Introduction Lesson: Clean and Cool Water for ntytyix
Learn about the Pacific Salmon Cycle of the Salmon that make their journey out to the Pacific Ocean from the Columbia River and into the Okanagan and Upper Columbia watersheds on Syilx Territory.
Syilx People are also called Salmon People
ntytyix, Salmon is a primary food of the Syilx People and central to their culture and trade traditions. A myriad of Syilx cultural practices demonstrate snx̌aʔiwləm (honouring the sacredness of the river) while reinforcing strong cultural and spiritual ties between Syilx communities and the salmon.
Salmon is a Keystone Species
Keystone species are a species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that if it were
removed the ecosystem would change drastically. Salmon have always been a central part of Syilx culture and a main food source for the community since well before European settlers arrived in what is now known as British Columbia.
Salmon are a versatile food which can be eaten fresh from a catch, or dried in a smoke house for the winter months, providing year-round sustenance.
Historic Species of Salmon in the Okanagan
Most salmon are anadromous fish, meaning they reproduce in freshwater but spend a good portion
of their adult life in an ocean environment before returning to their natal home to spawn.
- skəlwis: spring salmon
- sc’win: early sockeye salmon
- tʕanyaʔ: fall sockeye salmon
- ntytyix: chinook – now endangered
- kisuʔ: coho – now locally extinct or “extirpated”
- kəkniʔ: land-locked salmon – kokanee
Unfortunately, the effects of colonization are still influencing our salmon. Colonial threats, such as the development of hydroelectric dams have severely impacted the salmon, bringing them closer to extinction.
The construction of Grand Coulee Dam on Columbia River at Kettle Falls, completed in 1942, stopped all salmon migration for thousands of kilometers of spawning river in Canada.
After years of effort by the Syilx Okanagan Nation to reintroduce salmon back to the region, sc’win (sockeye) and ntytyix (chinook) salmon are now returning and spawning in many of the rivers and creeks throughout the Okanagan.
Additionally, a fish ladder was left inoperable after the Penticton dam was built in the 1950s. In the case of the Penticton dam, in 2019 Okanagan Nation Alliance and Fisheries and Oceans Canada used a crane to remove a wooden gate that was blocking off the narrow concrete passage, thus opening the way for fish to get through the dam.
READ How Coyote Broke the Salmon Dam
(available for purchase at ONA Bookstore).
On-the-Land Learning Opportunity: Participate in a Broodstock Tour
As part of the kł cp̓əlk̓ stim̓ Hatchery initiative, ONA has been beach seining (a fishing technique) and collecting eggs and milt from Okanagan River adult sockeye for rearing and release into Skaha Lake. Since
2004, ONA has stocked Skaha and Osoyoos Lake with hatchery-reared fry and monitored their growth, survival, and impacts on the Skaha Lake food-web and effects on kokanee populations. Results so far have been very promising. Beginning in 2014, ONA has been rearing the fry in the new kł cp̓əlk̓ stim̓ Hatchery.
As part of our dedication to promoting education and awareness around Okanagan sockeye and other fish species in the region, the ONA invites teachers to bring students for a self-guided tour to see our crews beach-seining in the Okanagan River along the International Hike and Bike Trail.
Tour Details
Broodstock generally takes place following the Thanksgiving weekend, lasting for about two weeks, typically around October 15 to 25. Crews are usually in the river between 9 am – 1 pm.
Together we can make sure that salmon have a safe home for their eggs and continue to return for generations to come!