How Turtle's Shell Got Broken, by Weldon Fulsom

To turn on subtitles, please click the [CC] icon in the lower right corner of the video screen.
The late Weldon Fulsom (1949-2022) shares a shikonnoꞌpaꞌ or traditional story. This story talks about Loksiꞌ (Turtle) and explains why turtle shells look the way that they do today. Weldon was a master teacher in our master-apprentice program. He had exceptional knowledge of traditional stories, animals, insects, and medicine plants. He was a soft-spoken and quiet man who used his language in service to our Chickasaw people throughout his life.
Transcriptions: If what was said cannot be heard well enough, it is marked as being (inaudible). In some instances, a speaker may go back and correct themselves, and these are marked like \this\, to indicate that \this\ replaces the previous word or phrase. Sometimes we are unsure what the speaker was saying but we give a best guess using a star*. If a speaker is shortening a word, we give the fuller form in (parentheses) next to it.
Translations: The English translations were done with guidance from native speakers. Sometimes, some clarifying words were added in [brackets], although this information is not part of what was actually said in Chikashshanompaꞌ.
Recording: This audio was recorded on 5/15/2013, as part of a Documenting Endangered Languages / National Science Foundation grant (BCS-1263699 and BCS-1263698). This work was supported in part by an American Rescue Plan grant, #90XN0047.
Image: Photograph by Ryan RedCorn (Osage).
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Keywords: Chickasaw, Chickasaw language, Native language, Indigenous Language, Traditional Narratives, American Indian, Native American, First American, National Science Foundation

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Here is the full transcription of his story. To turn on subtitles in the video, please click the [CC] icon in the lower right corner of the video screen.
Loksi'at, uh, hakshop mat ikyahmokittook, aachi.
Turtle didn't make his shell that way, they say.
Haatoko̱ loksi' yammat aya.
So that turtle was going.
Hin-oshi' aamá̱a náncha
He was going down the road and
kon-oshi'at áyya'shna hayoochi.
the baby skunks were there and he found them.
Hayoochihmat, kon-oshi' ma̱ imaachihmat,
When he found them, he said to those baby skunks,
"Katekta chi̱sipokni' mat aya? Naashcha* chitoksi̱ili*?"
"Where has your elder gone? Why are you standing here?"
ima'shna,
he said to them and,
kon-oshi'at aachihmat,
the skunk babies said,
"ahi' kollit ayatok," ima'shna
"she's gone digging potatoes," they said to him and
loksi'aashoot aachihmat, kon~, uh
that Turtle said, skun~, uh
"Ahi' yamma ishtallahmat,"
"When she brings these potatoes,"
"aaonchínto'ska ayowat tahcha masha'aashko̱."
"gather all the biggest ones and [put them] over there."
"Falamat alalihmat,"
"When I get back,"
"aktapa'* (is)salit topa' nota' pitshalallila'shi", ima'shcha
"I'll cut them up and I'll slide them under the bed," he said to them and
kochchacha aya, loksi'at.
he left, the turtle [did].
Aayimma,
Anyways,
kon-oshi'at áyya'shna imishkaat ala.
the skunk babies were there and their mother arrived.
Ingma̱ kon-oshi'aashoot aachihmat,
And then skunk's children said,
"hattak ishkin hommoot ala, \alatok,\" ima'shna,
"This person with red eyes came here," they told her and,
koni', kon-oshi' ishki' mat aachihmat, "yammat, uh,
skunk, skunk's mother said, "that, uh"
loksi', loksi' toka'n," ima'shcha,
"it must've been Turtle," she said to them and
oksi̱foshi' inki'atakoot pitala'cha kochchacha aya.
the axe, their dad came with it and went outside.
Loksi' imayyaka̱ hin-oshi', imayyaka̱
The turtle was ahead of him on the road, he was ahead,
má̱a, loksi' mat má̱ana
going along, that turtle was going along and,
koni' ishkaat, uh, sakkicha
skunkꞌs mother caught up with him and
oksi̱foshi' ma̱ í̱'shcha
she had that hatchet and
cha̱'t palhlhit táyya'cha fala'macha minti.
she cut him all to pieces and then came back.
Loksi' mat tîi'wa'nihmat
When that turtle was laying there,
hashonkani' i̱waa.
he called to the gnats.
Aachihmat,
He said,
"hashonkani'! aasaní̱ha'ska,
"gnats! where more of my fat is,
apat towwi issacha hoosattacho'li," ima'shna
open it up by eating it and sew me together," he said to them and
hashonkanaat alat tahcha acho'li.
the gnats all came and sewed him.
Hakshop yamma falammisht taha.
They put that shell all back.
I̱niha, i̱niha ma̱ apat towwi issacha acho'li.
They opened it by eating his fat and then sewed him up.
Hakshop yamma falammisht acho't táyya'hcha falamat,
They sewed that shell all back up and returned and,
(ha)shonkani'at falamat tamowat taha.
all the gnats went away.
Ingma̱ loksi'ashoot ti'wa. Ingma̱ ta'nicha aya!
And then that turtle laid there. And then he got up and left!
Ingma̱ tooboko̱* loksi' ma ishpisahma̱, hakshopat yahmi, aachi.
And so that's why when you see a turtle, thatꞌs how his shell is, they say.