Here is a poetry excerpt and some notes on the poems written by the poet from the poetry collection welík’t, by Kalli Van Stone (2026), with permission from Nightwood Editions.
Notes on the Poems:
The first poem is nt̓aʔlils, which means to settle one’s feelings in the nsyilxcn language. The poem says to be like drumstick, to move and to jump in order to help settle your feelings. This poem reminds me that I should be moving, and to not let myself be stagnant. Within syilx teachings, one way to move through tough times or challenges is to drum and sing, and it is natural and instinctual to move to the drum beat. Lots of our dances have jumping motions in them. It energizes you and makes you feel alive. When you jump you are connected to the land. You can only ever be apart from the land momentarily, gravity always reunites you, and when your feet make contact with the ground the impact reverberates out and is absorbed by the surface just like the drumstick and drum and the vibration of that contact is heard and felt. That is the mental image I have with this poem, it is comforting and gives insight into the importance of music and dance.
The next poem, Lé7es ke7 sw7ew tw xwexwéyt te stem wel me7 yews, means ‘For the good of all for all time’ in the Secwepemctsín language. It is about the indomitable spirit of Secwepemctsín, and how it will continually be spoken. It is also about how we have to be unstoppable as speakers and learners, because for a long time governments, churches, other entities have conspired to try and stop us from speaking the language through force and violence. The poem comes from my reflections on why and how so much has been done to censor entire languages and epistemologies by those who claim to value freedom of expression and speech. To me it is about holding close what’s important and keeping perspective of the things my ancestors and people have been through, like incarceration, residential schools, institutionalization, and times where they might only have their spirit, thoughts and dreams. The poem is fortification, an exercise of the power of the mind.
The last poem, nqilxʷcn · speak the language is about reframing the way we speak about language revitalization, and language loss. Yes, our ability to transmit language in the ways we did before contact have been negatively impacted for generations. At the same time, I also take account of all the things that have been done to stop the nsyilxcn language from existing, and I don’t see it as something dying, ragged, and on its last breath. It is not without vulnerability, but it is immortal as much as it has been endangered. So far it can’t be killed. The language slips between the cracks and transforms to survive, it can be sound, a two-dimensional alphabet, phonemes turned into shapes and physical glyphs that move through eras of chalkboards, typewriters, keyboards, large language models, and back to sound.
Kalli Van Stone, or Spyu7, is syilx and Secwépemc from the north end of Okanagan Lake. She loves dance, singing, writing songs and poems, and revitalizing syilx and Secwépemc language and culture. Her writing expresses personal and familial story, putting words to the heavy truths, feelings and the experience of trying to take care of oneself through the ways of her ancestors. She lives near Kelowna, BC.
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