Seven copies of the Kamloops "WAWA" by LE JEUNE, Father J[ean]. M[arie]. R[aphael]. [1855 - 1930] - 1895

Kamloops, B.C.: FATHER LEJEUNES The Kamloops Wawa, 1895 & 1896, 1895. 1st. Soft Cover. Good. Known as "The Strangest Newspaper in the World" The Kamloops Wawa [Talk of Kamloops] CIRCA 1890'S COPIES OF FATHER LEJEUNES KAMLOOPS WAWA. INCLUDES A COPY OF THE WAWA SHORTHAND INSTRUCTOR. INCLUDES: Vol. IV. No. 10 October , 1895, #133, Vol. V. No. 1 January , 1896, #136, Vol. V. No. 2 February , 1896, #137, Vol. V. No. 4 April , 1896, #139, Vol. V. No. 5 May , 1896, #140 (two copies, one poor condition) and Vol. V. No. 7 July , 1896, #137. MOST ARE IN FAIRLY GOOD CONDITION EXCEPT FOR A SMALL TEAR ON THE BACK OF 142 AND ONE COPY OF 140 IS VERY POOR. PLUS: The WAWA Shorthand Instructor First Edition 1896 24pp + paper cover. Found among these booklets is a B&W photo of a priest - Right Rev. Bishop R.J.D'Herbomez ? (1822 -1890) Reference is printed image on page 13 of Vol. V. No. 1 January , 1896, #136 The newsletter was published by Fr. Jean-Marie Raphael LeJeune out of the back room of a church on the Kamloops reserve between May 1891 and Dec. 1905. Intended primarily for the local Aboriginal audience, most of the content was written in Chinook jargon with some translation into English and French. At its peak, The Wawa had a circulation of about 2,000 copies and was read as far away as France. An important 19th century British Columbia newsletter, the Kamloops Wawa. The Kamloops Wawa was a multi-lingual publication written in English, French and Chinook Jargon. Chinook jargon, a trade language (or pidgin) was once spoken by an estimated 100,000 people along the west coast from Oregon to Alaska. With more than 100 Aboriginal languages spoken in the area, it was one of the most diverse linguistic regions in the world. Chinook jargon evolved as a way of bridging the communication gap created by this diversity. Derived from various Aboriginal languages, and later English and French, this jargon was widely spoken by natives, traders, and settlers, but could not be easily translated to written form. As a means of bringing literacy to Aboriginal people, Catholic missionaries in the late 1800s developed a phonetic shorthand that could accurately represent the jargon. Eventually, most of the native population learned to speak English, and Chinook jargon fell into disuse. The language may have disappeared altogether had the written legacy of the Catholic missionaries not remained. The Wawa, which is Chinook jargon for 'chat', is an important record of that legacy.