Ǧvu̓í - Rory Housty

Rory is from the N̓úláw̓itx̌v tribe of the Haíɫzaqv and he carries the name Ǧvu̓í which means “raven” in Haíɫzaqvḷa. This is a name that was placed on him in 2015 by his h̓ṇís Ǧviúst̓izas at their family potlatch. The name Ǧvu̓í comes from the N̓úláw̓itx̌v tribe of the Haíɫzaqv. Ǧvu̓í also carries the name Q̓vúq̓vsṃí from the House of C̓uṃ́qḷaqs from Haúy̓at. Ǧvu̓í received this name from his great grandmother C̓uṃ́qḷaqs Peggy Housty in 1998 at a family potlatch.

Ǧvu̓í’s first exposure to Haíɫzaqvḷa was through his grandfather Hádání / Ǧviúst̓izas Edward Martin Sr. at the Kvai River summer camps. Hádání was a master storyteller and used Haíɫzaqvḷa while he núsa’d for us around the camp fire. His storytelling and use of Haíɫzaqvḷa captivated his audience.

Ǧvu̓í returned home after completing his Bachelor of Arts in First Nations Studies and Anthropology in December 2011. One of his main reasons for returning home was to spend time with family, his grandparents and late great grandparents. He also felt that apart of hime was missing and realized that what was missing was Haíɫzaqvḷa. Ǧvu̓í wanted to be able to communicate with his great grandparents George and Peggy Housty in Haíɫzaqvḷa, their first language.

In 2012, Ǧvu̓í started working at the Haíɫzaqv Cultural Education Centre and began studying the different Haíɫzaqv language books and audio files. Ǧvu̓í then started classes in 2012 with late Núwaqawa Evelyn Windsor & Lorna Fadden. It was a pleasure to have Kvík̓vṇ̓áx̌nuxv Margaret Brown and ƛ̓áqváiɫq̓ṇakv Caroline Hall join us in some of their sessions also. 

When Ǧvu̓í first started working at HCEC he was very “green” and had many questions. Many days he would find himself wandering down the hall to the Haíɫzaqv Language department to ask their elders in residence questions about our language, customs and ceremonies. Here Ǧvu̓í developed a relationship with both the late Núaqawa Evelyn Windsor and the Late Máx̌vḷágḷis Phyllis Mckay.  Ǧvu̓í eventually began spending his coffee breaks and sit with Evelyn and Phyllis and listened to their stories. Many times the room would roar with laughter after Phyllis would finish telling a story.

In 2016, Ǧvu̓í started working at the Haíɫzaqv College and began mentoring with Mḷína (Marina) Humchitt. Mḷína’s ability to bring humour into anything she teaches made it very enjoyable for Ǧvu̓í to learn haíɫzaqvḷa with her. Mḷína would also immerse Ǧvu̓í in haíɫzaqvḷa. Ǧvu̓í is grateful for everything Mḷína has taught and continues to teach him today. Mḷína has shared a lot about our different Haíɫzaqv customs and ceremonies with Ǧvu̓í. Everything that Mḷína has shared with Ǧvu̓í about our language, customs and ceremonies has made him a stronger Haíɫzaqv.