The Syilx Okanagan Nation Photography by Melissa Fowler |
@melissamfowler
Osoyoos is located on the traditional lands of of the syilx Okanagan Nation that once spanned from present-day Merritt on the western side across east through Salmon Arm, Revelstoke and north and east into Alberta, back down through Kootenay Lake and all the way down into Washington State as far as Coulee City. The syilx Okanagan Nation is now made up of eight communities in the interior of British Columbia and in the U.S. These communities include: Okanagan Indian Band, Upper Nicola Band, Westbank First Nation, Penticton Indian Band, Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB), and Lower and Upper Similkameen Indian Bands and the Colville Confederated Tribes in northern Washington State. Over 500 band members live and work on the Osoyoos Indian Reserve – 13,000 hectares of mountainous grasslands stretching from Osoyoos to Oliver that reflects a small portion of their once vast traditional lands. Thousands of years before the arrival of European settlers, the Osoyoos Indian Band’s ancestors used the current sẁiẁs (‘narrowing of the waters’) Provincial Park as a crossing and as a cultural and living site. Ancestral remains and artefacts found at sẁiẁs have been dated as far back as 1,224 years. The First Nations peoples of the Okanagan once travelled widely for fishing,
gathering and hunting. Each year the first harvests of roots, berries, fish and game were celebrated by ceremonies honouring the food chiefs who provided for the people. In the winter, people returned to permanent winter villages. Radiocarbon dating of animal materials and disposed shells give valuable insights into the Osoyoos Indian Band’s ancestors and confirmed they lived, travelled and traded on routes extending along the Columbia River Basin as far back as 3,265 – 4,475 years ago. At the height of syilx culture, about 3,000 years ago, it is estimated that 12,000 people lived in the Okanagan Valley and surrounding areas. The names of many familiar towns throughout the Okanagan Valley originate from nsyilxcan (the traditional language of the syilx Okanagan Nation). This includes Osoyoos, Keremeos, Penticton and Kelowna reflecting the long history of the syilx people on this land. The OIB is one of the most successful First Nations bands in Canada having achieved financial independence and high levels of employment. OIB Chief Clarence Louie has commented that, “today we are probably the only band in Canada that has the number of businesses and joint ventures that we have on a per capita basis.” Chief Louie credits this to the fact the Sylix people have for thousands of years traded with other tribes from far and wide. “We are business people, we have
7
