Kamloops Wawa

[1][2] The contents of the Kamloops Wawa were near-entirely written using Le Jeune's adaptation of the French Duployan shorthand writing system, called "chinuk pipa" in Chinook Jargon itself.

[3][4] Most of the texts of the Kamloops Wawa were composed in the local variant of Chinook Jargon with some passages and articles in Nlaka'pamuxtsin, Secwepmectsin, St'at'imcets and other traditional languages.

Father J. D. Chiappini suggested the use of shorthand to teach literacy to First Nations people, which would have the advantage of being suitable for European, as well as the native languages of British Columbia.

In July 1891, a large gathering of the first nations by Bishop Durieu in Kamloops brought attention to the fact that the natives of Coldwater and Douglas Lake were able to write down songs that they did not know.

That fall, LeJeune continued to teach the shorthand at every village he stopped in, dispensing with practice lessons in favor of actual Chinook texts, consisting mostly of biblical verses and hymns.

Imprint of the Kamloops Wawa newspaper, November 1896
Introduction to Kamloops Wawa shorthand
found in each issue
Kamloops Wawa – front cover, issue 2, June 1891
Group of indigenous people, some with instruments, pose with catholic priests. Log house, flags, and woods in background.
Father Le Jeune at North Bend, BC with Bishop Durieu and the local Indigenous community c. 1890. Villages like North Bend feature prominently in the local news section.