline, 67 Northwest Coast, The, 2, 4, 13, 21, 23,
Johnson, Tony, 17 24, 41, 57
Jones, Nard, 15 Northwest Gateway, 12, 13, 25, 54, 58
Kamloops Wawa, 11, 30, 50, 54 Notes of The Structure of Chinook
Kaufman, Terrance S., 16, 38 Jargon, 22
Keithahn, Edward, 76 numbers, 69-74
Ki-a-kuts, 13 Nuu-Chah-Nulth (Nootka), 1, 2, 5
Klahowya - A Handbook, etc., 87 Ojibwe (Chippewa), 6
“Klahowya, Sikhs”, 21 O’Neill, Dan, 67
Klooster, Karl, 72, 74 Oregonian, The, 54, 88
Kooskooskee River, 3 “Origin of Death, The,” 79
Kopachuck State Park, 63 Pacic Northwest, The, 13
Kopp, Jeffery, 2, 18, 88 Palmer, Joel, 13
Land of Giants, 12, 58 Parker, Samuel, 8
language map, 2 Pasco, Duane, 17, 18, 35, 82, 83, 87
Lavender, David, 12, 58 Phillips, W.S., 21, 37
Leaville, T.N., 13 place names, 55–60
“Legend of the Flood, The,” 54, 76 Plains Sign Language, 6
LeJeune, J.M., 11, 16, 30, 54, 69 plants, 64
Leland, Brajant, 18 Pooley, Henry, 15
Lewis and Clark, 3, 5, 68 population, 14
Lillard, Charles, 82, 87 Porter, Horace, 18

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 Index

pronunciation, 19–28 weather, 67

Randall, Edith, 54 Web, 88
“Report on Chinook Jargon, A,” 16, 38 Wenatchee National Forest, 60
resources, 85–88 Who Killed William Robinson, 12
Ross, Alexander, 23 Winston, James, 81
San Francisco Evening Bulleting, 63 Winthrop, Theodore, 19, 68, 79
Sandwell and Lutz, 12 Woods, W.H., 63
Schwanter, Carlos A., 13 Workshop, Chinook Jargon, 88
Scott, Jess, 54 Zenk, Henry, 15, 16, 86, 87
segregation, 9–10
Shakes, Great, 51
Shaw, George, 27, 50, 85, 86
Siletz, 14
Siskiyous, 59
Smith, A.W., 81
songs, 16, 75–78
St. Mark’s Kloosh Yiem, etc., 11, 80
St. Onge, L.N., 9
State of Alaska, The, 68
Stewart, James, 60
stories, 79
Stuart, Robert, 81
Suria, Tomas, 20
Swan, James G., 2, 4, 13, 21, 23, 24,
41, 57
Sylvester, A.H., 60
Taylor, A.S., 4
Tenas Wawa, 17, 35, 82, 83, 87
Text in Chinook, 79
Thomas, Edward H., 1, 6, 10, 13, 16,
85, 86
Thompson, Coquille, 79
Thompson, Courtenay, 88
Tlingit, 51
Tolmie, Simon F., 15
trade: Native, 3–4, non-Native, 5–7
treaties, 12–13
U.S. Forest Service, 60
Vancouver Island, 20
Vancouver Island, 5
Vancouver Sun, 11
Vancouver, George, 2
Voice Great Within Us, A, 82, 84, 87
Waddington, Alfred W., 12
“We Will Make It Our Own Place,” 13
137