Okanagan Nation Alliance

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The Okanagan Nation Alliance is a First Nations Tribal Council in the Canadian province of British Columbia, spanning the Nicola, Okanagan and Similkameen Districts of the Canadian province of British Columbia and also the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington state of the United States of America. Their territory covers roughly 69,000 km2 in the Canadian Province of British Columbia and also some area of Washington state in the United States of America. The diverse landscape covers deserts, lakes, forests, and grasslands. [1]

Contents

The people of the seven tribes all have ties to the Syilx tribe whose ancestral territory spanned British Columbia as well as Washington state. The Syilx have their own spoken language, nsyilxcən, which is considered to be endangered, due to the small number of fluent speakers living today. It is a Salishan language and its use declined severely after assimilation due to colonization in the 19th century. [1]

The Alliance consists of seven different bands spanning across British Columbia as well as some of Washington. The alliance is tied among the Okanagan Indian Band, the Westbank First Nation, the Lower Similkameen Indian Band, the Upper Similkameen Indian Band, the Osoyoos Indian Band, the Penticton Indian Band, the Upper Nicola Indian Band, and the Colville Confederated Tribes. [1]

History

The people of the Okanagan Nation Alliance refer to themselves as Syilx Okanagan people and have been around since pre-contact with Europeans. The Syilx Okanagan lived in a self-reliant, economically stable civilization before contact, and hunted, fished, gathered, and grew across their entire territory, creating a sustainable economy that was self-sufficient for the people pre-contact. [2]

Colonization in the 1800s resulted in the Syilx Okanagan lands to be split by the creation of the 49th parallel and the formation of the Canadian-U.S. border in 1846. This border split the tribe in both a geographical and legal manner. Seven of the eight tribes remained in the north in Canada, but the Colville Confederated Tribes, whose lands cover Washington state in the U.S. were separated from their Syilx people. [3]

Between 1877 and 1893 the Joint Indian Reserve Commission allotted several different tracks of land to which the Syilx Okanagan people would have reservations. These reservations were changed, land size decreased, and all done without the consent of the Syilx Okanagan. The natives of British Columbia would not stand being forced onto smaller reservation lands in comparison to their vast ancestral lands. [2]

In 1910, interior tribes gathered to sign the Sir Wilfrid Laurier Memorial Declaration in hope to regain certain land rights and dispute the rights of First Nation peoples as a whole. Indian peoples were able to live on their reservations for many years, but in 1969, reservations were under political attack by Canada, when they sought to obtain reservation lands in the hopes to assimilate all First Nation peoples with their White-Paper policy. This policy did not take hold, and tribes retained their reservation lands. [2]

In 1987, the Okanagan Nation Alliance adopted and signed their first legal declaration, written in English as well as their own Syilx language. The document was signed by all chiefs and council members of the eight tribes and ends with the promise to protect the Earth and its resources forever. [2]

Education

The Okanagan Nation Alliance offers several education programs at the University of British Columbia Okanagan. This university was founded in partnership with the Syilx Okanagan people in September 2005. [4] It offers several different degrees under nine different programs: Arts and Social Sciences, Creative and Critical Studies, Education, Engineering, Health and Social Development, Management, Medicine, Science, and Graduate Studies. The Graduate program allows students to develop their own path and find their own unique research opportunities. One unique aspect of UBC Okanagan is that the ancestral language of the Okanagan people is taught on campus, allowing the language to be passed onto future generations. [5]

Governance

The alliance is overseen by each of the bands' current chiefs. They are known as the Chief Executive Council or CEC. The purpose of the CEC is to assert Syilx Okanagan Nation Sovereignty as well as to address the interests of the people. The current elected leader of the CEC is the Osoyoos band chief, Clarence Louie. The CEC generally meets each month for a standard meeting, but in July, each year, they meet for their annual general assembly meeting. [6]

Syilx Nation Rising!

