Small Number and the Old Canoe-Hul-Q-Umi-Num
Small Number and the Old Canoe Hul'q'umi'num'
In Small Number and the Old Canoe, mathematics is present throughout the story with the hope that this experience will make at least some members of our young audience, with the moderators help, recognize more mathematics around them in their everyday lives. Using terms like smooth, shape, oval, and surface, and mathematical phraseology like It must be at least a hundred years old, the artist skillfully presents reflection (symmetry) of trees in water, and so on. The idea behind this approach is to give the moderator a few openings to introduce or emphasize various mathematical objects, concepts and terminology. The short film is a little math suspense story and our question is related only to one part of it. The aim of the question is to lead to an introduction at an intuitive level of the concept of a function and the essence of the principle of inclusion-exclusion as a counting technique. The authors would also like to give their audience an opportunity to appreciate that in order to understand a math question, one often needs to read (or in this case, watch) a problem more than once.
uhwiin kwushnuts i tthu seluhw qxhuwlh
(Hul'q'umi'num' Translation)
Written by Veselin Jungic & Mark MacLean
Illustrated by Simon Roy
Hul'q'umi'num' Translation by Ruby Peter (Stitumat)
Translations
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Story Transcript: English and Hul'q'umi'num'
stlitlqulh tthu kwikwushnuts, i yath uw ni u tthu tiyaxween.
Small Number is a five year-old boy who gets into a lot of mischief.
nilh tthu sulsilus ni shnis i ya-a-ath uw mukw stem tuw suluthuts kwus ni u tthu tiyaxween.
He visiting his grandparents place, and they are always busy doing stuff.
tus u tthu nutsa lhqelts i wulh tiyaxwuthut nem heewu nem utl yuqwulhte lemutus tthu siiyeyus.
This month they are hunting up north in Yuqwulhte territory at the home of their relatives.
ni tse ni kwu tlunuq ni u kwthu nem shnems.
And theres going to be a potlatch at the place they are going.
theytus tthu susule tthu lathun, nilh tse ni hakw uw nemus tus u kwthu yu shhwunums.
Granddad is making a dish, that will be used at that place they arrived to.
stlis tthu susule kws shuqnehws tthu ni theytus ni xtekwtus tthu hwstlup lathun, thi-i-i hwstlup lathun.
Grandpa needs to finish carving a feast dish
wulh yukwakwusthut i hay ul uw uy skweyul.
It is a beautiful, sunny, spring day.
kwuyxthut thuwneullh stluliqulh swaawlusallh nem xwchenum huwalum.
The group of young boys go running off to play.
nem tahw nem u tthu qa, tahw u tthu tsetsuw hiiwalum.
They go down to the water to the beach to play.
nilh tthu syeyu utl kwikwushnuts, thi syalkw thut-stum eelhtun, ilhe kwunut kws smeent i qwuyulushstuxhw u tthu qa.
Small Number has a friend Big Circle who says, Lets take some rocks and dance them on the water.
nilh tse lhwet kwu hay ul tsakw kws nems wenshus kw smeent nem yulhtsitsulh u tthu qa.
Lets see who can make a stone skip the farthest on the surface of the water.
xwum kwsus tulnuhwus tthuwneullh stluliqulh kws nilhs tthu uy sthuthekw smeent.
The boys quickly learn that for a stone to go far it needs to be smooth, flat rock.
nilh uy ni hakwushuhw kwuns wensh u tthu xwtestuhw tthu qa kwsuw yulhtsituslh ul.
huye kwikwushnuts nem yulhune u tthu tsuwmun yusewq ukw smeent, sthuthekw smeent, uy nem wewunshus.
Small Number wanders far along the shore looking for a smooth stone that will be good to throw.
ni nem imush kwikwushnuts wulh nem shitsuthut u tthu tleluqt saxwul, sus hwi lukwshun.
