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Reflections on the field trip to the Sncewips Heritage Museum

Ilyas Kanybek

Our trip to Sncewips museum perhaps would not be as nice it was if not for the guide Coral Miller. She was by fat the nicest part of the visit. Charismatic and charming she knew what she was talking about and explained us in a manner that makes communication productive and coherent. I learn a lot listening to her personal story and the story of her people. It was particularly striking for me as I am a foreigner and we do not have settler to indigenous understanding. I believe it is important to raise awareness among new comers like me so we get to learn all the aspects of Canada's history.

The museum strikes me with how small it is yet encompasses so much interesting, so much beautiful and truly important. I hope that there will be more places like that where people from all groups, be it people like me, foreigners, or local Canadians or younger indigenous generations could come and learn about a rich and long history of diverse First Nations of Canada. I also understand that such processes take time and we should respectfully support it along the way.

A striking discovery for me was to learn about the reconciliation process and attempts to rehabilitate the language. It is particularly interesting for me. As an anthropologist linguistics remains one of the most important trainings we receive. I am impressed by the work people are doing. It has been so touching to me to learn about people woh despite all odds do not give up on themselves. It is truly worthy of genuine respect.

I was also very positively impressed to learn that they give free salmon cans, I think it is a very nice gesture with a clear message to every one visiting the museum. Its about the vision, understanding and culture that the museum, as a representative of people is willing to translate to people. Its impressive!

Leandra Vanbaelinghem

The Sncewips heritage museum, guided by Coralee Miller, was a very insightful learning experience filled with humour. I came to Canada a little over four years ago, and as a newcomer, reconciliation is found to be quite taboo. My knowledge of the subject extended to online reading, friend's knowledge and the blanket exercise guided by a Mi'kmaq. Therefore, the museum tour was precious. Something that stood out in the context of our class project was hearing Mrs. Miller talk about the natural water sources of Kelowna. She explained that consuming any raw plant that grows in Kelowna close to civilization was not good and would likely make you sick because of water contamination. This made me reflect on what we learned in Madeline's presentation about how people grow food along Brandt's creek, like Zukini, for others to eat. But how positive is this action if people who consume it cannot cook such vegetables well enough to prevent sickness? What was also concerning and shocking to learn was the acidification of Kelowna farmers' soil, which is estimated to produce food for only another 16 years, after which it will become unusable.

Hearing the principles and rules indigenous people adhere to when hunting was insightful. For example, if they caught a dead fish carrying eggs, they would release its eggs in a bucket, mix it with milt from a male fish, and put the mixture back in the creek. The sustainability grasp and lack of waste from indigenous people are impressive. It reminded me of similar examples explained in the book pollution is colonialism by Max Liboiron. Learning about traditional objects being modernized was also interesting. For instance, a fish weapon, whose hook was traditionally made from antler and dear ligaments, can now be made up of used hockey stick parts, which is as efficient. This adaptation of using readily available material to make such tools that can perform the same function while limiting waste and not being confined to the old ways is another admirable and sustainable way of doing. It reminded me of one of our discussions regarding restoration vs re-habilitation, although discussed in a landscape and ecosystem sense could also be applied to our ways of doing, where sticking to traditions might have worked and be most sustainable at the time but nowadays a better alternative for the given time and space may be more appropriate. Sustainability and resiliency are also exemplified in the descriptions of appropriations by Mrs. Miller, where new objects or ways were taken into the culture according to a checklist, which included something along the lines of, is the trade good for the people? Is it sustainable? Is it making the community better? It is very admirable that the Syilx people and other indigenous people have sustainability as a core value since day one, whereas it took us and is still taking us severe consequences and apparent damage from our actions to start bringing sustainability and resiliency into the picture.

Shaiyan Siddique

Hi Leandra, you have nicely summarized the overall discussion that we had at the museum. While Coralee mentioned that the Syilx people have traditionally been able to improvise and adapt well, it is sad to see their culture and way of life being disrupted in this day and age by such an overwhelming level of pollution and environmental disturbance. Furthermore, irreversible damage may have already been done to some or many aspects of their culture and lifestyle.

