Why Skookum?
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kookum is a word that has entered BC regional English through the Chinook dialect. We can all probably think of an instance where ‘skookum’ was just the right word to describe something good, cool, sound, or strong. The Fraser Valley, which is the heart of traditional Sto:lo territory, has always been a hub of interaction between the Sto:lo people and others. It has been the setting for cultures coming together, whether it was aboriginal groups coming from other areas to trade or fish, gold miners rushing north along When the Elders look at the river and trails, or farmers coming to settle. a baby, they’ll say ‘that’s While Halq’emeylem was a skookum baby,’ meanthe language of the Sto:lo, ing that it’s healthy, big, people from all cultural bright, and strong. These groups used Chinook to are all attributes that we communicate with one aim for at UFV as well. another. — Linnea Battel, These days, Chinook UFV Board of Governors member words like skookum (good or tough), muckatymuck (big boss), tyee (chief or leader), potlatch (gathering), and saltchuck (ocean) have entered the English vernacular. And people from all over the world continue to gather together in the Fraser Valley for the exchange of knowledge and ideas, particularly at UFV.
A Skookum lady Susan Allison (1845–1937) was the first European woman to settle in the Similkameen Valley. She befriended many aboriginal women, communicating to them in the Chinook trade dialect. She was also a poet, who wrote partly in Chinook, which was in wide use in British Columbia at that time. ‘Skookum’ would have been part of her daily vocabulary.
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Skookum Jim Skookum Jim (or ‘strong’ Jim) was the nickname of Keish, aka James Mason, a Tagish man of the Dak l’a Weidi Clan who discovered gold on Bonanza Creek in 1897 leading to the great Klondike Gold Rush.
2 Skookum | Fall 2010 | Volume 1 | Issue 1