A recent revitalization of Syilx culture, language, and land rights occurred in 2018. The chief executive of the Okanagan Nation Alliance called for this revitalization across all the bands included in the alliance. This was a call to action for all Syilx people to band together in order to form a constitution in order to preserve the Syilx ways as well as legitimize their changes in government systems. It would also protect the territory of the Syilx people without having a constant battle with the Canadian government. This advocacy has been coined by the people as Syilx Nation Rising! Several members of the nation were encouraged to make videos, messages, or just share their voice in support of the revitalization of Syilx culture. [7]

Food

The most central food to the ancient Syilx people was the Sockeye Salmon. European colonization and overfishing drastically reduced the population of the species in the Okanagan valley, and there have been extreme efforts to improve the population of the salmon since 1990. As such, the indigenous people of the Okanagan valley have sought food sovereignty from the poor market food provided to them since the species' decline. The decline in the population of traditional food sources sparked support for revitalization of traditional cultural responsibilities to their lands, waters, as well as their food resources. To the Syilx, Salmon is more than just food, it was a relative that connected their people from generation to generation. The salmon is central to the Okanagan Valley ecosystem, and the Syilx people strive to keep its population abundant. [8]

Member governments

Alliance Tribes/Bands

Okanagan Indian Band

The Okanagan Indian Band's lands cover 11,282 hectares of reserve land and consist of seven reservations. The lands are located in British Columbia and is the most Northern of the bands in the Okanagan Nation Alliance. Currently, there are roughly 2,030 enrolled members of the band and the current chief of the Okanagan is Byron Louis. [9]

Westbank First Nation

The Westbank First Nation's lands cover 5,340 acres of reserve land and consist of five reservations. Located in British Columbia, they border the Okanagan band to the North. Currently the Nation has about 855 enrolled members and the current chief of the Nation is Christopher Derickson. [10]

Lower Similkameen Indian Band

The Lower Similkameen Indian Band's lands cover approximately 15,048 hectares of reserve land and consist of eleven reservations. They are located in the region of British Columbia and cover the area of Keremeos. The current enrolled member count is about 500 and the current chief of the band is Keith Crow. [11]

Upper Similkameen Indian Band

The Upper Similkameen Indian Band's lands cover roughly 2726 hectares of reserve land and consist of eight reservations. They are located in the Similkameen Valley north of the Canada-U.S. border. There are currently about 200 enrolled members in the band and the current chief is Bonnie Jacobsen. [12]

Osoyoos Indian Band

The Osoyoos Indian Band's lands cover about 32,000 acres covering a single Osoyoos reservation. They are located in the region of British Columbia and are located just north of the Canada-U.S. border. There are currently about 600 enrolled members in the band and the current chief is Clarence Louie. [13]

Penticton Indian Band

The Penticton Indian Band's lands cover about 46,000 acres and consist of three reservations. They are located directly west of the Okanagan band and reside in the southern part of the Okanagan Valley in the region of British Columbia. There are currently 922 enrolled members in the band and the current chief is Greg Gabriel. [14]

Upper Nicola Indian Band

The Upper Nicola Indian Band's lands cover roughly 30,848 acres of reserve land and consist of eight reservations. They are located in the Nicola Valley in the region of British Columbia. They are the only Syilx Okanagan tribe in the Nicola Valley. There are currently 980 enrolled members in the band and the current chief is Harvey McLeod. [15]

Colville Confederated Tribes

The Colville Confederated Tribes' lands cover 2.83 million acres of reserve land and consist of a single reservation. They are the only Syilx Okanagan people to be located in the United States, specifically Washington State. There are currently 9,520 enrolled members within the tribes and the chairman of the confederated tribes is Andrew Joseph Jr. [16]

Okanagan Nation Declarations

The Okanagan Nation Alliance has five declarations:

  1. 1981 - Okanagan Nation Declaration [17]
  2. 2010 - Unity Declaration [18]
  3. 2014 - Water Declaration [19]
  4. 2018 - Syilx Okanaan Language Declaration [20]
  5. 2022 - Okanagan Family Declaration [21]

See also

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Okanagan</span> Region of British Columbia, Canada

The Okanagan, also called the Okanagan Valley and sometimes the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part of the Okanagan Country, extending into the United States as Okanogan County in north-central Washington. According to the 2016 Canadian census, the region's population is 362,258. The largest populated cities are Kelowna, Penticton, Vernon, and West Kelowna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Okanogan River</span> River in North America, through southern British Columbia and north central Washington state

The Okanogan River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately 115 mi (185 km) long, in southern British Columbia and north central Washington. It drains a scenic plateau region called the Okanagan Country east of the Cascade Range and north and west of the Columbia, and also the Okanagan region of British Columbia. The Canadian portion of the river has been channelized since the mid-1950s.

