The ability of Syilx students to access post-secondary education is central to our Nation moving forward and our voices being heard.

This year the Okanagan Nation Alliance, Fortis BC and EMB Management Ltd. provided a total of 12 awards to financially support eligible Syilx Okanagan Nation students. The Building a Better Future Bursary has been granted every year since 2009.

This year the Okanagan Nation Alliance is pleased to announce four bursaries as part of this year’s Building a Better Future Bursary Program. The 2022 recipients are:

2022 Bursary Announcement

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snkx̌ykntn (Revelstoke), Syilx Territory:  From July 26 – 28, 2022, the Okanagan Nation Alliance hosted our Annual General Assembly in snkx̌ykntn. This annual event gathered Syilx Okanagan members from across the Nation — including leaders, Elders, traditional knowledge keepers, youth and community members — to celebrate the many successes that have taken place for Syilx […]

Starting the week of July 18th the Province of BC will be constructing a fence along the eastern bank of the river at sx̌ʷəx̌ʷnitkʷ (Ok Falls fishing site) to try to make access to the fishing site along the shoreline easier and uninhibited. The area may have construction and monitoring activity during the 2022 fishing […]

Based on harvest information gathered since 2008, we are estimating a higher than average number of sc’win (sockeye salmon) to return to the Columbia watershed (and thus Okanagan subbasin) for the 2022 season. Returns of sc’win are monitored by tracking the numbers of fish that go through various dams and sites on the Columbia River. […]

tkwəɬniwt (Westbank), Syilx Territory: The Syilx Okanagan Nation is disturbed and disgusted by the plea deal struck between the Crown and Robert Riley Saunders and demands that the court provide justice for the many youth harmed by Saunders’ egregious abuses of power. Saunders stole at least $460,000 from youth, many First Nations, in government care […]

tkwəɬniwt (Westbank), Syilx Territory:  The Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) will host the 14th annual Spirit of Syilx Unity Run from June 3-5, 2022. This year participants will be starting at the Kamloops Indian Residential School and finishing at the Syilx Indian Residential School monument on the Penticton Indian Band reserve. This run was initiated in […]

tkwəɬniwt (Westbank), Syilx Territory: The Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) is pleased to announce that EMB Management Ltd’s has committed $10,000 annually to the ONA’s Building a Better Future Bursary Program. This program assists Syilx students in their pursuit of education. This announcement demonstrates the power of supporting First Nations students. “We will build and maintain […]

tkwəɬniwt (Westbank), Syilx Territory: On May 27, 2022, the Syilx Okanagan Nation recognizes the one-year anniversary of Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc announcing the unearthing of 215 remains at the Kamloops Indian Residential School. Children from across many First Nations, including the Syilx Okanagan Nation, attended the Kamloops Indian Residential School, and this revelation is felt by […]

Since March 9, 2022, the ONA has received several reports from Anglers who have caught and identified juvenile and sub-adult chinook salmon in the eastern portion of Syilx territory — including in the Lower Arrow Lakes, on the Columbia River down river from the Keenleyside Dam and in the Waneta area. To date (May 12, […]

WHAT: From May 17 – 18, 2022, as part of the Okanagan Nation Alliance’s (ONA) ongoing effort to bring salmon back to the Upper Columbia, sockeye fry releases and cpu taʔstm iʔ xaʔxʔitət uɬ ck ́aʕxtm iʔ ntytyix Salmon Ceremonies will take place throughout the Upper Columbia. WHEN & WHERE:   May 17 – Castlegar at […]

WHEN: Thursday, May 5th, 2022. 9:30 am – 10:30 am. WHAT: Syilx Okanagan Nation members, and nearlyt 400 students from 13 local schools, will take part in a ceremonial release of 10,000 sc’win (sockeye) fry. These fry have been raised as part of Okanagan Nation Alliance’s (ONA) Fish in Schools (FinS) Program, along with fry […]

nʔaysnú laʔxʷ (Ashnola), Keremeos, BC, sməlqmí x / syilx Territory: Today, the sməlqmí x, the syilx people of the Similkameen Valley announced the designation of a new Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA) in their territory. The Ashnola IPCA declaration upholds the inherent jurisdiction and responsibility of the sməlqmí x to protect and manage their […]

tkwəɬniwt (Westbank), Syilx Territory: On April 1, 2022, Pope Francis issued an apology for the conduct of some Roman Catholic Church members in the Canadian residential school system after a week of discussions with a delegation of First Nation, Inuit and Metis representatives. This followed the Government of Canada recent pledge of an additional $2.9 million to assist […]

tkwəɬniwt (Westbank), Syilx Territory: The Syilx Okanagan Nation celebrated World Water Day with the 8th annual siwɬkʷ (Water) Forum. This year’s Forum explored how the Syilx Okanagan Nation holds up siwɬkʷ as a living relative, and how we can continue to collaborate to protect siwɬkʷ.  The morning included an online event, which started with WFN […]

