I learned and spoke txʷəlšucid (Lushootseed) my whole life.
It started off with introductions and as I moved through my middle school and high school years, I learned conversation.
I remember that the first story introduced to me in class: Lady Louse by Vi taqʷšəblu Hilbert. As a class we translated the txʷəlšucid into English. It was very exciting for me at the time because I got to hear Vi Hilbert speak and I had the opportunity to further my knowledge of the language and break it down piece by piece. Every time I learned something new, I would share what I learned with my family as soon as I got home.
There were not a lot of txʷəlšucid speakers at the time and my family often did not understand what I was saying. When I spoke, I would translate what I said in English for them. They supported me and I carried the language into my home by creating a language nest. My family would help me practice and, in turn, listen to me while I was speaking. As a kid, I recall my mom would always tell me “dicu,” which means scoot over or move.
As a young adult, I learned more about storytelling nights hosted by the Puyallup Tribal Language Department. Social media, live streams, and videos posted afterward helped push the stories out.
I started telling stories myself with the language department around 2022. I remember the first story I was a part of was called “Bird Children.”
The one thing I love about storytelling is the gʷədᶻadad—the thing the listener takes away from a story. The gʷədᶻadad is an important teaching and you are not to share your gʷədᶻadad. Doing so can take away from the other listeners and ruin their own gʷədᶻadad. I became more intrigued with learning traditional stories and hearing the elders speak.
Traditional stories have helped me throughout my life to stay grounded and to keep my body still. As I learned more stories, I learned more teachings and how to use our “cəlac dxʷgʷəlčšid.” Our five teachers. Eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and body.
Grandview Early Learning Center where I work began hosting storytelling nights for the community because these teachings were important to share with our children. It is important to keep passing the traditions to the next generations so we do not forget them and we honor our elders and ancestors. The language is important and I love everything about it. Storytelling nights have truly brought our center together and connected us all on a deeper level.
Many people have had a part in carrying our stories forward through practicing and incorporating txʷəlšucid language and stories into our classrooms. That is what storytelling night is all about, to keep the stories and teachings alive.
Because I work at my tribe’s daycare, it has always been important to me that when we host storytelling nights we keep them open to the community. The language brings everyone together and I think it’s important that these events remain open because all are welcome. I love when we have new faces show up and listen.
Traditional stories can benefit both indigenous and non-indigenous people. As I speak my language, it helps me feel more connected to my roots and closer to home. It can have a great impact on non-indigenous people because a majority of towns that you reside in are on tribal lands.
All throughout the Pacific Northwest, you can learn the traditional backgrounds of these tribes and the teachings that come with them.
Read more from our storytelling project:
Learning txʷəlšucid and telling the stories
Living, breathing, working for my culture
A family of Moths: Recreating The Moth StorySLAM at home
‘Out of my heart a story will come: Storytelling in schools’
Why do we tell stories around the fire?
