Grade 1 Lesson: When We Take Care of Them, They Take Care of Us
To achieve well-being from the Syilx perspective, one must recognize their responsibility to all creation and be willing to give back, including honoring the contributions of sc̓win (sockeye) fish, which exemplify reciprocity in their journey home.
Please review full curriculum in the PDF at the bottom of the page to gain full understanding of the lesson and activity.
Grades: 1
Subjects: Language Arts
ɬə txətʼntiməlx mnimɬcəlx kʷu ks txətʼntimʼ
When We Take Care of Them, They Take Care of Us
In Syilx paradigms, ntytyix (Chief Spring Salmon) is vital for connecting communities along the Columbia River and sustaining biodiversity. However, human settlements, hydroelectric facilities, and rising global temperatures have led to habitat erosion and the near extinction of the sc̓win (sockeye salmon) population.
What To Do
- Print a colouring sheet of sc̓win (sockeye salmon) and have students colour their own sc̓win, writing their names on the back of the paper
- Beforehand, colour your own example sc̓win for students to use as a guide. This is also a good opportunity to explain the identifying traits of sc̓win.
• Head: bright to olive green
• Body: bright red
- While students are colouring their sc̓win, read to them How Coyote Broke the Salmon Dam
READ How Coyote Broke the Salmon Dam
(available for purchase at ONA Bookstore).
- After reading this Syilx captikʷł, have students cut out their sc̓win
- Set up your painting supplies and have student paint a white piece of paper with cool-toned water colours of their choosing to give the illusion of the water that sc̓win live in
- As students paint, hold a discussion about the story just read
Potential Discussion Prompts:
a. What are some ways we, as people, can help salmon?
Maybe we can pay tribute to signs that encourage respect for the habitat or environment? We should aim to leave every place we visit in better condition than we found it. Additionally, it’s important to avoid walking or swimming in creeks or rivers during their spawning seasons to safeguard their eggs
b. How have salmon shown strength and resilience?
Explore the history of salmon and the impact of dams on their ability to return to their traditional habitats. Despite these barriers, salmon persistently strive to make their way home. Thanks to the ONA’s initiatives to restore salmon populations and the installation of fish ladders at various dams, we are now witnessing record numbers of salmon returning to the Okanagan and Columbia water basins!
c. How do salmon give back to the tmixʷ (all living things)?
Did you know that when bears, eagles, and other predators consume salmon and bring them ashore, the decomposing bodies of these fish nourish the surrounding trees and plants? Our ONA biologists have even discovered salmon DNA within the cottonwood trees that once naturally thrived near creeks, rivers, and lakes! Now that the salmon are coming home, these trees can begin to grow again thanks to the nutrients these salmon historically provided.
- Have students then glue their cut-out sc̓win to the bottom of their painting, leaving room for them to write
“I take care of ntytyix, just like ntytyix takes care of me”
- Make sure students remember to sign their artwork!