The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation is the federally recognized tribe that controls the Colville Indian Reservation, which is located in northeastern Washington, United States. It is the government for its people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver, British Columbia</span> Town in British Columbia, Canada

Oliver is a town near the south end of the Okanagan Valley in the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, with a population of nearly 5,000 people. It is located along the Okanagan River by Tuc-el-nuit Lake between Osoyoos and Okanagan Falls, and is labelled as the Wine Capital of Canada by Tourism British Columbia. It was once "The Home of the Cantaloupe" as well as the "Home of the International Horseshow."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen</span> Regional district in British Columbia, Canada

The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) is in southern British Columbia, adjacent to the U.S. state of Washington. It is bounded by Fraser Valley Regional District to the west, Thompson-Nicola Regional District and Regional District of Central Okanagan to the north, Regional District of Kootenay Boundary to the east, and by Okanogan County, Washington to the south. At the 2011 census the population was 80,742. The district covers a land area of 10,413.44 square kilometres (4,020.65 sq mi). The administrative offices are in the City of Penticton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cawston, British Columbia</span> Unincorporated Place in British Columbia, Canada

Cawston is an unincorporated small community in the south Similkameen Valley, with a 2005 population of 973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sinixt</span> Indigenous peoples of Canada and the United States

The Sinixt are a First Nations People. The Sinixt are descended from Indigenous peoples who have lived primarily in what are today known as the West Kootenay region of British Columbia in Canada and the adjacent regions of Eastern Washington in the United States for at least 10,000 years. The Sinixt are of Salishan linguistic extraction, and speak their own dialect (snsəlxcín) of the Colville-Okanagan language.

Nicola, also Nkwala or N'kwala, was an important First Nations political figure in the fur trade era of the British Columbia Interior as well as into the colonial period (1858–1871). He was grand chief of the Okanagan people and chief of the Nicola Valley peoples, an alliance of Nlaka'pamux and Okanagans and the surviving Nicola Athapaskans, and also of the Kamloops Band of the Shuswap people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syilx</span> First Nations and Native American people

The Syilx people, also known as the Okanagan, Okanogan or Okinagan people, are a First Nations and Native American people whose traditional territory spans the Canada–US boundary in Washington state and British Columbia in the Okanagan Country region. They are part of the Interior Salish ethnological and linguistic grouping. The Syilx are closely related to the Spokan, Sinixt, Nez Perce, Pend Oreille, Secwepemc and Nlaka'pamux peoples of the same Northwest Plateau region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westbank First Nation</span>

The Westbank First Nation is a self-governing First Nations band in the Okanagan region of British Columbia, Canada, and is one of eight bands that comprise the Okanagan Nation Alliance of Syilx people. Westbank First Nation (WFN) is governed by one chief and four councillors, elected every three years by WFN membership. As of April 2019, WFN's membership totaled 914 members, and employs more than 200 people.

The Lower Similkameen Indian Band or Lower Smelqmix, is a First Nations band government in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Their office was in the village of Keremeos in the Similkameen region, until 2015 when they moved into their own $7million multi-purpose facility south of Cawston. They are a member of the Okanagan Nation Alliance.

The Upper Similkameen Indian Band or Upper Smelqmix, is a First Nations band government in the Canadian province of British Columbia, whose head offices are located in town of Hedley in the Similkameen Country. They are a member of the Okanagan Nation Alliance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Osoyoos Indian Band</span> First Nation government in British Columbia, Canada

The Osoyoos Indian Band is a First Nations government in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located in the town of Oliver and Osoyoos in the Okanagan valley, approximately four kilometres north of the Canada–United States border. They are a member of the Okanagan Nation Alliance. The band controls about 32,000 acres of land in the vicinity of the town of Oliver and Osoyoos.

The Penticton Indian Band is a First Nations government in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located next to the city of Penticton in the Okanagan Valley. They are a member of the Okanagan Nation Alliance. It has an accredited High School.

Okanagan, or Colville-Okanagan, or Nsyilxcən, is a Salish language which arose among the Indigenous peoples of the southern Interior Plateau region based primarily in the Okanagan River Basin and the Columbia River Basin in precolonial times in Canada and the United States. Following British, American, and Canadian colonization during the 1800s and the subsequent assimilation of all Salishan tribes, the use of Colville-Okanagan declined drastically.

