Salmon camp at Gallagher Lake which was hosted by the Okanagan Nation Alliance and the En’owkin Centre.

The photo above is Gary Bonneau and Chris Armstrong showing an Okanagan youth, Raymond Alexis how to clean and prepare the salmon for processing. Several processing methods are being used at the camp, including drying, smoking and canning salmon.

As a special note, some of the sockeye salmon being processed at the camp was harvested at Okanagan Falls, which was one of the most significant Okanagan-Syilx fisheries on this side of the international boundary.

“Through collaboration, our goal is to strengthen family and community connections by bringing the people together for harvesting salmon and providing opportunities to learn from practical experiences on the land. We want to continue to build upon our Nation efforts to re-vitalize our ways of being and demonstrate the values and practices that were inherent to Syilx peoples.

The intent of this language and culture immersion camp i…s for rebuilding traditional forms of community fishing, including topics such as traditional harvesting; processing and preservation; language revitalization; cultural protocols and practices; family and community connection.”   ~~ Okanagan Nation Alliance

Picture and words submitted by Ruby Alexis.