A Voice Great Within Us

“Klahowyah”or, “Hello” in Chinook, British Columbia’s “lost language.” A short hundred years ago, words like skookum, cultus, and hymuckymuck rolled off the tongues of tens of thousands of west coast residents on a daily basis. What became of Chinook? Here, for the first time, a popular historian of Lillard’s stature explores this question. Terry Glavin, who saw the project through to completion after Lillard’s untimely death in spring 1997, contributes an introduction and the unique Chinook / English poem “Rain Language.” Lillard’s own musings on the “jargon”; a map and gazetteer of Chinook placenames; and a lexicon round out the survey. Archival photographs and illustrations, many in the high kitsch vein, complement the text.