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(1) A'ii, niwii-dazhindaan zhigwa nitam e-moona'igeyaan, nitam e-moona'ag wiinisikens. (2) Gaawin ngii-gikendaziin abooshke ezhinaagozid a'a wiinisikens. (3) Bezhig idash omaa mindimooye ngii'-gikina'amaag. (4) Ngii-andamig ji-wiijiiwag ji-moona'igeyaang . (5) Gaawin booske ngii-gikendanziin wegonen ayaabadak, a'iin ngii-maajiidoon grape-basket zhigo a'ii mookomaan. (6) Mii imaa ji-izhi-biina'ag a'a niwiinisikensim. (7) Degoshinaan iwedi ngagwejimig "Gibiidoon ina gimoona'igan?" (1) I'm going to tell you about the first time that I went digging, that I dug the seneca root. (2) I didn't even know what the seneca root looked like. (3) An old lady here taught me. (4) She asked me to accompany her digging. (5) I didn't even know what was used, I took along a grape basket and a knife. (6) I planned to put my seneca root in there. (7) When I arrived there, she asked me, "Did you bring your digger?"
(8) "Wegonen dash," indinaa. (8) "What's that?" I say to her.
(9) "Wegonen-sh waa-moona'igaageyan?" (9) "So what are you going to dig with?"
(10) "Aa, nimookomaan nbiidoon," ndinaa. (10) "Oh, I brought my knife along," I say to her.
(11) "A'ii, dash, gimashkimodens ge-izhi-biina'wad a'a wiinisiikens?" (11) "What about your little bag that you'll put your seneca root in?"
(12) "Aa, mbaaskidiins imbiidoon," ndinaa. (12) "Oh, I brought my little basket," I say to her.
(13) Mii ’i ngichi-baapi’ig. (14) “Gaawn ’i gidoodanzii,” ndig. (15) “A’ii go sha mashkimod ji-agwapidoowin ji-bimiiwidoowin mashkimod ji-ani-izhi-biina’wad. (16) Zhigwa aya'aa digger gidaabajitoon e-agaansadezid ji-agaansing 'i blade imaa ji-izhi-moona'igeyin, ndig. (13) And then she really laughed at me. (14) "That’s not what you do!" she says to me. (15) "You tie on a bag that you carry along to put him (n.b. your roots) in. (16) And you use a digger which is narrow with a small blade for digging there," she says to me.
(17) Mii gaa-izhi-awi'id moona'iganensan. (18) Zhigwa gaye mashkimodensan ngii-awi'ig. (19) Mii zhigwa eta nbabaa-minizha'waa babaa-anda-moona'iged. (20) Mii maa niin odaanaang mbimi-gagwe-gikendaan wegonen iwe wiinisikens. (21) Noomag maagizhaa niizho-waakaase jibwaa weweni nisidawinawag awe wiinisikens ezhinaagozid. (22) Mii 'i zhigwa maagizhaa niizho-dibaabiishkoojigan eta ngii-moona'ige gabe-giizhig. (23) Ambe aapiji e-gii-majaginzod maagizhaa fifteen cents eta gii'-inaginzo iwe apii. (24) Gabe-giizhig dash e-gii-noojitoowaan 'i minik ji-moona'ag. (25) Aapiji ngii-zanaga'igon ji-gikendamaan, gaawn aaniish wiikaa ngii-waabamaasii wiinisikens iwedi gaa-gii-onjiiyaan, Zaagiing e-gii-onjiiyaan. (26) Gaawn wiin iwedi nitaawigisii wiinisikens. (27) Omaa dash wiin aapiji baataniino. (28) Ambe gaye apiichi-minwaginzod noongom gaa-giizhigak. (17) So she loaned me some little diggers. (18) And she also loaned me little bags. (19) And so I followed her around as she went around digging. (20) So I was behind there in order for me to go along and try to learn what that seneca root looks like. (21) It took quite awhile, maybe two hours, before I could correctly recognize what that seneca root looked like. (22) And I guess maybe two pounds I dug for the whole day. (23) The price was very bad, maybe fifteen cents (a pound) at that time. (24) Well, it took me all day to dig that much. (25) It really gave me a hard time to recognize it, because I never saw that seneca root where I had come from, Fort Alexander is where I am from. (26) Seneca root doesn't grow there. (27) By contrast, here it is abundant. (28) And today it's priced very well.