CHUCK [chuhk] or [tsukw] — noun. Meaning: water; liquid; river; stream Origin: Nootka Jargon chaak ‘water’ < Nuu-chah-nulth cha’uk ‘water’. Also from a Chinookan noun tlchuqw ‘water’ > Chinook, tltsuk; Clatsop, tl’chukw, freshwater. Evidently, a case of accidentally converging form/meaning. The word ‘chuck’ is extremely widespread in Chinook Wawa. While…...
Your Chinook Wawa Word of the Day: Tenas
TENAS [TEN’-as] — adjective. [ten’-AS] or [dun’-US] (Grand Ronde pronunciation) — noun. Meaning: Small; few; little; lesser; weak; young; a child; a youth Origin: From Nootka Jargon taná(s) ‘child, little’ < Nuu-chah-nulth t’an’ais ‘child’ The opposite of ‘skookum’, ‘hyas’, and ‘hiyu’ in differing contexts. In the Lower Columbia and Grand…...
Your Chinook Wawa Word of the Day: Cheechako
CHEECHAKO [chee-CHAH’-ko] — noun. Meaning: Newcomer; stranger; just arrived Origin: Lower Chinook t’shi ‘straightaway’ + Nuu-chah-nulth chokwaa ‘come!’ A common compound word formed from the Chinook Wawa words “chee” (new; lately) and “chako” (to come; to arrive), it was an primarily used to refer to a non-native person. While it…...
Your Chinook Wawa Word of the Day: Puss-Puss
PUSS-PUSS [puss’-puss] general, [pish’-pish] Puget Sound — noun. Meaning: A cat. Also used for cougar, lynx, bobcat, etc. Origin: English, An informal term of address for a cat. From a common Germanic word for cat, perhaps ultimately imitative of a sound made to get its attention. While the term for…...
Your Chinook Wawa Word of the Day: Hiyu
HIYU [hi-YU’] or [hy-IU’] — adjective, noun. Meaning: many; much; lots of; greatly; heap; plenty; plentiful; plural; enough (to go around), abundance Origin: From Nootka Jargon hayú ‘many, much’ < Nuu-chah-nulth hayu ‘ten’ or ‘aya ‘to be lots’; Makah Nootkan khayu ‘ten’; Toquaht, aiya Used with reference to quantity and…...
Department of Bioregion has a wonderful meeting with Bioregional Learning Center of Devonshire
The Cascadia Department of Bioregion was excited to meet with members of the Bioregional Learning Center in the South Devon Bioregion in the United Kingdom. One of the primary focuses of the meeting was sharing skills and knowledge regarding our two groups, and building a global model of collaboration as…...
Department of Bioregion has productive meeting with California National Party
The Cascadia Department of Bioregion had a very pleasant meeting with representatives of the California National Party. It was great to be able to make introductions, share a bit about each others past histories and movement histories, and talk about pitfalls and strategies for success. It was interesting also to…...
Your Chinook Wawa Word of the Day: Saghalie
SAGHALIE [SAGH-a-lie] or occasionally [SAH’-ha-lie] — adjective. Meaning: Up; above; high; heaven; sky; celestial; top; uppermost; over (above); upwards; lofty; holy. Origin: Chinook, sakhali; Clatsop, ukhshakhali. Up; above; high. Sometime rendered as ‘sagalie’, ‘sagalee’, ‘saqalie’, and even ‘sahhalie’ or ‘sahali’, this word was usually pronounced as if it were spelled…...
Introducing Cascadia Karen – Using her powers for Good!
Meet Cascadia Karen! Cascadia Karen is a work-a-day superhero. Between the school run, organic gardening, yoga and Bunco, she makes time to protect the Cascadian way of life. She realized that with great power comes great responsibility, so she is here to shine a light on how local businesses and…...