He scrambles through tall grass and trips over something.
sus uw wutluts, yuwen tthu sxuyusth kwus yu shhwialuqw kwus nem wutluts hwtiqwus.
And then he fell, headfirst, bumping his head.
i nilh tthu seluhw qxhuwlh ni s-hwuhwets u tthey tleluqt saxwul nilh ni shnis kwus wutluts.
Its an old canoe wedged into the tall grass that made him fall.
lhxilush kwikwushnuts sus uw yuya-a-aytlutus tthu sqwumusth ni smekwulhs suw le-e-emutus tthu ni shlhukwshuns i qxhuwlh.
Small Number stands up, rubbing his forehead as he looks around at the canoe.
hay ul uw xulh tthu ni smekwulhs u tthu sxuyusth i nilh kwus lumnuxwus tthu ni kwunnuhwus.
His head really hurts, but he starts looking at what hes found.
sis uw temutus tthu squqas.
He calls out to his friends.
sus muw xwulunchenum tthuwneullh stluliqulh, mi lemutum tthu ni kwunnuhwus.
They come running to look at what hes found.
hwu lhuxluxilush tthuwneullh stluliqulh, ni-i-i yaytlutus, ni kwukwouns, xetstus eelhtun tthu ni shtes tthu ni kwunnuhwus.
The boys were standing around the canoe, running their hands along its shape, trying to figure out how it had got that way.
shteewun eelhtun kws hays ul uw seluhw i hay ul thi.
They think the canoe they found looks very old and big.
suw putums uhwiin kwushnuts, nihw alu kwiinu kwu xwum aalh u tuna qxhuwlh.
Small Number asks, How many people do you think could get aboard this canoe?
putum tthu thi syalkw, ni tstwa wulh kwin silanum kwus thuytum tuna qxhuwlh?
Big Circle asks, How many years ago was it built?
melqtus tthuwneullh stluliqulh kwthu suwalums.
The boys forget all about their game.
hith kwus qwuliilqwultul, piptamutul u tthey qxhuwlh ni kwunnuhws, uw niilhus lhwet kwu niilh hakwush tstwa.
They spend a long time talking, asking each other about the canoe that they found, about who perhaps could have used it.
uw hwun qwuliilqwultul eelhtun i ni wulh qwayuxwum tthu kwulu utl thi syalkw.
They are still talking and Big Circles tummy starts to growl.
i tsun wulh kwey, thut thi syalkw.
Im hungry, Big Cirle says.
ilhe nem e ulhtun.
Lets go eat!
ni tluwulh tulnuhwus tthu squqas kwus tluwulh kwey.
The other boys realize they are hungry too.
suw xwulunchenum eelhtun nem takw nem u tthu shtunnis lelum.
And so they all run back to the village.
huye xwchenum kwikwushnuts nem nem u tthu silus, ni xutukw u tthu hay ul thi hwstlup lathun.
Small Number races home, where Grandpa is carving the surface of a huge wooden dish.
wulh mi yu xwanchunum kwikwushnuts hay ul hwthiqun kwus yututeem yuqwaqwul.
He runs over to his Grandpa and Small Number is shouting excitedly.
sus uw lemutum u tthu silus, wulh lumnuhwus tthu susule kwus mekwulh tthu imuths, ni u tthu sqwumusth.
And Grandpa looks up, and he sees the bruise on Small Numbers forehead.
ptems tthu susule, ni ch alu tstamut, imuth?
Grandpa asks,What happened, Grandson?
ni wulh melq tthu kwikwushnuts kwus sumekwulh u tthu sxuyusth.
Small Number has forgotten that he bumped his head.
uw nilh ul kwus titiyaxw kwus huythustus tthu silus kwus kwunnuhwus tthu qxhuwlh.
He excitedly tells Grandpa about finding the canoe.
suw thut-st-hwus tthu silus, ni tsun kwunnuhw kwthu qxhuwlh ni u tthu tsetsuw.
