lhwet tse’ xwi’em’? hwi’ ’een’thu tse’. How I learned to perform a Hul’q’umi’num’ story

Stories are integral to Coast Salish culture, past and present. This thesis is about my journey towards Hul’q’umi’num’ fluency, through learning to tell a story with the support of my elders and linguistic training. Hul’q’umi’num’ is a Salish language spoken along the Salish Sea in British Columbia, Canada. I outline the process I took to stand up and tell one long Quw’utsun’ story, centering my work around listening and practicing before finally telling the story. I highlight aspects I paid close attention to and steps I took, doing my best to capture the beauty of Hul’q’umi’num’ oral discourse. With Indigenous worldview encoded in our languages and the longstanding practice of passing knowledge down orally, stories offer a way forward for language reclamation and revitalization that is suitable to Indigenous ways of being, teaching and learning. Through learning to tell Hul’q’umi’num’ stories, we will find our Hul’q’umi’num’ voice.