The Syilx Okanagan Nation

Osoyoos is located on the traditional lands 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 Upper and Lower 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 (pronounced “s-wee-yous” which means “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 old.

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 four chiefs - skəmxist (Bear), n’tyxtix (Salmon), spitlem (Bitterroot) and siyaʔ (Saskatoon) who provided for the people. In the winter, people returned to permanent winter villages living in earthen lodges known as kekuli or pit-houses.

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 come from Indigenous languages. 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 always been business people,” he said.

For a more in-depth look into the rich history of the Indigenous peoples of this region and their close relationship to the land, visit the award-winning interpretive NK’Mip Desert Cultural Centre. It features a wide range of engaging indoor exhibits, outdoor displays and walking trails.

The word nk’mip (pronounced ‘in-kameep’) translates to ‘bottomland’, being as it is, located at the southern (bottom) end of the Osoyoos Indian Reserve.

An important cultural location known as kɬlilxʷ (Spotted Lake) is located just west of Osoyoos on Hwy. 3. The lake has long been an important source of traditional medicine for the people of the Syilx Okanagan Nation. During the hot summer months the water in the lake evaporates leaving concentrations of various minerals that form different coloured “spots” on the lake bed. The lake can be viewed from the gate but please do not go past that point. Tours are available through the First Nations’ operated Sẁiẁs Spirit Tours (swiwsspirittours.com).

Like Indigenous communities across the country, the discovery of 215 unmarked graves of children at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in May 2021 marked the beginning of a tragic process of discovery of over 6,000 unmarked graves at residential schools across the country. This was confirmation of what had long been spoken about within Indigenous communities, but came as shock to much of the rest of the Canadian population.

While no residential schools existed in the South Okanagan, children were sent to schools in other regions including children from the OIB. A small number of elders within the OIB are survivors of the residential school system.

Because of the cultural genocide practiced against the First Nations peoples, the language has almost vanished with barely a handful of nsyilxcən (the traditional language of the Syilx Okanagan Nation) speakers within the OIB. The Okanagan Nation Alliance and the OIB both have language schools which are actively working to keep the language alive amongst younger generations.