Sqwemá:y is the Halq’eméylem word for ‘dog’. You can use it to talk about any kind of dog …
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pí:txel
Pí:txel is the Halq’eméylem word for ‘salamander’. Elders also use the word for ‘lizard’….
lholeqwót
Some elders use lholeqwót to mean ‘butterfly’, others use the same word to mean ‘moth’ …
smímeyàth
Smímeyàth is one way you can say ‘butterfly’ in Halq’eméylem. It may have originated from the word for ‘little animal’ …
q’et’mí:l
Q’et’mí:l is the Halq’eméylem word for ‘fir’. It may be related to q’át’em -‘sweet’, because some have fir trees have sweet sap …
x_pá:yelhp
Xpá:yelhp is the Halq’eméylem word for ‘cedar tree’, specifically the Western Red Cedar. This word refers to the full tree or bush (there are special words for cedar wood, cedar bough, etc). …
sékw’emiy
Sekw’emiy is the Halq’eméylem word for ‘birch tree’. It’s name is related to the word for ‘to peel’, to ‘take bark off’…
q’emōwlhp
Q’emōwlhp is the Halq’eméylem word for ‘maple tree’. It comes from the same root as sq’émel (‘canoe paddle’), because wood from the maple tree makes really good paddles. …
sk’ek’iyáp
Sk’ek’iyáp is the Halq’eméylem word for ‘coyote’…
shxwéwe
Shxwéwe is the Halq’eméylem word for a ‘cougar’…