Section 5.5 Halq'eméylem/Stolo - SKW'IKW'XAM KW'E S'OLE_XEMS YE STH'OQWI
Written by: Veselin Jungic and Mark MacLean
Illustrated by: Simon Roy and Jess Pollard
Halq'eméylem translation by: Xotxwes
Qwelqwel swiqollh te Skw'iwk'xam. Sta lite st'it'laxwtexw stetis te qo: sq'o te ta:ls qaste ma:ls.
Small Number is a young boy who gets into a lot of mischief. He lives in a small village by the water with his mother and father.
E'tu tomel tem ilalxw swayel su mami'etes ta Skw'ikw'xam te ma:ls thaytes te sweltel xwela wayeles ole_xet ye sth'oqwi. Cha qe_x ye sth'oqwi lite Thekw'e S_xip Chachu” Loy kw'esu milyel tset latelh tl'o kwes xwel chichelh te qo:” thet te ma:ls te Skw'ikw'xam.
It is a crisp autumn day and Small Number is helping his father to prepare the net for tomorrow's salmon harvest. "There is a school of salmon by Straight Line Beach. We need to set our net in the morning while the tide is still high" says Small Number's father.
Tl'o cha syewals yewametes te ma:ls ole_xet kw'e sth'oqwi qesu qe_x spetems tutl'o.
It is the first time that Small Number will go with his father to catch salmon and he has many questions.
““Xwe'it ses ite stl'epolwelh ye xat qe ite schlhitsels te sweltel ye qwelqwal. Tl'o kw'es xwe'its set tse isale smalt. Selchim kw'es xwotes ye xat. Selchim kw'es chochkwetels. Xwe'it ses ste' omex tetha ye qwelqwal. Selchim kw'es shxwtl'aqts te sweltel. Selchim kw'es shxwtl'eps te sweltel. XAT stelakw' se'mlat Qwelqwal spepiyqwe xepay Yewamet Qweqwelhay”
“Why are these round pebbles on one side and those pieces of cedar on the other side of the net? Why do we need those two big rocks? What is the weight of those pebbles? How far apart are they? Why are the pieces of cedar cut in this shape? How long is the net? How deep is the net? Round pebbles, pieces of cedar, will go with pieces of driftwood.”
“Lexw solmetsel chexw o, Skw'ikw'xam, chexw cha telexw mekw' wayeles” xweloyemes te ma:ls. “_xwemxalem tl'o qays yethest ta' sile qasta' shxwemlikwe lulh shoy te sweltel qesu iyolem kw'es lis te s'olh chachu xwewas i:s tawel”
“Be patient, Small Number, you will learn all tomorrow,” smiles his father. “Now run and tell your grandfather and your uncle that the net is ready and that they should be at our beach before dawn!”
Th'oy_xwem te sqwalewels te Skw'ikw'xam xwela te skwi_xthets cha kwesulh i:tetlomet, eleliyametes te tl'e_xxel maq'em teli te qo: qesu hikw slhaletems.
Small Number is very excited about his new adventure and when he finally gets to sleep, he dreams about a big salmon jumping out of the water and falling back with a splash.
“Xwithet, Skw'ikw'xam, lulh lite s'olh chachu ta' ma:l,” Ts'elhemetes te staqi:ls te ta:ls te Skw'ikw'xam.
“Wake up, Small Number. Your dad is already down at our beach,” Small Number hears his mom’s gentle voice.
Kwesulh tiqxelem la kw'e satl'q tutl'o, tl'elexw te Skw'ikw'xam qesu kw'ats selts'. Kwetslexwes ye stl'itl'esel iyotheqsel smelmilt xwela te sotets. Qesu ts'elhametes ye setaleqeps ye yoltsep qas ye sliluye.
When he steps outside, Small Number stops and looks around. He sees dark sharp peaks of mountains to the north and hears the sound of waves and the squawks of seagulls.
Lite chachu kwetslexwes sq'eq'ip ye siwiqe qesu sti:m kwes _xwemxalem xwela “te_xw o t'eqw'loxw Skw'ikw'xam” thet te sila Qwemchestem tutl'o “lulh elelolhstexw ye sweltel qas ye saletel lite s'olh slexwelh tsetulh shoy kw'es lam tset
Down on the beach, Small Number sees a group of men and starts running towards them as fast as he can. “Just on time, Small Number,” says his grandfather hugging him. “Our canoes are loaded with nets and baskets and we are ready to go.”
