August 13, 2022  Ktunaxa Language Learning- Reflections 

August 13, 2022: Ktunaxa Language Learning Reflections:  Inspired both by the work of people like Aiyanna Twigg (Twigg, 2018)  to save the Ktunaxa Language, a language isolate with fewer than 20 fluent speakers left, and by the readings of this course which have consistently emphasized the fundamental importance of Indigenous language learning as the core of Indigenous education, I am beginning to learn Ktunaxa through the First Voices website and First Voices Ktunaxa app.  I have downloaded the First Voices Ktunaxa app onto my phone, so I can search for words of plants as I walk in the wilderness near my home.  I know quite a few plants, as I love berry picking and learning about native plants.  So far though, my memory is struggling to remember the Ktunaxa words independently.

Nahukwuʔk which means "Oregon Grape Bush" is my first solid Ktunaxa word, which I can independently remember.  The berries themselves are called "Nahuk".  Whenever I go walking, I look for these beautiful shiny leaves, with stunning blue/purple berries in the summer. They are very hardy bushes, and I heard a long time ago that you can make jelly with the berries, although they are bitter to taste right off the bush.  A quick internet search notes that while they are edible in small quantities or as flavoring, there is a warning that large quantities can be toxic. (Northern Bushcraft, 2022)    If you want to listen to the pronunciation of Nahukwuʔk you can listen on the website here: https://www.firstvoices.com/explore/FV/Workspaces/Data/Ktunaxa/Ktunaxa/Ktunaxa/learn/words/2ecfb16e-357b-4042-bc3c-a1d82db7686c  

     August 14, 2021: Ka¢ǂaquǂaqpi·k means "Thimbleberry" in Ktunaxa. This is another common berry I see on my daily walks through the forest.  Right now they are sweet and tasty treats as they are perfectly ripe.  They don't seem to be good for collecting, as they get mushy pretty quickly, but if you eat them right off the bush they are delicious.  Yesterday, I wanted to bring some of the outdoors inside to help me better connect to the universe, so I selected some Ka¢ǂaquǂaqpi·k leaves which were overgrowing on the path, and put them in water on my table by my work. I notice that being inside the box of my home can make me feel isolated and separate from the world, so maybe bringing this relative with me inside will help keep me more connected. 

    This word Ka¢ǂaquǂaqpi·k  is much more difficult to pronounce for me as there are quite a few sounds I am not used to pronouncing.   The letters ¢ and ǂ are new sounds for me.  In the Ktunaxa alphabet  the ¢ sounds almost like "tza" but I might not be hearing the full sound, as adults who have not heard sounds in certain languages may not be able to hear them. (Brain pruning).  ǂ  sounds to me like "sh", but maybe more of a th/sh combined.    I realize I need to get more familiar with the sounds of the Ktunaxa alphabet in order to sound new words out.

        August. 15, 2022:  My favorite berry to pick is the ǂawiyaǂ (black huckleberry).  For several generations my family has gathered ǂawiyaǂ in the local area.   I have such fond memories of going into the wilderness with my grandparents, parents, siblings and cousins to find them.  We have different places we go - early season places at lower elevations, and then we follow them up the mountain.  Right now is good high mountain picking.  Yesterday when I went out, I found some around 2000 meters which were still green in shady areas.  When I pick berries I feel connected to my grandparents, and also to all foragers - I think of the ancestors who were here long before me, and the bears and other animals who share this feast, depending on it for their survival.  There is a deep sense of interconnection.  Even on a hot, sunny day it feels more cool and fresh at high elevations.  I remember the picnics my Grandmother would bring for us, and what an adventure it feels like to find these precious morsels of tangy sweetness.  When my Grandmother passed away, she had frozen huckleberry pie in the freezer; that winter when we ate it, nothing had ever felt more sacred or precious as that final gift she had saved for us.

     It is interesting that there are two words for huckleberry in Ktunaxa.  ǂawiyaǂ are the black huckleberry I am most familiar with in this area, but they have another word, nupxamuǂ, for the low red huckleberry.  I believe these kind are more prevalent along the coast, as I think we picked these when I lived on Vancouver Island as a child.  ǂawiyaǂ is the second Ktunaxa word I can independently remember.  I can now also sound out words with the ǂ symbol, as I independently remember that it represents the "l/th/sh" sound.  It is a small start, but it feels important.  I remember that our district Abed team told us that when we use the words of the First People of this land, we call the ancestors back to protect and support us.  I like the thought that I can connect with the ancestral caretakers of this place through these words. It's one small thing I can do to start reconciliation.

 References:

Cervenka, T. (2022) Oregon Grape. Northern Bushcraft.

https://northernbushcraft.com/guide.php?ctgy=edible_berries&region=bc

First People's Cultural Council. (2022) Ka¢ǂaquǂaqpi·k First Voices Ktunaxa 

https://www.firstvoices.com/explore/FV/Workspaces/Data/Ktunaxa/Ktunaxa/Kt

unaxa/learn/words/2be9b1ac-e268-42b6-8462-66c1aeeab9bd

First People's Cultural Council. (2022) ǂawiyaǂ First Voices Ktunaxa 

https://www.firstvoices.com/explore/FV/Workspaces/Data/Ktunaxa/Ktuna

xa/Ktunaxa/learn/words/98aa47a0-1e69-449b-85f8-8347a41c75c2

First People's Cultural Council. (2022) Ktunaxa Alphabet First Voices Ktunaxa 

https://www.firstvoices.com/explore/FV/Workspaces/Data/Ktunaxa/Ktunaxa/Kt

unaxa/learn/alphabet

First People's Cultural Council. (2022)  Nahukwuʔk First Voices Ktunaxa 

https://www.firstvoices.com/explore/FV/Workspaces/Data/Ktunaxa/Ktunaxa/Kt

unaxa/learn/words/2ecfb16e-357b-4042-bc3c-a1d82db7686c  

Twigg, Aiyana (2018) "PSA Don't be afraid to speak Indigenous Languages - A 

Message from Ktunaxa Youth and Elders" youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce4d_ICPSpw