Shaiyan Siddique

The field trip to the Sncewips Heritage Museum in West Kelowna was a very interesting learning experience, and for me will be one of the highlights of this course. Our host, Coralee Miller, guided us through the museum and explained the background for the artifacts, as well as the culture, struggles, and the achievements of the Syilx people. Coralee is a skilled orator and has a great sense of humour, which helped to maintain the attention of the audience very effectively over the course of nearly two hours. It was very interesting to see how the characteristics of this land shaped the lifestyle of the Syilx people, such as the unique architecture of their houses, canoes as well as various hunting and farming tools tailored to sustainably harvest the bounties of this region. As a language enthusiast, I also enjoyed learning about the Syilx alphabet and the pronunciation of certain uncommon letters. It was also very informative to learn about the Syilx people’s respect for nature and how pollution from this city disrupted their lifestyle. Coralee mentioned during the discussions that the artificial straightening of river segments across the Okanagan region deteriorated salmon health. While Brandt’s creek is not reported to be home to any fish species, it made me wonder how the straightening of the creek might have impacted its biotic components.

One of the discussions that deeply resonated with and saddened me was about the racism faced by Coralee’s brother even in 2023. Prior to coming here, I had read online about many people’s experience with racism in Kelowna. Some of those people even went as far to describe Kelowna to be allegedly one of the most unfriendly and racist cities in Canada.

As a newcomer and a member of the visible minority community, my overall experience so far has thankfully been good. However, even in such a short time being here, I realized that concealed racism is a much bigger problem nowadays compared to overt racism. In my opinion, covert racism is worse than overt racism, as the victim may mistake it for friendliness. One of many examples of this would be, if a white European newcomer speaks with an accent or stumbles upon a mix-up, it is mostly considered cute and adorable. On the other hand, the same by a coloured person would be considered funny and laughable. In the rare few instances that I experienced hints of such, it was long after that I realized these people were not laughing with me, but rather laughing at me. I would like to make it very clear that those suggestive smirks, muffled snickers and gestures definitely did not go unnoticed.

I believe this would be far more unacceptable for the indigenous communities of Canada, being discriminated and insulted in their own original, ancestral homeland. The recent reports of racist abuse targeted even towards someone such as the Governor General of Canada Mary Simon goes to support Coralee’s point. There is still a long way to go.

Sofia Bahmutsky

Mrs. Coralee Miller is an educator at the Sncewips Museum in Westbank, she gave us a wonderful tour and was an extremely interesting and humorous host. This was my second time visiting the museum and I gained even more knowledge from this second visit with the class. Coralee led a very organic and free-flow tour, answered questions, and told stories. She was one of the best of the IGS 585 guest speakers in my opinion. I am really glad that we were able to visit the Sncewips museum as a part of this course.

One part of the tour which struck me quite intensely more than I anticipated was when I asked her what the north end of Kelowna downtown used to be for her people, and she didn’t provide a name of the place, she just mentioned that it was a massacre site. I was at a loss for words, as it seemed most of my peers were as well. Although Coralee presented the tour with humour and lightheartedness, I could tell that this question was not answerable with the same tone that she led the rest of the tour with. She also went into detail about the reason the term “Indian Band” is used today, coming from an extremely racist thinking in 1858 which considered the native people as animals or herds. This concept made me very uncomfortable realizing that the term is still used so freely today and even written on the status cards which first nations people may hold. Other topics throughout the tour which stood out to me were about the native plant species and their uses, especially about the 5-finger sage, pine pitch, willows, tule grass, and black cottonwoods. How the land influenced the Syilx people's way of life and the interconnectedness of all elements of nature was particularly inspiring for me to know. Coralee mentioned how many of these plant uses were adopted from other first nations, “appropriated” so to speak.

Coralee also spoke a great deal about the history of the area, and the Westbank First Nation self-governance creation in the 1990’s. Overall I really appreciated hearing the facts from a Syilx person directly, because she was able to tell her story and her body language added a dimension to the experience which I cannot experience from a history lecturer who may have a great deal of knowledge about the facts, but did have the lived experience as Coralee does. I so greatly appreciated this tour, the kindness and willingness Coralee showed to transfer her lived experience and knowledge to us was extremely valuable and I am very thankful.

Leandra Vanbaelinghem

Sofia pointed out the difference in tone and little detail added from Coralee about how the north end of Kelowna downtown was a massacre site. This built up a lot of questions in me, but with the weight of the statement and the sudden change in delivery, it did not seem like the correct time to ask them. Like Sofia, learning about the racist reasoning behind "Indian Band" and how it is still used and written on first nations status cards was very shocking. I was also very disappointed and saddened to hear that the Canadian borders give first nation people difficulty when returning from the US, as well as hearing about Coralee's brother's experiencing racism based on his looks. It is unacceptable and yet so prevalent. I have learned of many terrifying stories since coming to Canada, starting with my first arrival in the town of Sackville, New Brunswick, where an entrance billboard states the violent disappearance of an Indigenous student that attended Mount Allison University in 2012. Lastly, I agree with Sofia that Coralee was a fantastic guide and that learning so much about the first nations people from a Syilx person made the experience even more profound and honest.

