“There are a lot of legends left undone,” said Lillian Morris.
Morris, a recent graduate of the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology’s (NVIT) Language and Culture program, is preserving Witsuwit’ten history through the power of translation. Witsuwit’en legends are passed down orally, but as the language phases out, the legends are being lost with it.
Witsuwitʼen is classified as an Endangered Language.
“Languages are disappearing at an unprecedented pace. And when that happens, a unique vision of the world is lost,” explained the Endangered Language Project.
“With every language that dies, we lose an enormous cultural heritage, the understanding of how humans relate to the world around us, scientific, medical and botanical knowledge. And most importantly, we lose the expression of communities’ humour, love and life.”
Morris is preserving Witsuwit’en legends by translating the stories into English text. When Morris was a child, the vernacular language was much more present in Witsuwit’ten households.
“Back then the families spoke the Witsuwit’ten language, no English was spoken in any home, including ours,” said Morris.
Growing up, Morris spoke Witsuwit’en but was not taught how to read or write, as no formal alphabet existed yet.
The first recorded attempt to write the phonetic language was when a Witsuwit’en member developed topical terminology, for maps.
“All the rivers, mountains, ridges, were all explained in Witsuwit’en,” said Morris.
“I was very proud of them for doing that, because they started this language way back in history for us to use.”
In 1980, Professor Sharon Hargus of the University of Washington developed the official written system for the Witsuwitʼen language, calling on help from the community to work collaboratively in creating the seven-vowel-system,
“Our ancestors developed this language before us,” explained Morris.
“Today we are still using it, but it was never written.”
Morris learned how to write the language in 1991 when Hargus paid a visit to the Witsuwit’en community of Witset.
The professor developed a “crash course” for the community, calling on help from Witsuwit’en elders to develop a dictionary.
Morris spoke English for the first time when she was five years old, after her grandmother had asked her to accompany her to the viewpoint over the Bulkley River where the “white people stopped for supper.”
There was a woman there who was looking to purchase a pair of moccasins.
“She (grandmother) had really warm slippers in a big brown paper bag under her arm,” explained Morris. “Then the lady asked me how much.”
Morris put her hand up, with all five fingers, repeating the phrase “five dollars” as instructed by her grandmother.
Creating her own legends, Morris told this story at a three-day linguistic conference in California, that she attended with Hargus in 2000. Morris was praised for her “clear voice,” and was asked to record the story later, during a private session. The recording is archived at the California Library.
When Morris first enrolled in elementary school, she found it difficult to understand the instructional language.
“I didn’t know how to read the Dick and Jane book, I knew nothing but Witsuwit’en,” she explained.
Through public schooling, she eventually gained fluency in reading, writing, and speaking English.
Realizing that there were gaps to fill, Morris took it upon herself to start recording and translating Witsuwit’en legends into the English language.
One of Morris’ favorite legends she translated is one that teaches a “beautiful story” about “truth and reconciliation.”
She tells a story about a time in a late-chief’s childhood.
“A young boy, at 12-years-old,” explained Morris.
“He was helping the chiefs pack onto the territory in the mountains,” said Morris. “He got paid by a gun … and a pair of mukluks. They were learning about territory.”
However, few people recognized the validity of Morris’ stories until she had proper certifications.
“I wanted to be certified, with all the beautiful work I’m doing,” explained Morris.
Eager to learn, Morris enrolled in school at NVIT in Merritt. She received a grant for the Language and Culture program, which she completed remotely along with six other Witsuwit’en members.
The seven of them proudly travelled to Merrit for the June 9 graduation ceremony. In addition to Morris, they are Master Carver Ron Austin, Ron A. Mitchell, Helen Nikal, Lillian Louis, Mary Alice Namox and Doris Russel.
“It was a long travel, but worth it, of course. I waited for many, many, many years for this to happen. It did and I loved it.”
Morris currently teaches evening classes for people who want to learn Witsuwit’en.
Some of her students already know the language orally.
“They want to learn how to read and write with using vowels for the proper pronunciation, so that’s what I’m doing,” explained Morris.
Now, she is looking to publish a book.
Over the past six years, Morris interviewed 89 elders collecting legends from across her community.
She is in the process of translating them to share with the public.
“I’m waiting for answers from the people I approached to help me, and to get permission, there is a written form to get that in place,” explained Morris.
With the proceeds from her book sales, she is planning on donating the money back to the Witsuwit’en community.
“My plans are back to the people,” said Morris.
“It’s very important to have the legends translated to show our future generations, where they will read it and learn from it in class.”