Don Addison Photo by Larry Johnson

Numu, Eecheeshkeen, and Kiksht

Arlie Neskahi:
Welcome back to Wisdom of the Elders.

Don Addison:
Halito! I'm Don Addision and this is Speaking Native.

Three Native languages survive on the Warm Springs Reservation today: Northern Paiute (also called Numu), Sahaptin, or Eecheeshkeen, and Wasco, known as Kiksht .

Today the reservation has a vibrant language program of fluent Native speakers in all three languages, resulting in a growing number of younger speakers . Nchi-wana , meaning “the big river,” is the name of the Columbia River. Nchi-wana .

Until next time, yakoke !

 

August 1955. Fishing at Celilo Falls, where The Dalles dam was later constructed. In the background, an American Indian prepares to take a fish out of the net from a scaffold. Photo courtesy of Ernest Smerdon.