| My Culture/Heritage |
| oo-kla-ma Yemchiss Tsi-sha-aht - My name is Yemchiss and I am from the Tseshaht First Nation. Yemchiss is a name which was passed on to me through my late grandparents. This section is to tell you a bit about my ethnic background. |
| I am of First Nations Background. First Nations are the people of "Canada" who came to Canada long before the first white man came to our shores. I am from Tseshaht which is one of 14 tribes which make up the Nuuchahnulth Nation. The traditional territory of Nuuchahnulth is all along the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Other common names for First Nations People: Indian Native American Aboriginal First Peoples American Indian Indigenous people to canada Language The name which my people (Tseshaht) use for First Nation is Kuu-us. It simply means 'the people' in the Tseshaht Language. Our language is on the brink of extinction. There are only about 5 speakers left in our tribe. Our tribe has a population of 900. I know a tiny bit of the language, but I would like to learn more before it is too late. Here are a few basic words if you would like to know a bit. It is kind of hard to put the sounds, but I'll do my best:: Chuu - Bye (I've been told that this has other meanings, but I'll let you know when I find out) A-Chuck-La-Huk? - What is your name? Oo-klah-mah..........name - My name is ................ Hi-yim-hay-mah - I don't know Ti-qua-see-ee - Sit Down He-shuck-ish-tsawaak - We are all one Mumulthnee - White People (actually means floating house, because of the ships they were on during first contact with my people. Counting: Tsawaak - One A-tla - Two cuts-sa- Three Moo - Four Soocha - Five Nuupoo - Six alth-poo- Seven Alth-a-qualth - Eight Tsa-wah-qualth - Nine Hi-you - Ten The Human Body: Ka-see - Eyes Chee-chee-chee - Teeth Hups-yoop - Hair chupe - Tongue Pah-pee - Ears Klish-Klin - Feet Teech-ma - Heart Um-us-uck-lee - Ass Important Components of my culture: Potlatch - A potlatch is an important aspect of our culture. It is an important ceremonial gethering of our people. A potlatch is a social gathering of our people. It is where history is taught, where names are given, where we celebrate the life of our dead, and chieftanship is past on. That's just to name a few. A potlatch is usually hosted by an indivudual or a community. Tribes are usually invited from all over BC. The host feeds the guests and keep them entertained throughout. I was told that long ago, these potlatches lasted up to four days. They are not that long now adays as time has changed and people are more busier. My parents threw me and my siblings a potlatch in 1995. Me and my siblings recieved our kuu-us names. My parents planned for a few years. They bought all the gifts, saved for all the food. We had somewhere around 600 people in attendence at our potlatch throughout the day. It lasted from 12noon to 7am the next day. SO yea, it was very long. It was tiring, but a neat experience. We fed the guests lunch and dinner, and snacks in the late late evenning. Our people are very giving people indeed. The mumulthnee (non-native) tried to take this tradition away from us. From 1884-1951 the potlatch was outlawed by the Canadian Government. During this time, our people were not allowed to gather, sing songs, or dance. And if they did, they would be punished under the law. They were usually jailed and had their regalia taken away. This is why (in my view) you see so much of our regalia in museums. All of this stuff was in fact stolen from our people. This is history no one ever learns about in school. I know I didn't. When the potlatch ban was uplifted, our people slowly but steadily started reviving the potlatch. And it continues to be becoming stronger and stronger as the years go by. |
| **more to come |
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| Painting of how my ancestors used to get around, by cane. The water looks dangerously rough. |
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| My ancestors once hunted whales using only a canoe and a spear. I think thats nuts! But it's cool |
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| This "curtain" belongs to my family. It tells the history and many stories of my family. It was taken from my ancestors and is now at the Museum of Natural History in New York City. |
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| This is a swi-xwi dancer. This is a sacred dance of my grandmother's side of the family - the Snaw-Naw-Us people of Nanaoose Bay BC |
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| This is a map of all the British Columbia First Nations people. I have family in the Nuuchahnulth, Coast Salish, and Gitxsan Nations. |