It’s all in your language
Credit: Simona Rosenfield
Story told by Tekarontake
If you hear things in our language, and you wonder, “Why do we say this?”
The language teaches you. It’s got your history. It tells your present day, and will tell you tomorrow. Now, my grandma told me that when I was very young.
She’d say, “Anything you wanna know about yesterday, today, and tomorrow, it’s all in your language.”
At that time I didn’t really know, but as I got older and started experiencing different things, all of a sudden I said, “Holy moly!”
No wonder we didn’t have a written language. The oral tradition was more accurate than the written language, because the oral tradition, you can’t misinterpret. Written language, it’s all according to the one who’s reading it, how they interpret it. You see?
Say your Indigenous language - people have to go back and understand the true meanings of the words, not what they were told it is.
Akwé:kon tho tiokwékton ne sawén:na
Tekarontake roká:raton
Tóka’ othé:nen ensathón:te’ne’ ne onkwawén:na , nok sarihwaié:was, “Oh nontié:ren tsi tewá:ton kí:ken?”
Owén:na sarihonnién:nis. Ió:ien tsi niionkwaia’tawénhseron. Né: ensahró:ri’ tsi niiawèn:’en, tsi niiawenhátie’, nok tsi niiawénhsere’. Akhsótha’ ionkhró:ri ne’ tho ken’ shitewatién:ha.
Enia’ì:ron’, “Tsi ki’ nahò:ten’ tesatonhontsó:ni aiesaterièn:tara’ne’ tsi niiawèn:’en, tsi niiawenhátie’, nok tsi niiawénhsere’, akwé:kon tho tiokwékton ne sawén:na.”
Ne tho shikahá:wi iah kwah tewakaterièn:tarahkwe’, nek tsi shontontién:ta’ne’ tánon’ takatáhsawen’ thia’té:kon wa’tkatohetstánion’, ok thontaiawénhstsi’ wa’kì:ron’ “Holy moly!”
Iah teiorihwaié:wat tsi iah teionkwaién:tahkwe’ naiakwahiá:ton’ nonkwawén:na. Sénha ne ia’teiotewennatokénhston tsi ieká:ratons tsi ní:ioht ne aiehiá:ton’ nowén:na, áse’ken tsi enieká:raton’, iah thaón:ton’ ó:ia’k ní:tsi aiesa’nikonhraién:ta’ne’. Nó:nen kahiá:ton ne owén:na entionnónhton’ tsi niiá:kon iakowennà:note, tsi ní:tsi eniako’nikonhraién:ta’ne’. Saterièn:tare wáhi?
Ahsì:ron’ sawenna’ón:we – ón:kwe ó:nen’k tsi entsónhkete’ tánon’ eniako’nikonhraién:ta’ne’ norihwiio’ón:we tsi nahò:ten’ kén:ton’s, iah né: té:ken tsi nahò:ten’ iontathró:ri tsi kén:ton’s.
Translation by Sahawisó:ko’ Arquette