March 6th Native Language Workshop/Talk

February 18, 2011

Splabman

Greg Watson

Sunday, March 6 – Greg Watson Reading/Workshop: Si’i’ahb – Noble People: Key words in Puget Sound Salish and the power they carry – 7P plus Open Mic. Emcee Paul Nelson.

Greg Watson has lived in King County for 33 years, working the last ten as a teacher in alternative high school programs on and off the Muckleshoot Reservation. He has a longstanding connection with Native American people and cultures in the Puget Sound area as a friend, a student of the late Vi Hilbert, and as a museum professional. His many obsessions include carving, Puget Sound Salish (Lushootseed/Whulshootseed) literature, and the work of Anthropological pioneer Arthur C. Ballard (1876-1962).

Greg Watson’s performance at 7PM will be a workshop: Si’i’ahb – Noble People: Key words in Puget Sound Salish and the power they carry. It will happen in the Doe Bay Cafe.

This session is not a class to learn language or spirituality, but a chance to consider how even a few words can carry strong and subtle cultural messages that we can incorporate into creative writing. We will explore Whulshootseed words like Si’i’ahb, es’istuh (same as), directional terms and nouns with multiple meanings (like shugwthl, which means road and door), along with their pronunciations and un-exact spellings with the English alphabet. Hearing Salish literature in translation and some time with the Whulshootsed dictionary are near certainties.

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What end does politics serve? Surely it must serve ends beyond itself. Why seek greater bioregional autonomy? For self-determination. Yes, but what purpose in turn shall that value serve? None some may say, it’s self-justifying. But then it becomes an absolute unto itself which can be used to justify many different things, some questionable. Why not come right out at the beginning and say what you’re really for?
The primary purpose of seeking greater bioregional identity and autonomy is to serve the life of the place and its people as a whole. Indeed, the primary purpose of Politics is to serve the life of the place and its people on many levels in an equitable and sustainable way.