Syilx territory
Left: The Okanagan Nation Declaration (1987). The Syilx Okanagan people signed the Okanagan Nation Declaration on August 1987 at Komasket Park, declaring their sovereignty.
Right: Map of Okanagan Syilx territory.
- Letter to Sir Wilfred Laurier from the Chiefs of the Shuswap, Okanagan and Couteau Tribes of British Columbia. Presented at Kamloops^ B.C. August 25,1910Essential reading on learning about the modern history of the Okanagan Peoples in what is now known as the interior of British Columbia.
Syilx Okanagan Declarations
- Okanagan Nation DeclarationThe Syilx Okanagan people signed the Okanagan Nation Declaration on August 1987 at Komasket Park, declaring their sovereignty.
- siwɬkʷ Water Declaration"In July 2014, the Okanagan Nation Alliance endorsed the Syilx Water Declaration that was put forth by the Natural Resources Council, which will be a living document. Syilx communities have always recognized and nurtured a strong connection towards siwɬkʷ (water)."
- Unity Declaration"On July 15th and 16th, 2010 at Spirit Ridge Resort in Osoyoos B.C., the member Chiefs and Council of the Syilx Okanagan Nation signed the Declaration of Unity with the Colville Confederated Tribes Business Council (CCTBC)."
- Syilx Okanagan Language Declaration"At the 2018 ONA Annual General Assembly, on July 18th at saʔtikn at the Manning Park Resort, the present Syilx Okanagan Nation Elders and member Chiefs endorsed the Iʔ Syilx iʔ sukʷnaqinx scqʷəlqʷiltət Syilx Okanagan Language Declaration."
- axá iʔ sccuntət iʔ tl x̌aʔxitət x̌l iʔ nəqsil̓tət Family Declaration"The development of the axá iʔ sccuntət iʔ tl x̌aʔxitət x̌l iʔ nqsil̓tət Family Declaration took six years to reach completion, with it being signed by the Elders, Language Speakers, and the Chief’s Executive Council on July 26, 2022, in Revelstoke, BC."
Books, articles & other resources
We get our living like milk from the land by Call Number: BKO M37 W4 1993ISBN: 091944136XPublication Date: 1993Start here when learning about Okanagan Syilx traditional governance.
- Original People - Chapter OneChapter one from We Get Our Living Like Milk From the Land.
Q'sapi : a history Okanagan people as told by Okanagan families by Call Number: BKO L65 Q73 2000ISBN: 0919441904Publication Date: 2000
Indigenous earth : praxis and transformation by Call Number: NB S56 N35 2013ISBN: 9781926886282Publication Date: 2013Chapter 2: Constructing Indigeneity: Sylix Okanagan oraliture and Tmixw centrism / Jeannette C. Armstrong.
- Okanagan Syilx historical and contemporary salmon distribution : underpinning social and governance structuresBy Dallas Good Water (2018). " Research concludes that historical Syilx salmon distribution was reinforced by ceremonial protocols for community and inter-nation sharing to ensure health and wellbeing for the land and the people."
- Oral narratives, customary laws and indigenous water rights in CanadaBy Marlowe Gregory Sam (2013). "Prior to the European discovery and colonization of North America the Indigenous peoples managed their natural environment through a management regime that was guided by traditional governance systems that were based within the oral tradition."
- n’łəqwcin (clear speech) : 1,000 hours to mid-intermediate N’syilxcn proficiency (Indigenous language, Syilx, Okanagan-Colville, n’qilxwcn, Interior Salish)By M.K. Johnson (2013). A thesis about learning Sylix language, includes cultural and governance information as well.
- A Single Strand: The Nsyilxcin Speaking People’s Tmixw Knowledge as a Model for Sustaining a Life-Force Placeby Jeannette Armstrong. Chapter 6 of Traditional ecological knowledge: learning from indigenous practices for environmental sustainability, Edited by Melissa K. Nelson and Daniel Shilling
- The Sncewips Heritage MuseumThe Sncewips Heritage Museum began as a repository after Westbank First Nation achieved self-government in 2005. It provides a protected place for sqilxʷ representation, culture, and heritage.
captikʷł
"captikʷł are a collection of teachings about Syilx Okanagan laws, customs, values, governance structures and principles that, together, define and inform Syilx Okanagan rights and responsibilities to the land and to our culture. These stories provide instruction on how to relate to and live on the land. captikʷł stories serve as reminder of Syilx Okanagan natural laws and protocols that need to be followed in order for future generations to survive in harmony with the tmixw. These stories are embedded in our culture and language and play a vital role in cultural renewal and revitalization... Today, our captikʷł are still used in this fast paced modern world. Syilx knowledge and cultural values from the captikʷł are being passed on to the youth to help them live in this modern world and to let them know who they are and where they come from."