kł cp̓əlk̓ stim̓ (cause to come back)
kł cp̓əlk̓ stim̓ is an nsyilxcen term that roughly translates to “cause to come back”.
The ONA works to provide technical fisheries assistance for the Nation and its seven member communities and acts as a liaison between federal and provincial fisheries agencies and other NGOs. We are actively involved in the conservation, protection, restoration, and enhancement of fish stocks, and in particular with Okanagan River sockeye salmon.
The Okanagan River sockeye population is one of only two remaining populations of sockeye salmon in the international Columbia River Basin. Historically, chinook, coho, chum and steelhead were also indigenous salmon species in the Columbia River system, including the Okanagan Basin, but today they are either extinct or found in very low numbers.
With the support of our elders and sacred teachings, all 7 Okanagan Nation’s member communities and the Colville Confederated Tribes remained with great conviction to get the salmon back. In 1996-1997, the ONA under the long standing leadership of the Chiefs and Councils of our member communities, and the Colville Confederated Tribe Business Council (CCTBC), formally undertook their responsibilities and obligations to their lands, waters and peoples to restore the Okanagan Sockeye Salmon back to the Columbia River systems. Our Tribal Government negotiations, assertions, and advocacy and lobby efforts continue.
There is an ongoing systematic effort to research, document and transmit the traditional knowledge that the communities still hold, while documenting Traditional Ecological Knowledge with new scientific methods and understandings. The Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) has begun to receive regional and national recognition for their efforts of rehabilitating sockeye salmon stocks. As such, they are poised to play an integral role in contributing to various public dialogues including, but not limited to, indigenous food sovereignty, food security, sustainable fisheries, and indigenous grassroots development.
The ONA carries out the work of our ancestors through a variety of projects, programs, and initiatives:
- Collecting and rearing salmon eggs into fry within our kł cp̓əlk̓ stim̓ Hatchery and through the FinS program
- Ceremonial releases of salmon fry into various tributaries in the Okanagan and Columbia water basins
- River and waterway restoration, including riparian habitat re-integration and protection
- Monitoring and tagging to track survival, migration, and distribution
- Installation of fish ladders in dams currently preventing salmon migration
- Floodplain restoration
- Water flow management
See Also
Suggested Resources
ntytyix Chief Salmon
