Captikʷł in Canada

On Saturday afternoon, I attended a captikʷł gathering near Keremeos, British Columbia. This word refers to traditional stories that are only told in the winter. All the stories were told in the Okanagan language. Their language is a little different than mine, so sometimes I was completely lost. Other times, I was able to follow the message fairly well. In the end, these gatherings are an inspiration. 

El sábado en la tarde, fui a una reunión de captikʷł cerca de Keremeos, Columbia Británica (Canadá). Esta palabra se refiere a las historias tradicionales que solo se relatan en tiempo de invierno. Todos los cuentos se dieron en idioma Okanagan. Su idioma es un poco diferente al mío, así que a veces me quedé completemente perdido. Otras veces pude seguir el mensaje más o menos bien. Al final de todo, esta reunión fue una inspiración. 

I slept over in Canada, and when I woke up this morning, 

a new blanket of snow covered the ground. 

Me quedé a dormir en Canadña, y cuando me desperté hoy en la mañana, 

una manta nueva de nieve cubrió la tierra. 

Scenes from the return drive. 

Escenas del viaje de regreso. 

Arrow Lakes News

Several weeks ago, I re-posted an article from the Valley Voice, a small newspaper in British Columbia, where the author reported a multi-faith prayer vigil for the health of the Columbia River. The same event was also reported by the Arrow Lakes News in Nakusp. 

The Arrow Lakes News article, written by Ryan Willman, stated in part: 

On the banks of the Arrow Lakes reservoir a solicitous group gathered and listened to Barry Moses, a member of the Spokane Tribe, describe a dream that he had as a young man. In the dream, the world was barren and dry, devoid of life; then suddenly the earth shook and a gush of water was released from the rocks forming a new river. Moses stood on the banks and watched the river flow until he noticed fish leaping through the waves. He jumped in and followed the fish in the upriver journey until they all reached a beautiful, fertile land. Paradise. 

“This is what I pray for today,” Moses sums up, “I pray for the return of the salmon and the restoration of the river.” 

Moses shared his vision, a prayer and a song with a group of gathered community members who attended a vigil to raise awareness about the plight of the Columbia River. This vigil was part of a series of multi-faith events that began August 6 in Washington and continued every day up the river ending with the last vigil scheduled at the source of the Columbia, Canal Flats. 

The article continued:

Shelly Boyd, member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, spoke of her connection to the Arrow Lakes area and expressed the need for unity and cooperation. “This side of the line, that side of the line. The water doesn’t even know there is a line,” she expressed. Boyd contributed to the vigil with a prayer and sang a traveling song in her native tongue.

Ashnola

Part of the time, I got to stay at the language house on the Ashnola Indian Reserve of the Lower Smilkameen. It's kind of a lonesome place - quiet and deserted - but that's part of its appeal. Without the distractions of the city, the place seems to come alive with the gentle blowing of wind through the sage brush - beautiful in a haunting kind of way. 

I loved the rattlesnake sign written in the language. 

snpinktn

Snpinktn is an indigenous place name in present-day British Columbia that was Anglicized and changed into Penticton. This week I had the opportunity to visit snpinktn with a fluent elder from that area. I was the taxi-man who brought him home from the Sisyikst gathering last week in Inchelium. The whole time we were together, he corrected me when I pronounced the English place name. It might be something casual like, "I've never been to Penticton before," but he stopped me every time and repeated the name in Salish. He spoke the word slowly and emphatically, "Sn-pink-tn." He never uttered a tone of anger or irritation, but perhaps a quiet insistence to not validate the colonial distortion of the indigenous landscape.  

This elder's influence impacted me in unexpected ways. I found myself speaking scattered phrases of his dialect, simply because they were present in every conversation - I didn't have to think about it. By the time I left Canada, I found myself thanking cashiers or greeting waitresses in Salish. At the border, the agent asked, "Where did you visit in Canada?" 

Without thinking, I said, "snpinktn," and for a moment, I totally blanked on the English name.  

The reserve sits on a hillside overlooking the city. Most of the road signs are written in Salish first, followed by English. These are small cultural reminders, but they are so important. I wish our community would do this. 

The Outma Sqilxʷ Cultural School helped sponsor an elder's gathering for elders and young people to come together and share cultural knowledge. After taking my friend home, I stayed another couple days to witness some of the cultural events. 

My new sl'axt Koy showed some of the 

young men how to raise a tepee. 

A woman demonstrated a dip net 

made entirely from spec'n (dogbane).

She also demonstrated spec'n bags.  

Cottonwood canoes on display. 

The food for the elder's dinner was cooked in 

pit ovens, just like we do at Wellpinit. 

Hide tanning demonstration. 

Red Bridge

It has become my tradition whenever I travel to make my now-famous "Barry" pose near local landmarks. This is in honor of several friends, you know who you are, who now share this joke with me. This pose was taken near the red bridge by Keremeos. 

The red bridge. 

Whitney and the red bridge. 

snq'iʔq'iʔenč

łuʔ t i sl'axt shelly boyd u qʷu xʷyusntm

 č'łuʔ č' sml'qmin stulixʷ 

u qe wičntm snq'iʔq'iʔenč 

tl' sqasip p'xʷp'xʷut  sqelixʷ. 

qʷamqʷmt xest łuʔ qe scwič.

čsel łuʔ i stmtmčʔelt.

qʷu čšnteʔes łuʔ qe wičntm 

łuʔ snq'iʔq'iʔenč. 

xest mryemistn łiʔe snq'iʔq'iʔenč.

č' čsaxm łuʔ snq'iʔq'iʔenč, 

lšeʔ n hec moq'ʷ,

 hes cʔekʷmi łuʔ sčn'irmn.

nexʷ qe wičntm łuʔ sxʷƛ̓ey̓ n hec moq'ʷ.

kʷtunt łuʔ hec mq'ʷmoq'ʷ. xest. 

Tunnel

Our walk to the t'ulmn cliffs 

passed through an old railroad tunnel 

and across a converted bridge. 

It was just a perfect, beautiful day. 

qʷamqʷmt...!

Osoyoos

Spring break did not match for Rhonda and me, so I took my daughters on a short trip to southern British Columbia while she finished school work. Our first stop was the Spirit Ridge in Osoyoos, which is a tribal-owned, luxury resort on the edge of town. We stayed the night in a two-bedroom suite with a full kitchen, a gas fireplace, and a balcony with an awesome view. The girls especially enjoyed a night swim in the heated pool, while I enjoyed the steam room. 

In particular, I appreciated the indigenous influence, like the signs written in Salish. 

After leaving the resort, we took the opportunity to view Spotted Lake from the highway. Spotted Lake derives its name from mineral deposits that mark the surface. It is considered a sacred site by the local tribes and is restricted to non-Natives. 

We did not actually approach the lake during our visit, but we did appreciate its beauty from a distance. 

Our friend Shelly brought us to visit a tribal elder who told traditional stories in the Salish language. Afterwards, he brought us to see some of the sites associated with the stories. From time to time, he stopped along the roadside to offer spontaneous lessons in traditional medicine. 

We also stopped to see pictographs.