Who We Are
Syilx laws and evolution
The original people of the Okanagan are known as the Syilx speaking people. They have been here since the beginning of people on this land and were wished here by the Creator. The Syilx people have been keeping history by passing it from one person to another, from generation to generation, as a record of oral history. It is a history of the meaning of being Syilx, rather than a history of dates and is formed through oral stories and songs. They are the truths and knowledge of the natural laws made active through history.
In our histories we are told the Creator sent 'Senklip' (Coyote), to help our people might survive on this land. Coyote's travels are a record of the natural laws necessary for our Syilx people to survive and essential to our ability to carry on. We weren't born with the instincts to know how to live in nature's laws, instead we are given memory to remind us of what we could and couldn't be doing. Understanding the living land and teaching our young generations how to become a 'part of it' is the only way we, the syilx, have survived. Many of our histories are stored deep within our memories, while others have been documented in various ways. Every story is open to the interpretation of the learner and tells us something we need to know. |
 Okanagan Pictographs |
In our oral histories we are taught that our people will have numerous stages of evolution and what each stage will mean for us. Here are four of our stages of evolution.
1. st'elsqilxw (torn from the earth sqilxw) life form of the first people without natural instincts to survive. 2. xatma sqilxw (in front of us sqilxw) 3. Sqilxw (dreaming ones, bound together, of the land) 4. awtma sqilxw (to struggle and/or come after sqilxw) (Note: these interpretations are based on root words meanings in the syllables of each word). |
To fully understand these teachings and what these teachings of our evolution mean to the Syilx people, one must engage in discussions with the Syilx elders and knowledge keepers.
Our Syilx Evolution Through Life
In order to understand who we are as a Syilx people one must not only understand the evolution of our people and how we came to be, but you must also come to understand our evolution through life and who we are and what that meant. 
The Syilx people live their numerous roles and respect the responsibility of those roles. Whether its their role as an individual or as part of the family unit, the extended family, the community, the nation and even the land, each role was understood and honored by the people.
Children are the heart of the Syilx and have always been taught the necessary skills and Syilx laws they needed to learn in order to survive, as soon as they began to understand. They are taught skills such as; fishing, hunting, tanning hides and making baskets to songs, stories, dances and prayers. They are taught that every living thing has a right to be a part of our lives and our community-even if it's role isn't easily understood. They are taught to respect life and all of creation and that disrespect would lead to certain consequences.
Children are not forcibly taught or punished for not understanding, they are taught with patience and only what the teacher thought they needed to learn or were ready for. Harshness was not a method used in teaching children. Learning has always been made to be very easy at first and gradually becoming harder and only as much the child could understand .Therefore, when the children became ready to do the harder things they did so without fear.
Teens and young adults were accompanied by the older family members to become trained by them in a special area. While, the foundation of their training remained the same, only the intensity changed. An example; as children they learned which plants were edible, which ones were not, which ones contained healing properties and when they were in season. As teens and young adults training in medicines, they went back to the same plants and learned when to pick, how to prepare, when to use the plants, why to use them and most importantly when not to use them. They were taught the hundreds of uses for every portion of every plant.
Each youth and young adult was not only trained in a special area but they were also taught the lifestyles and laws of the community at large. They understood that everyone had a role and a responsibility to ensure the survival of themselves as individuals, to their families, their community and even their people as a whole. They were taught to love, honor and respect each other's roles and their own roles and taught the role of children, youth, adults, elders and as a man or a woman. Each Syilx person understood what it meant, to be in the role of a warrior, a teacher, a hunter, a healer, a chief and a singer. Each Syilx person understood what it meant, to be a child, a sibling, a parent, a grandparent, an aunt/ uncle, and a husband or wife.
Within the family unit, the grandparents watched over children between the ages four to eleven. Their role was to educate and discipline the little children in a patient and loving way. They taught children the songs, stories, dances and ways of life.
The Syilx understood when one of these roles were lost, each role was to be filled. So if a husband lost his wife and children lost a parent, the wife of his brother would assume the role as long as needed. If a warrior had fallen, another would take his place. This is the Syilx way of life.
In Syilx history, our people knew when their time in a role was drawing to an end. Chiefs and healers would name their successors, young men would step forward as leaders and warriors and young women would step forward to become leaders or teachers. Everyone had a role and every role had someone.