Introduction
The Makah peoples Indigenous language is Qʷi·qʷidiččaq, which means ‘Makah Language’ or ‘speaking Makah’. Qʷi·qʷidiččaq belongs to the Wakashan language family. In 2002 (20 years ago) the last fluent native speaker died, since then the Makah language has not been spoken as a first language. Sad, huh? How languages can go extinct from the genocide that the white invaders/colonizers forced upon us (the Indigenous people). The Makah people don’t just live in Washington on the rez, they also live across the bay/strait in Canada on Vancouver Island. But since the colonizers came and invaded everything and had to put borders up on land that is not rightfully theirs, now the Makah can not live like they used to and go between their two homes. Sad huh? Ya, I thought so too. The Makah people have lived here since time immemorial so they have the right to everything the land and ocean have to offer. The colonizers DO NOT. Okay good, glad we got that problem out of the way.
Makah Whaling
Guess what?! The Makah nation fought for 100+ years to earn the right to hunt whales. They finally won in 2019 and are now able to hunt whales as they want. In 2019 a fancy cruise boat hit and killed a gray whale and since the Makah people were able to hunt whales they were able to save the dead whale from rotting out in the ocean and instead have all its parts be used by the Makah. And while some people say Indigenous people killing a whale and using all of it, every single part, is “barbaric”, but having a cruise boat, owned by rich people who don’t care about anything but money, hit, kill, and leave it there to die and rot is totally not barbaric. Jeez. I have spoken.
Words
Man – Ła∙uk
Woman – Xad’ak
Sun – Daka∙
Water – Ča’ak
White – ‘Tłisuk
Yellow – Xusboxuk
Red – ‘Tłiuk
Black – Tupkuk
Whale – č’it’apuk
Raven – u·kšud
Weather report
Neah Bay, WA
Saturday 9:00 AM
Partly cloudy
42°F
6°C
Precipitation: 2%
Humidity: 85%
Wind: 11 mph
One (Un) ‘Cakwa∙’ak
Two (Deux) Atł
Three (Trois) Wi∙
Four (Quatre) Bu∙
Five (Cinq) Šu’č
Man (Homme) Ła∙uk
Woman (Femme) Xad’ak
Sun (Soleil) Daka∙
Water (Eau) Ča’ak
White (Blanc) ‘Tłisuk
Yellow (Jeune) Xusboxuk
Red (Rouge) ‘Tłiuk
Black (Noir) Tupkuk
The Makah are an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast living in Washington, in the northwestern part of the continental United States. They are enrolled in the federally recognized Makah Indian Tribe of the Makah Indian Reservation. They are known for their northwest coastal carvings that show animals which were, and still are important to Makah culture. Whales, salmon, halibut, ravens, eagles and wolves are among the most commonly used images in these designs.
LANGUAGE MADNESS 