the Syilx landscape

All of the Syilx territory is marked with various landmarks, which entail numerous teachings about survival, customs, responsibilities and other traditional knowledge for all of its original peoples. The Syilx people will tell you that their territory stretches until there are no more landmarks, teachings, Nsyilxcen words or stories about the locations, areas, and inhabitants.

Before European invasion, the Syilx moved freely on their territory to hunt, fish, gather and to reside on. The Syilx lands were and are still to be used for hunting, fishing, root digging, berry picking and communal living. The traditional food gathering areas were shared by all the Syilx and some territories were shared with our neighboring 'friend' tribes. The right to live and survive on this land as Syilx is where all of our laws and responsibilities come from. Living out and carrying on our responsibilities has brought us to this time in our history. It is because of these laws and the care taking of our lands that we we have lived for thousands of years, without destroying the Earth. The Syilx preserved the land into a natural healthy state for each generation through knowledge and practice. We have the right to live on the bounty which our ancestors have passed down to us, as pure as when the Creator gave it to us. It is an inherit right and a responsibility of the Okanagan people within the SYilx territory.

THE LIVING EARTH

According to the Syilx perspective, 'rocks are the oldest living life form' and they have seen the land changes and been a part of the land changes. To the Syilx, like everything else, they are more than just minerals to be collected. They are a measurement of time and a witness to history and as living beings, they remember. They remember what they have seen, they remember what they have been through and by careful examination or study (of the rocks) we too, can remember what has happened to us, our land and even our people.

The Syilx has always believed that rocks were more than just remnants of the Earth, they are our time keepers, they are our knowledge keepers and they are our historians. Only in the past hundred or so years has science begun to agree that we can read our history in the rocks that we find. When we look at the rocks and the age of a rock, lichen...We think about all the changes the rock has witnessed, been through and survived. In other world views- time and elements causes the lichen to form on the rocks.The changes in life, weather, climates and natural disasters are looked at in reverence and with a knowledge of past history of what has been seen to date. Even after we are all gone- the rocks will still be collecting the information about the land, people and all of our habits.

THE WATER

Creeks, rivers, lakes and other water sources that flow from the top of the Okanagan mountains all the way to the ocean are also looked at with reverence and are considered sacred. It is so sacred that where it comes form never goes empty and where its going never fills up and the flow never stops (unless man stops the flow of water). The water is flowing at a speed so quick that the human eye cannot even keep track of the flow of water. In fact, it is said that the water is so powerful that it is never the same water. It looks the same, feels the same, is found in the same place...but due to the constant flow of water it is always changing and is never the same water. Even as you stand there, watching the water flow, the water you saw is now further down, in its journey to the ocean. The water you are seeing is new water, emerging, and on its way. Life is like this, no moment is ever the same. As time passes, no matter how hard we try we can never go back to a moment ago to ten years ago. Every moment, every minute, every day is a new one. Water teaches us this.

We are also unable to go farther then where we are right now, we can't jump into the future and we cant jump into the past, no matter where we are or what we are doing, we are always in this moment.

PLANT LIFE

To the Syilx, plant life is not a natural resource who's only purpose is to provide us with lumber to make our houses or plants to make profit from manufacturable and mass production purposes. It is not a renewable resource to be exploited for the economic benefits of anyone or everyone. Plant life are a part of our understanding of everything that grows above and below ground and are the parents of Syilx people. They provide us with the food and medicines we need to live, survive and heal ourselves with. Trees hold the promise between the Syilx people and the plants, the animals, the creatures that fly and those that swim. They are a reminder of our duties and responsibilities to each of our parents and what we need to do in order to continue surviving on this land. The ground/ dirt hold roots, bulbs, and starches for all that grows above and below the ground and provide us with a complete balanced, healthy diet. Without the ground, the water and the land, none of this (or us) would exist.

There are 2 important teachings we must not forget regarding the life and life cycles of this land;

1- We see the Earth, the elements and all of its inhabitants as a living entity; air is the breath of the Earth, rocks are time keepers, water is a sacred life source, plants and animals are alive and each have their own purpose and they are all parents to the Syilx people.

2- Nothing could continue without the fusion of everything with one another even though each is its own powerful life source. It is said that one with out the other is no good; Imagine a land without water and water without land. Without the water, land and all of its inhabitants will not survive and water without land just doesn't exist. They both have to be together to create the life that sustains us today.