And he told his grandfather, I found an old canoe down on the beach!
tllim tstwa wulh hay ul seluhw, silu.
It seem really old, Grandfather.
ni tstwa wulh netsuwuts silanum.
It must be at least a hundred years old!
suw hwyunumus tthu susule, ni tsun uw shtatultuhw kwthey qxhuwlh.
Grandpa smiles. I know that canoe.
nilhulh hay ul xwum i u tuna.
It was very fast.
nilh mens lhun silu i kwthu yeysulu shhwaluqwas nilh ni thuyt kwthey snuhwulh.
It was your grandmothers father and his two male relatives who built that canoe.
suw yuqwiilqwuls tthu susule, mukw kwthu shhwumnelukwsulh lhun silu nan ul uw stsuwet kws xtekws u tthuw stem ul.
Grandpa continues telling him, All the uncles of your grandmother were known as great wood carvers.
hayulh ul uw stsuwet.
They were very talented.
niich lelumut kwthu sxtekw ni ni u kwthu athusmuns kwthu thi lelum, kwthu lhihw sxtekw?
You know those three old totem poles in front of the longhouse?
shhumnikws lhun silu niilh thuyt xtekwt kwthey.
Those were built by your grandmothers uncles.
nutsa kwthu ni swes kwthu nanutsa i ni tluw ste kwthu yuselu, ni tluw swes kwthu yeysulu shhwumnelukws.
One by one and the other two were but by two of her uncles.
kwthey hwuneunt kwus wulh itut tthu kwikwushnuts.
That evening, Small Number was just falling asleep.
i shteewun, shteewun, nus tli kwunus tluw xtekw u kw qxhuwlh snuhwulh.
And he thought, Id like to build a canoe.
nu stli kwunus tluw xtekw ste u kwthu ni ni u kwthu athusmuns kwthu thi lelum ste u kwthu nu shtunnaalhtunulh.
I would like to also carve a totem to put in front of a house, just like my ancestors.
ste u kwthu nu shtunnaalhtunulh.
ptemut tsun tse kwthu silu uw kwiinues kwthu shhwumnelukwsulhyeysulu, lhhwelu, xuthiinu, lhqutsselu, uw niis stsutsihw.
I have to ask Grandpa how many uncles he hadtwo, three, four, five or more色
suw ptem: nutsim shus shteewun tthu kwikwushnuts kwus qux tthu ulelushth tthu stsamuqwsulhshteewuns kws yeysulu, lhhwelu, xuthiinu, lhqutsselu uw niis stsutsihw?
Question: Why did Small Number think that his great-grandparent had a lot of brotherstwo, three, four, five or more?
Credits:
Hulquminum translation, and Editing by Ruby Peter (Stitumat) and Donna Gerdts (Spaqwumultunaat)
Sound recording and editing: Thomas Jones (Sewit) & Donna Gerdts
Credits and Acknowledgements
- Written by: Veselin Jungic, 間眅埶AV and Mark MacLean, UBC
- Illustrator: Simon Roy, Victoria, B.C.
- Director: Andy Gavel, 間眅埶AV
Special thanks to:
- Tom Archibald, 間眅埶AV
- Peter Jacobs, Squamish Nation
- Ozren Jungic, University of Oxford
- Kwosel, Seabird Island First Nation
- Kwelaxtelot, Seabird Island First Nation
- Susan Russell, 間眅埶AV
- Erin Tait, Nisga'a Nation
- Department of Mathematics, 間眅埶AV
- Faculty of Science, 間眅埶AV
- The IRMACS Centre, 間眅埶AV
- Office for Aboriginal Peoples, 間眅埶AV
- Pacific Institute For Mathematical Sciences
This story is part of the NSERC PromoScience project "Math Catcher: Mathematics Through Aboriginal Storytelling"
Financial support provided by NSERC, PIMS, UBC, the IRMACS Centre, and 間眅埶AV