speenhw, camas bulbs, sus tl’uw’ stsq’iq’ul’us kwthu s’ul’eluhwulh.
Camas bulbs, those were prepared for winter’s use also, by the First Nations people.

nilh tthu slhunlheni’ tswe’ tsyaays, kws nem’s ’ulxeem ’u tthu speenhw.
It was the ladies’ work to go out and gather camas bulbs.

ni’ hwu saay’ kwthu speenhw, suw’ thuyt-s kwthu shni’stuhw kws qw’ulut-s.
When the camas bulbs were ready, they would fix a place to cook them.

ni’ tl’uw’ st’estum’ ’al’ ’u tthu shtuhim’stewut tthu s’axwa’.
They would cook them in the same manner as they did their clams.

kws tth’hwastewut kws qw’ulutewut.
They used the method known as tth’hwastus to cook the clams.

’uwu thulh kws thut-s kwthu s’ul’eluhwulh kws ni’s tth’hwastus tthu speenhw.
But the old people didn’t use the word tth’hwastus for the cooking of camas.

nets’ kwthu snestuhws ’u kws nilh tthu speenhw qw’ulutus ni’ tsun mel’qt kwthu s-hun’utewut ’u kws nilh tthu speenhw qw’ulutum.
They had a different name for the cooking of camas bulbs, but I have forgotten the word they used for the cooking method when it was camas bulbs that were going to be cooked.

m’i hwu sqw’uqw’il’ tthu speenhw, suw’ hwnuw’ushewut ’u tthu xthum, suw’ le’shewut si’q ’u tthu leelwe’ss tthu stheew’t-hw.
When the camas bulbs were cooked and cooled off, they would put them into a box, and they would put it away underneath the seating area in the longhouse.

ni’ ’uw’ ni’ kwthu snustewut kwthu xthum shsun’iw’stewut tthu sq’i’lus kwthu mustimuhwulh, ’i’ ’uwu te’ thulh nu shhwhe’kw’ ’u kwthu snes.
They have a name for the box that they used to put the winter food of the people of the past in, but I do not remember this name.
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This is from the story “Old First People at Work”, recorded by Donna Gerdts in 1986, transcribed and translated by Arnold Guerin and Donna Gerdts. This version edited March 14, 2023.