The Nicola Athapaskans, also known as the Nicola people or Stuwix, were an Athabascan people who migrated into the Nicola Country of what is now the Southern Interior of British Columbia from the north a few centuries ago but were slowly reduced in number by constant raiding from peoples from outside the valley, with the survivors, the last of whom lived near Nicola Lake, assimilated to the Scw'exmx-Syilx Nicola people by the end of the 19th century. The term Nicola for them is a misnomer, though a common one used by ethnologists and linguists - it commemorates a famous Okanagan chief who once held sway over the valley and its peoples as well as over the Kamloops Shuswap).

The Similkameen Country, also referred to as the Similkameen Valley or Similkameen District, but generally referred to simply as The Similkameen or more archaically, Similkameen, is a region roughly coinciding with the basin of the river of the same name in the Southern Interior of British Columbia. The term "Similkameen District" also refers to the Similkameen Mining District, a defunct government administrative district, which geographically encompasses the same area, and in more casual terms may also refer to the Similkameen electoral district, which was combined with the Grand Forks-Greenwood riding by the time of the 1966 election. The Similkameen Country has deep historical connections to the Boundary Country and the two are sometimes considered one region, partly as a result of the name of the electoral district. It is also sometimes classed as being part of the Okanagan region, which results from shared regional district and other administrative boundaries and names. The term "Similkameen District" may also historically refer to the Similkameen Division Yale Land District, which also includes Osoyoos and the Boundary Country to Osoyoos' east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Okanagan Desert</span>

The Okanagan Desert is the common name for a semi-arid shrubland located in the southern region of the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia and Washington. It is centred around the city of Osoyoos and is the only semi-arid shrubland in Canada. Part of this ecosystem is referred to as the Nk'mip Desert by the Osoyoos Indian Band, though it is identical to the shrublands elsewhere in the region. To the northwest of this area lies an arid shrubland near Kamloops.

The Colville people, are a Native American people of the Pacific Northwest. The name Colville comes from association with Fort Colville, named after Andrew Colvile of the Hudson's Bay Company. Okanagan: sx̌ʷyʔiɬpx) Earlier, outsiders often called them Scheulpi, Chualpay, or Swhy-ayl-puh; the French traders called them Les Chaudières in reference to Kettle Falls. The neighboring Coeur d'Alene called them Sqhwiyi̱'ɫpmsh and the Spokane knew them as Sxʷyelpetkʷ.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Okanagan—Similkameen National Park Reserve</span> Proposed national park reserve in British Columbia, Canada

South Okanagan—Similkameen National Park Reserve is a proposed national park reserve located in the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen of British Columbia. The goal of the park is to work with the local First Nations to protect a large patch of Okanagan dry forests and part of the northern reach of the Columbia Plateau ecoregion in Canada.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Syilx Okanagan Nation – Okanagan Nation Alliance" . Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Timeline – Okanagan Nation Alliance" . Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  3. 1 2 Christian, Dorothy (31 December 1994). "Crisis averted with Okanagan Nation". News from Indian Country. Hayward, Wisconsin. ProQuest   367674774.
  4. 1 2 "History & Milestones". UBC's Okanagan Campus. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  5. 1 2 "Academics". UBC's Okanagan Campus. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  6. 1 2 "Chief Executive Council – Okanagan Nation Alliance" . Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  7. 1 2 "Syilx Nation Rising! – Okanagan Nation Alliance" . Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  8. 1 2 Blanchet, Rosanne; Willows, Noreen; Johnson, Suzanne; Batal, Malek; Batal, M (February 2022). "Enhancing cultural food security among the Syilx Okanagan adults with the reintroduction of Okanagan sockeye salmon". Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. 47 (2): 124–133. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2021-0321 . hdl: 1807/109721 . PMID   34807751. S2CID   244489820.
  9. 1 2 "Okanagan Indian Band". Okanagan Indian Band. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  10. 1 2 "Discover WFN - Westbank First Nation". www.wfn.ca. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  11. 1 2 "Lower Similkameen Indian Band – Smelqmix" . Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  12. 1 2 bigbear (2020-10-16). "Upper Similkameen Indian Band (USIB), Hedley BC". Upper Similkameen Indian Band. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  13. 1 2 "Home". OIB 2018. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  14. 1 2 "Penticton Indian Band" . Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  15. 1 2 "Upper Nicola Band – Nicola Valley" . Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  16. 1 2 "Colville Tribes". Colville Tribes. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  17. ↑ "Okanagan Nation Declaration".
  18. ↑ "Okanagan Unity Declaration".
  19. ↑ "Okanagan Water Declaration".
  20. ↑ "Syilx Okanagan Language Declaration".
  21. ↑ "Syilx Child and Family Declaration".
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