Kelowna, B.C. – The three regional district boards of the Okanagan have voted to change the Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB)’s governance structure, giving the Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) representative equal voting powers as the representatives appointed by the regional districts. This amends a provision in place since the ONA’s seat on the water board […]

The Syilx Okanagan Nation Chief Executive Council is calling for swift response, and support, of regional officials and the RCMP to ensure the safety of our Nation members after receiving reports of a series of racially motivated violent crimes coming out of what is now referred to as Freedom Convoy movement on Syilx territory and […]

tkwəɬniwt (Westbank), Syilx Territory: The Syilx Okanagan Nation stands in solidarity with the T’exelcemc (people of Williams Lake First Nation) as preliminary results from geophysical investigations have identified 93 “reflections” of potential human burials, at the site of the former St. Joseph’s Mission Indian Residential School near Williams Lake, BC. We are sending prayers to all peoples who […]

tkwəɬniwt (Westbank), Syilx Territory: Over the last week the Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) delivered the final round of the fish tanks and equipment to 30 schools throughout Syilx territory, including 13 returning schools and groups in the Columbia, as part of the Fish in Schools (FinS) program. These deliveries have come as new provincial regulations […]

tkwəɬniwt (Westbank), Syilx Territory: The Syilx Okanagan Nation is urging the US Secretary of Interior, Deb Haaland, to act immediately and relaunch the recovery planning process for ki?lawna (grizzly bear) in the US portion of the North Cascades. This process was stalled under the previous US Administration since 2016.  However, we are hopeful that the […]

tkwəɬniwt (Westbank), Syilx Territory: The Syilx Okanagan Nation are deeply concerned and disappointed by the recent announcement by the Province of BC that claims to have engaged and consulted with 161 First Nations regarding old growth logging deferrals. Instead, of the 161 Nations that were ‘heard from’ on this process, most are fully opposed, and […]

Protection of all parts of the tmixw requires strong collaborations to ensure successful restoration efforts take place and assertion of our responsibilities throughout all parts of the territory. As part of this commitment the Okanagan Nation Alliance are working with the Colville Confederated Tribes — alongside local trappers, BC’s Ministry of Forests, Land, Natural Resource […]

Okanagan Nation Alliance and UBCO, host Columbia River Conference Voices from both sides of the border discuss ethics of the Columbia River Treaty What: One River, Ethics Matter (OREM) conference Who: UBCO’s Jeannette Armstrong, ʔaʔsiwɬ Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, traditional knowledge keepers, environmental experts, academic and religious scholars When: November 17 and 18, from 9:00 […]

tkwəɬniwt (Westbank), Syilx Territory: The Chiefs of the Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) firmly support the recent decision by the Province of British Columbia to restrict motor vehicle (MV) access on backroads in the Thompson Okanagan and parts of the Kootenay regions that have been impacted by the 2021 wildfire season. This closure is taking place […]

tkwəɬniwt (Westbank), Syilx Territory:  The Syilx Okanagan Nation is extremely disappointed by the recent plea deal that was struck for Robert Riley Saunders — a long standing Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) social worker later found to be uncertified and who stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from Indigenous children on Syilx territory. […]

The Syilx Okanagan Nation is calling on all Canadians to remember what September 30, 2021, means for Indigenous Peoples — beyond reconciliation.  Orange Shirt Day was spearheaded by Indian Residential School Survivor Phyllis Webstad, who shared her story widely to bring awareness to the harm and trauma created by colonialism and Indian Residential Schools on […]

UBCO marks Orange Shirt Day with installation of banners                     UBCO general science student Fiona Lizotte and Okanagan Nation Alliance Wellness Manager Jennifer Lewis, both members of the Syilx Okanagan Nation, hold up the Orange Shirt Day Banners now hanging across the campus. UBC Okanagan, in […]

Description of Imagery:  This image depicts a flying bird with rainbow wings, lined with the statements “əts ha’ stim iʔ scəcmalaʔ” and “puti kʷu aláʔ” — which translates to “every child matters” and “we are still here”. These phrases are like the wind beneath the bird’s wings that are lifting them up and supporting them […]

tkwəɬniwt (Westbank), Syilx Territory:  After decades of advocating, the Okanagan Nation Alliance commends BC Hydro’s important step towards decommissioning Wilsey Dam and the Shuswap Falls Powerhouse. BC Hydro will now move forward planning for the decommission and prepare an application to the BC Utilities Commission to obtain approval to cease operations at the facility. These […]

Greetings to our dear Elders, Leaders, and community members. With the greatest respect, we ask for your help and appeal for your support. We are working on getting out the vote on Election Day. One of our most important efforts in this campaign is to reach Indigenous voters and make it easy for them to […]

The site of the sx̌ʷəx̌ʷnitkʷ (Okanagan Falls) salmon fishery is an important area in Syilx Okanagan Nation Territory. Prior to colonization it was the second largest inland fisheries on Syilx territory, and was a central part of our food, social and economic fisheries. Access has been an issue that the CEC have brought forward for […]