Indigenous Peoples and Land Acknowledgement

The syilx Nation are “stewards of the land – promoting a healthy economic, social, cultural, and spiritual exchange.”¹ Indigenous people and traditional territories, however, are being disproportionately affected by climate change, as the land (tmx^wulax^w), waters, natural habitats, ecosystems, and all living things (tmix^w) that have been stewarded by Indigenous people for millennia are being impacted.²

Across Turtle Island, Indigenous peoples are taking action. In 2023, the Assembly of First Nations released a National Climate Strategy proposing a transition away from the overemphasis on technological solutions and market-based mechanisms towards a framing that emphasizes the centrality of Indigenous knowledge systems, rights, and self-determination.³ BC First Nation’s Leadership Council released its Climate Strategy and Action Plan in Spring 2022, seeking to respond to the needs and priorities of Indigenous People in BC.⁴ The BC Government has formally acknowledged the importance of collaborating with Indigenous populations on climate initiatives through the BC Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan.⁵

Locally, the syilx Nation has done extensive work addressing the impacts of climate change in the region. Some highlights include:

• Re-establishing prescribed fire on the Okanagan landscape. Climate change and past fire suppression has led to more intense, destructive wildfire seasons and less resilient forest and grassland ecosystems. The syilx Nation are working to re-establish prescribed fire in the region, which traditionally maintained open forest and grassland ecosystems with low intensity, controlled burns, lit and managed by syilx people for the health of tmix^w.
• Syilx siwɬk^w (water) Strategy. This strategy is designed to protect and manage water within syilx territory which has been impacted by a variety of influences, including climate change.
• kɬúsx̌nítk^w (Okanagan Lake) Responsibility Planning Initiative. This initiative is designed to bring syilx and nonsyilx partners together to address the cumulative impacts threatening the long-term viability of Okanagan Lake to provide clean drinking water, habitat for fish and wildlife, erosion and flood control, and contribute to climate change mitigation.⁶

The City of Kelowna is committed to establishing and maintaining a mutually respectful relationship with the syilx Nation and other Urban Indigenous people residing in Kelowna. As we move to implementation of the Climate Resilient Kelowna Strategy, we hope to learn from Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge to better inform how we adapt and respond to climate change and be a more resilient community that respects the tmix^w.

_{1 Westbank First Nation. (2020). Comprehensive Community Plan. Retrieved from: westbank_ccp_web.pdf (wfn.ca).}

_{2 BC First Nation’s Leadership Council. (2022). BC First Nations Climate Strategy and Action Plan. Retrieved from: BCFNCSAP Final Draft (22April2022).pdf (bcafn.ca).}

_{3 Assembly of First Nations. (2023). National Climate Strategy. Retrieved from: 2023 Climate Strategy Report (bynder.com).}

_{4 BC First Nation’s Leadership Council, 2022. BC First Nations Climate Strategy and Action Plan.}

_{5 BC Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation. (2022). Declaration On the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan (Action 2.12).}

_{Retrieved from: declaration_act_action_plan.pdf (gov.bc.ca).}

_{6 Okanagan Nation Alliance. Archives: Projects. Projects – Okanagan Nation Alliance (syilx.org)}