Syilx Territory, Westbank, BC – The Okanagan Nation Alliance Fish in Schools (FinS) Program is now in 41 participating public and private and Band Operated schools throughout the Syilx Territory as well as the Penticton Museum and Archives, Christina Lake Stewardship Society and the Oliver Correctional facility.
FinS is a comprehensive fish education program for youth, with a focus on sc’win (sockeye salmon), their lifecycle and the importance of their ecosystems. By creating greater awareness of fish species, the intent is for students to become future advocates for both salmon and their habitat.
In the Columbia Region, , this program further cultivates awareness of salmon’s historical runs from the ocean, upstream to the Kettle River, Columbia, Pend d’Oreille and Kootenay Rivers, including major tributaries the Salmo River and Slocan River. The program has doubled in size in the Columbia region this year – which demonstrates the success of the program.
This year the FinS program extends to the Oliver Correctional Facility programs department as well. It will provide inmates with a new educational opportunity in order to contribute to broader knowledge and training necessary to apply for jobs when they are released.
Howie Wright, ONA Fisheries Manager states that “Bringing FinS to the Oliver Correctional Facility will increases awareness on fish culture, sockeye life cycle, and traditional knowledge on what salmon and indigenous fish species means to the Okanagan Syilx people. It also continues to exemplify ONAs ongoing commitment in providing FinS education to as wide an audience as possible.”
The ONA upholds the r responsibility to the tmixw (all living things), our Syilx Okanagan traditional ecological knowledge systems and actively involve our Cultural knowledged keepers that inform our interactions on the land – balanced with the incorporation of western science. Through the integration of these two systems, the Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) has been persistent in ensuring that we are restoring and rejuvenating the habitats and ecosystems of the Upper Columbia and Okanagan Basin in the most dynamic way possible. We engage both traditional knowledge and cutting edge science to contribute to protecting and advancing a bio-diverse environment. FinS is a key step in the Syilx Nation’s broader intent to raise awareness and bring salmon back to their original range, having been blocked from returning by dams along the Columbia River in the 1940s.
Over the course of December the Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) is delivering fish tanks and equipment to all our participants throughout Syilx territory, as part of the Fish in Schools (FinS) program. Egg delivery to FinS participant schools will being in early January 2020. Upon successfully raising the fry, students will include their fry in ceremonial releases that take place throughout the Syilx Territory in 2020.
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The Fish in Schools program has been running successfully since 2003 in the Okanagan region, and contributes to the kł cp̓əlk̓ stim̓ Hatchery’s fry release efforts. The kł cp̓əlk̓ stim̓ Hatchery is a testament to the perseverance of the Syilx people to realize their dream of restoring the n’titxw (Salmon) – one of our Four Food Chiefs – to their original habitat and rightful place in our territory.
For More Information Contact:
Howie Wright, ONA Fisheries Manager Michael Zimmer, ONA Fisheries Columbia Biologist Tel: (250) 718-5215 Tel: (250) 304-7341
FinS Participants
School Districts 8, 10, 20, and 51, Regional District of Kootenay Boundary, and Regional District of Central Kootenay
- Christina Lake Elementary
- Glenmerry Elementary
- Hutton Elementary
- Kinnaird Elementary
- Lucerne Elementary
- Robson Community School
- Salmo Elementary
- South Nelson Elementary
- Twin Rivers Elementary
- Sentinel Secondary
- E. Graham Community School
- Fruitvale Elementary
- James E. Webster Elementary
- Rossland Summit School
- Hume Elementary
- Michael’s Catholic School
- Ecole des Sentiers-alpins
- Christina Lake Stewardship Society
In the Okanagan Sub-basin FinS continues to be offered at:
- OK Falls Elementary
- Oliver Elementary
- Osoyoos Elementary
- Tuc-el-Nuit Elementary
- Senpokchin Elementary
- Outma School
- Cawston Primary
- Columbia Elementary
- Wiltse Elementary
- Little Paws Daycare
- Ntamqen School
- South Okanagan Secondary School
- John Allison Elementary
- Casorso Elementary School
- Penticton Excel K-12 Learning Centre
- Ellison Elementary
- Alexis Park Elementary
- Sensisyusten
- Enowkin Center
- Osoyoos Secondary
- Queens Park Elementary,
- West Bench Elementary,
- KVR Middle School
- Kaleden Elementary
- Penticton Museum and Archives
- Oliver Correctional Facility