Since time immemorial the Hul’q’umi’num’ people have lived on the western shores of the Salish Sea in British Columbia, Canada. We have always had a close relationship with the environment. Vast amounts of information concerning the waterways, sea life, plants, and animals of the region have been passed down from generation to generation through the oral medium of the Hul’q’’umi’num’ language. This website, which will be under development for many more years, represents just a small fraction of our knowledge on this topic.
We do this work primarily for our relations, those who are speakers or learners of our language. It is hoped that presenting the knowledge in this form will help successive generations to remember the unique and important teachings of the Elders. It is hoped that this website will be of interest and use to a broad audience including First Nations people, educators, students, and others.
In researching the Salish Sea and its sea life, we have used information from general sources as well as from our own local knowledge holders. All information provided by Hul’q’umi’num’ Elders remains their intellectual property and is included here in the spirit of sharing, education, and mutual understanding.
We raise our hands to the Elders who have so generously shared their knowledge, wisdom, and kindness in the production of the materials used in this work.
Hay ce:p q’a, si:’em’!
Acknowledgements
It would not have been possible to develop this Salish Sea resource were it not for the efforts of the many Elders who worked to document, record and teach the language, culture, and traditions to new generations of learners.
We raise our hands to these Elders and Knowledge Keepers who fought to keep our language, culture, and knowledge alive. We give thanks for their important work and the generous sharing of their knowledge, wisdom, and time.
We would also like to extend our thanks to the First Peoples’ Cultural Council who generously funded this project. Hay ce:p q’a!
Annotated Bibliography
Ecosystem guide: a Hul’q’umi’num language guide to plants and animals of southern Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and the Salish Sea (2011)
Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group
This book is the result of a unique collaborative project between the Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group (HTG), Gulf Islands National Park Reserve (Parks Canada), and University of Victoria (Department of Linguistics). In the fall of 2005 these three partners agreed to publish a multilingual, illustrated guide to significant plants, animals, birds and marine creatures found in the Coast Salish territories of the southern Gulf Islands, where Parks Canada has established Gulf Islands National Park Reserve.
The PDF can be found on the NLPS website.
Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group. (2011). Ecosystem guide : a Hul’q’umi’num language guide to plants and animals of southern Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and the Salish Sea. Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group.
Hul’q’umin’um’ Words: An English-to-Hul’q’umin’um’ and Hul’q’umin’um’-to-English Dictionary (1997)
Gerdts, Donna, Leonard Edwards, Charles Ulrich, and Brian Compton
This 263-page dictionary was the result of a collaboration between Snaw’naw’as Elders, the Nanaimo School District No.68, the Stz’uminus, Snuneymuxw, and Snaw’naw’as First Nations, as well as linguist Donna Gerdts.The dictionary represents words from speakers of the Stz’uminus, Snuneymuxw, and Snaw’naw’as dialects of Hul’q’umi’num’. This dictionary seeks to cover the basic words of the language and was designed for classroom use.
Gerdts, Donna, Leonard Edwards, Charles Ulrich, and Brian Compton. Hul’q’umin’um’ Words: An English-to-Hul’q’umin’um’ and Hul’q’umin’um’-to-English Dictionary. Prepared for the Chemainus, Nanaimo, and Nanoose First Nations and Nanaimo School District No. 68, December 1997
https://www.sfu.ca/~gerdts/papers/HulquminumWordsPhonetic.pdf
The Cowichan Dictionary of the Hul’qumin’um’ Dialect of the Coast Salish People (1995)
Thomas E. Hukari, Editor, Ruby Peter, Associate Editor.
This dictionary was the first comprehensive Hul’q’umi’num’ dictionary to be created. Edited by Tom Hukari and the late Dr. Ruby Peter | Sti’tum’at, this 6,600-word dictionary is in the older Quw’utsun Tribes orthography. Compiled from work done with Quw’utsun Elders, the words are presented in 122 pages of Hul’q’umi’num’ to English and 212 pages of English to Hul’q’umi’num’. There are also example sentences for some words.
Hukari, T. E., & Peter, R. (1995). Hul’q̲umi’num’ dictionary. Cowichan Tribes.
Quw’utsun : Hul’q’umi’num’ category dictionary (2007)
Cowichan Tribes Elders’ Advisory Committee.
This 120-page dictionary consists of approximately 3,000 words arranged by semantic category.
Cowichan Tribes Elders’ Advisory Committee. (2007). Quw’utsun : Hul’q’umi’num’ category dictionary. Cowichan Tribes, Quw’utsun Syuw’entst Lelum.
Hul’q’umi’num’ to English Dictionary
This dictionary is based on research carried out by Prof. Tom Hukari, Dr. Ruby Peter | Sti’tum’at, and various Elders in the Hul’q’umi’num’ speaking community from the early 1970s on into the 1990s. It was transliterated into practical orthography and re-formatted by Prof. Donna Gerdts in May 2013. It was again reformatted in June 2021. This dictionary file is intended for sharing with all Hul’q’umi’num’ people. This work is designed to be used electronically, not printed and distributed. The material is intended to help with efforts to read, write, and speak the language, as well as to develop teaching materials and to help study the structure of Hul’q’umi’num’.
https://sqwal.hwulmuhwqun.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Hul7q7umi7num7_to_English_Dictionary4.pdf
