Protection from external reinterpretation of Ayaawx
Our Role in Recording Ayaawx: Caretaking, Not Reinterpretation
This work is being carried out by people who care deeply about the survival and integrity of Ts’msyen law. We are learning, organizing, and recording what has been shared so that ayaawx is not lost, fragmented, or misrepresented.
At the same time, it is clearly understood that **we are not the interpreters of ayaawx**.
This page clarifies our role, our limits, and our responsibility.
Who We Are in This Work
We are:
- Ts’msyen people and allies working together
- learners and listeners
- organizers and recorders
- caretakers of space and structure
We are not acting as judges, final authorities, or holders of exclusive meaning.
What We Are Not
We are not:
- declaring final meanings of ayaawx
- fixing law into closed definitions
- replacing Elders or lawful knowledge holders
- speaking on behalf of all Ts’msyen people
- translating ayaawx into foreign legal systems
Doing so would be reinterpretation, and that is not our role.
Description Versus Interpretation
This work focuses on **description**, not interpretation.
Description includes:
- outlining structures such as wilp, pdeex, feasts, and witness
- describing processes of accountability and restoration
- naming where authority properly rests
- recording shared principles that have been taught openly
Interpretation — deciding meaning, application, or outcome — belongs elsewhere.
Creating Space for Those Who Know
The purpose of this work is to **create and protect space** so that:
- Elders can speak when they choose
- lawful knowledge holders can interpret ayaawx properly
- interpretation occurs in the right forums
- future generations are not left without pathways
We are preparing the ground, not occupying it.
Accountability and Correction
Everything recorded here:
- remains open to correction
- may be refined or set aside
- is subject to witnessing and community discussion
- does not override lived practice or Elder guidance
Correction is expected and welcomed.
Avoiding Accidental Overreach
Care is taken to:
- avoid exhaustive definitions
- avoid rigid categories
- avoid language that freezes law
- avoid speaking beyond our standing
Restraint is a form of respect.
Relationship to External Interpretation
By clearly stating our limits, this work:
- protects ayaawx from external reinterpretation
- prevents our own words from being used to narrow law
- preserves Ts’msyen interpretive authority
- leaves room for future Elders and leaders
Silence would allow others to define ayaawx for us. Careful recording prevents that without claiming authority.
Responsibility to the Future
Our responsibility is not to finish the law.
It is to:
- keep it accessible
- keep it protected
- keep it open
- keep it alive
We carry this work forward with humility, knowing that those who truly hold authority will speak in their own time.
Summary
We are not external reinterpreters of ayaawx.
We are caretakers, learners, and organizers working in good faith to ensure that Ts’msyen law remains intact, reachable, and respected — now and for the generations that follow.