Xwehíwel means ‘to go upriver’ or ‘to go upstream’.
ehíw, ahíw
Ehíw means ‘upriver’ or ‘be upriver’. Some Elders pronounce this word slightly differently, as ahíw.
Tl’o hó:kwexes kw’es héyeqws kw’es kw’étslexwes te sth’óqwi li te tl’ép te qó:
Tl’o hó:kwexes kw’es héyeqws kw’es kw’étslexwes te sth’óqwi li te tl’ép te qó: means ‘It’s what (they) used to burn to see the fish below the water.’
Tl’o hókwexes kw’es héyeqws…
Tl’o hó:kwexes kw’es héyeqws… is a partial phrase, meaning ‘It’s what (they) used to burn…’. There is no explicit word for ‘they’, this is just understood from context.
yéqw
Yéqw means ‘to get burned (up)’. You could also translate it as ‘to burn’, but note that the subject is the thing that burns (not an agent who burns something else). For example, you could use yéqw in sentences like ‘It burned‘, or ‘The house burned (up)‘.
Tl’o hókwexes…
Tl’o hó:kwexes is a partial phrase, meaning ‘It’s what (they) used…’.
…kw’es kw’étslexwes te sth’óqwi li te tl’ép te qó:.
…kw’es kw’étslexwes te sth’óqwi li te tl’ép te qó: is a partial phrase, meaning ‘..to see the fish below the water’.
…kw’es kw’étslexwes te sth’óqwi
…kw’es kw’étslexwes te sth’óqwi is a partial phrase, meaning ‘..to see the fish’.
kw’étslexw
Kw’étslexw means ‘to see (it)’. You use this verb to talking about seeing something specific.
sth’óqwi
Sth’óqwi is the Halq’eméylem word for ‘fish‘. This is the noun form (not the verb). Sth’óqwi is a general term, which you can use for any kind of fish.
Ólhstexwes á:lhtel lám te sléxwelhs
Ólhstexwes á:lhtel lám te sléxwelhs means ‘They put it in their canoes‘. You could also translate it as ‘They load it into their canoes‘.
ólhstexw
Ólhtstexw means ‘put (it) on board’‘ or ‘‘load (it) on board’. You can use it to talk about loading objects onto a canoe, boat, ship, car, or other transportation vehicle.
ó:lh
O:lh means ‘to board’ or ‘to get on board‘. It refers to the act of entering a canoe, ship, bus, car, or other vehicle.
sléxwelh
Sléxwelh is the Halq’eméylem word for ‘canoe’‘.
La hó:kwexes kw’ses la lex̲éywa
La hó:kwexes kw’ses la lex̲éywa means ‘They used it to go torchlighting’.
lex̲éywa
Lex̲éywa means ‘to torchlight’. It refers to a traditional way of fishing at night, where you use a fire in a special container in your canoe to lure and stun the fish.
hókwex
Hókwex means ‘to use’‘. Elders use the same word for ‘to wear’.
Os lhéq’ su me chémetes á:lhtel mi te stl’ép.
Os lhéq’ su me chémetes á:lhtel mi te stl’ép means ‘They used to pack it down’ or ‘‘They would carry it to the bottom’.
os lhéq’ su
os lhéq’ su means ‘used to’‘ or ‘(they) always used to’
me chémetes á:lhtel mi te stl’ép
me chémetes á:lhtel mi te stl’ép means ‘they pack it down‘ or ‘they carry it to the bottom’.