As Syilx people, gathering together for an event is a time honoured tradition. From gathering together for storytelling in the winters, or in the summers to fish, events continue to hold an important role in our daily lives.
Continuation of multicommunal social institutions of interaction, of kinship, gathering, and practicing activities language and ceremony is a vital contribution in today’s day and age, building or enhancing relationship support and help and identity for all involved. The concept of getting to know the land and each other is a long-term practice in health and well-being in all aspects of traditional land management and self-care.
These community focused events help encourage and instill cultural teachings, education and awareness for the Nation and the public, build success in terms of understanding cultural identity through holistic occasions such as the Unity Run, R’Native Voice, and Youth Leadership Gathering. These events give cause to ignite the spark and passion in the journey that youth, women, men, and elders transition through.
Syilx Youth Camp October 2025
kʷu tl təmxʷulaʔxʷ The Syilx Youth Camp aims to encourage Nation unity, practicing culture and tradition all while building strong connections. Youth will engage in various activities and learning experiences designed to connect them with the land and each other. We will be balancing the aspect of teaching and learning by ensuring there will be […]
Walk for The Children September 30
Healing starts with us Join us for a 2 km Walk for Reconciliation on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation! We will be departing from the Safeway Parking lot and making our way to the SIRS Monument outside the Penticton Hatchery on En’owkin Trail. Please Note: Please attend walk at your own risk, the ONA is […]
xʷəxʷmínaʔ Trout Fishery 2025 Date TBC
The Syilx Nation would like to invite Syilx Nation members to join us for the xʷəxʷmínaʔ Trout Fishery. We will be fishing for rainbow trout and bull trout and reconnecting with the eastern part of our Syilx Territory. Fishery will be hosted at the mouth of the Lardeau River at the Trout Lake Recreation Site […]
Honouring styíłc̓aʔ Ceremony March 2025
The Syilx Nation would like to invite you to join us for a ceremony to honour and pray for styíłc̓aʔ (caribou). No registration required – see poster for more details!
Children First Forum 2023 Date TBC
The Children First Forum is an annual ONA event held to bring together syilx Okanagan leadership, staff, and community members working with children and families to equip them with tools for care of our children. This includes building relationships, gaining new ideas and perspectives, preparing to lobby for legal jurisdiction, and addressing any gaps. Open […]
captikʷɬ: k̓ʷəck̓ʷəcstim iʔ stəɬtaɬtet December 17, 2024
Strengthening Our Truth Okanagan Nation Alliance will be hosting captikʷl Forums this year, in partnership with the En’owkin Centre. The captikʷł forums are held for insight and community engagement in examining Syilx captikʷł, how lessons from the captikʷł connect with our modern way of living, and how to integrate Syilx values and principles within captikʷł […]
Four Food Chiefs Gathering TBD
ɬə txətʼntiməlx mnimɬcəlx kʷu ks txətʼntimʼ The Four Food Chiefs Gathering is an annual gathering of Syilx Nation members. This event focuses on information sharing, utilizing the enowkinwixw model through our Four Food Chiefs. Join us for a two-day gathering featuring workshops, presentations, keynotes, and activities focused on connecting with the land and water, promoting […]
Syilx Indian Residential School Healing Gathering April 3-4, 2024
puti kʷu‿alaʔ The Syilx Indian Residential School (SIRS) Committee at the ONA holds an annual gathering for Syilx Okanagan residential school survivors, intergenerational survivors, and other family members to share stories, support each other, and participate in healing together. Residential schools were extremely disruptive to Syilx Okanagan relationships. Families were separated and roles were forgotten, […]
Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, & Two Spirit Gathering October 2023
The Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLBTQQIA+ (MMIWG2S) has been a National tragedy over many decades, and has affected the Syilx Nation directly through the loss of our loved ones within our communities. The 4th annual MMIWG2S Gathering will feature Keynote speakers and presentations on some of the current issues so the Syilx […]
Syilx Water Forum 2024 Date TBC
The Water Forums is a gathering of the community to showcase the work completed through the Natural Resource Department’s Community Water Forum Project. The...
Spirit of Syilx Unity Run June 5-8, 2025
The Okanagan Nation Alliance’s Annual “Spirit of Syilx” Unity Run is scheduled to take place May 30 to June 2, 2024. Over 100 youth and members from across the Syilx Nation will run to create awareness on suicide and violence. Participants will relay over 330 km starting from ncaʔm, Christina Lake, BC and run through the eastern portion of the Syilx Territory to qalisuʔ, Gerrard, BC. This Annual Run started in 2009 with the three major goals of the run: to create awareness of high violence in our Nation, to promote Nationhood among the Youth and to promote healthy living.
Fry Releases May 2025
This ceremonial release of 10,000 Okanagan Sockeye fry takes place by members of the Okanagan Nation and over 430 students from local schools so that kł cp̓əlk̓ stim̓ (cause to come back) will...
Salmon Calling Ceremonies June 2024
We honour our ancestors with this annual ceremony in which we gather in five separate locations along the Columbia River to help pray for the return of the salmon.
Salmon Feast September 19-21, 2025
It is one of the goals of the Syilx Okanagan Nation to carry on the work of the people's ancestors and Elders who taught the importance of preserving and revitalizing...
Early Years Gathering 2024 Date TBC
I? scmala?tet The Early Years Gathering provides opportunity for Aboriginal Early Childhood professionals to engage in a manner that can contribute to capacity building and resource...
Grandmothers Gathering 2025 Date TBC
Calling Syilx Grandmothers who are passionate about working with children and families to reclaim and restore Syilx family ways of being. This event is an opportunity for Grandmothers within the Syilx Okanagan Nation to gather and focus on familial roles, Nation needs, and traditional models of child-raising in today’s world. Grandmothers will identify training and […]
Syilx Nation Drug & Human Trafficking Forum 2024 Date TBC
Responding to the opioid drug crisis The Syilx Nation Drug Forum is an annual event to create space for sharing of information, resources, tools, stories and personal experiences related to drug and alcohol use. It began in response to the opioid drug crisis and focuses on bringing awareness to overdose. This will be a space […]
YES Specialized Training iʔ scx̌asəsmil̕tət The YES Program is dedicated to assisting the Syilx Nation in addressing family violence and sexual assault. As part of the Specialized Training within the YES Program, we offer a comprehensive full-day training session aimed at enhancing the capacity to effectively respond to various forms of violence. Open to Syilx Nation Members, Community […]
Syilx Nation Data Governance Plan Presentations nłk̓ʷsalqʷm: ackʷum iʔ sck̓łpaʔx̌tət The Syilx Data Plan has been guided by the collective knowledge and wisdom of our ancestors, elders, knowledge keepers, and Nation members of today to plan and prepare for the people-to-be. Good quality wellness data helps with community planning and monitoring of programs. ONA data team would like to invite you […]
River Restoration Workshop Registration for the Spring 2025 River Restoration Workshop will open on January 8, 2025 The Okanagan Nation Alliance in collaboration with many project partners have been successfully restoring spawning and rearing habitat for salmon in the Okanagan Basin for over 20 years. Traditional Ecological Knowledge, best management practices, measured stream geometry and natural habitat features […]