Kwesulh tes late Thekw' S_xip' Chachu, te sile qaste shxwemlikwes ta Skw'ikw'xam thekw'etes te slexwelhs teli te qo; Te ma:ls qaste Skw'ikw'xam elelolh o lite swas slexwelh qasu satesches te s'elqsels te sweltel late sile.
When they arrive at Straight Line Beach, Small Number’s grandpa and uncle pull their canoe out of the water. Small Number and his father stay in their canoe and pass the ends of the net lines to Grandfather.
E'xel ta Skw'ikw'xam teli te chachu kwes qwesu:yel te ma:ls Kwesulh tes te selqsels te sweltel, Qesu xwi le'ostexwes te chachu te slexwelh tutl'olem qesu kwates te hikw smalt slhelhaq late sweltel late qo: te ma:l.
Small Number paddles away from the beach while his dad continues to pay out the net lines. When they reach the beginning of the net, they turn the canoe parallel to the beach and dad throws a big rock that is attached to the net into the water.
“Tl'o skw'estels te sweltel te'i” thetstexwes tutl'o te Skw'ikw'xam. “O: tsel tolexw” ta:m te Skw'ikw'xam, “ye xat tl'o tl'epstexw o te sweltel qe kwa ye qwelqwal tl'o cha sp'ap'akwstexw o te sweltel”
“This anchor will hold the net in place,” he says to Small Number. “Oh, I see,” yells Small Number, “the pebbles will keep one edge of the net on the bottom and the pieces of cedar will float and keep the other edge of the net on the surface!”
Kw'etslexwes te Skw'ikw'am ye qe_x sth'oqwi sq'eq'o te chichelh qo: Kw'atsetes te thithe titexem selxwiws qesu siwelmetes te th'alas _xwemthet “Kwelh tu kw'omkw'em qastu yu:w ye'ile sth'oqwi”
Small Number sees how a large group of salmon have drifted inshore with the incoming tide. He looks at their large smooth bodies and feels his heartbeat fasten. “How strong and beautiful these fish are!”
Skw'estels te sweltel tl'elaxwstexw te selqsels te sweltel qesu ts'elqetes te slexwelh ta Skw'ikw'xam xwela te chachu shxwelis kwes satesches te sweltel te ma;ls late shxwemlikws.
The anchor secures the other end of the net and Small Number turns the canoe towards the beach where his dad passes the net lines to Small Number’s uncle.
Kwes thakw'tes te slexwelh teli te qo: te ma:ls, Petam te Skw'ikw'xam, “Kw'il cha sxelcha tl'o wayel” Selchim cha kw'es theleqet tseta ye sth'oqwi xwela ye ts'elxwexwilmexw Li cha seliyelh xwela kw'e mekw' wat. Selchim kw'es lheq'elexw tset kwes cha e'mi q'olthet ye sth'oqwi”
While his dad pulls the canoe out of water, Small Number asks, “How many salmon will we catch today? How are we going to divide the salmon among our families? Will there be enough for everybody? How do we know that the salmon will come back?”
“Lu Ii te shxwetelim tset” leq'elqel te ma:ls I chexw o kw'e lo tl'o qays mayt ta' shxwemlikwe thekw'et te sweltel. Lam tsel mayt te sile.
“We have our ways,” answers his father. “Now, you stay here to help your uncle pull on the net lines. I’m going to help grandpa.”
Iyothet thekw'etes te sweltel tutl'olem Kw'etslexwes te Skw'ikw'xam mekw' ye sth'oqwi sxelcha s'elxwitsels te chachu qaste sweltel qesu thetstexwes te shxwemlikwes Ey kweset e'mi kwes xwel chichelh te qo: We iselh tl'ep te qo: skw'ay kw'es qe_xes kw'e sxelcha tset Ey te shxwetelim tset”
They start hauling in the net. Small Number sees that all fish within the area between the beach and the net are captured and says to his uncle, “Good that we came during the high tide. If the tide were low we wouldn’t catch this many fish. Our ways are good!”
Spetam: Xwe'it ses thetiwel te Skw'ikw'xam iselh tl'ep te qo: su ewes qe_x kw'e sxelcha.
Question: Why did Menathey think that during a low tide the catch would be much smaller?