Annie Furman

I am very thankful to Coralee Miller for guiding us through the Snecwips Heritage Museum, and I agree with several of the previous responses here that this was one of the most impactful and insightful experiences thus far in this course. One of the many things that stuck with me was right at the beginning of the tour, when Coralee told the story of how white traders (and eventually settlers) came to call the Syilx people “Okanagan” because the traders asked the Syilx people they encountered “What are you?” and the Syilx scouts they had met responded literally with what their job was (a Syilx word that was anglicized as “Okanagan”).

It makes me think about the histories carried in place names, and the inherent violence of many names in British Columbia (including that one, “British Columbia”) as well as across Canada and the US, and globally wherever settler-colonial names have been used to erase Indigenous ones. When considering sustainability policies in the Okanagan, how do we acknowledge the violence and erasure contained in the histories of the names we use to envision future policies? How do we go beyond acknowledging and work toward active change? This makes me reflect too on the sudden heaviness when we asked about the Syilx name for the North End/Brandt’s Creek area, and Coralee informed us that it had been a massacre site. It definitely didn’t seem like an appropriate time to ask further questions, but it does make me think about how that knowledge shapes how we talk about that area.

Sofia Bahmutsky

Thank you for your insight Annie. I very much agree with you about the importance of place names, the process of changing place names, and also the impact a name has and can hold for a very long time. Re-naming areas with settler names or terminology (which is so common here in Kelowna) is a degradation of the Syilx peoples culture and history. The same applies to Brandt's Creek, and I'm sure to countless of the other waterways in the valley. I too felt an intense change of energy in the room when Coralee answered my question about if the north end area of downtown had a name or was significant in any way to her people. I would like to at some point in the future ask her about it more only if she would be open to that of course.

Gabrielle Heschuk

Thank you Annie for this reflection, I can't help but agree with you about the impact and weight of this guest speaker experience as it impacted me greatly when thinking about our project. I liked how you talked about the history that is carried in place names as it really does carry so much significance. The erasure of indigenous knowledge and stories is part of the colonial experience. Erasing the idea of indigenous people occupying these ands long before settlers adds to the issue of western culture's lack of respect for the environment to which the Sylix Okanagan people occupied which ultimately leads to environmental degradation. This made me think about Brandt's creek and the name of it and ask questions similar to your reflection. Something that may be useful when working on the brant's creek project would be involving some type of name to reflect what brant's creek is to indigenous people, and as Coralee explained, it was the grounds of a massacre. Perhaps this is needed to start more conversations and education.

Gabrielle Heschuk

The trip that we were able to take to the Snecwips Heritage Museum with Coralee was an extremely insightful and useful hands on education experience. It was refreshing to experience a guest lecture in a more interactive and personal manner than in our classrooms. Coralee provided an education experience that was often very lighthearted despite the deceiving dark and harrowing information.

It encouraged me to reflect upon the systems that are used to regulate and define relationships in western culture compared to indigenous culture. Many reasons as to why we are experiencing so many issues and problems are due to western systems that are used to control and regulate peoples relationships between each other as well as their relationship between them and the environment. There are different levels of respect and this creates tension. Something that Coralee discussed more after I asked about it was the idea of the Sylix Okanagan people being a matriarch and how when western culture starting to influence their culture, this dynamic relationship shifted and created tension. Similarly, with the environment western culture's influence on the Okanagan land has created all of the issues that we are seeing with humans lack of respect for the environment.

This tour emphasized even more so the idea that in order to start thinking about solving these great environmental issues that are here in the Okanagan, there needs to be indigenous Sylix Okanagan knowledge and advice. With Brandt's creek Coralee mentioned that the land where it is situated was a massacre site. This really hit hard for everyone in the class as it adds a weight onto what we are trying to do at brandt's creek. It almost left me with a feeling of shame that I had no idea the weight of that are prior to attending this tour. The lack of knowledge despite if it is directly related is important to reflect on as someone attempting to do environmental work on land that is unseeded and belonging to someone else. This is all important and crucial to continue to think about within this projct.

Annie Furman

Hi Gabby, thanks for this reflection. I very much agree that Western systems influencing people’s relationship with each other contribute to current problems just as Western systems influencing people’s relationship with the environment do (and that the two are undoubtedly inextricably linked). I’ve been reading several papers on feminist political ecologies recently, and especially after listening to Coralee speak on the tensions created by Western culture influencing Syilx culture, it’s certainly made me think more about the complex and important relationships between gender, Indigenous knowledge, and land.

Thomas Letcher-Nicholls

The visit to Sncewips was such a joy and real highlight of my time in Canada so far. I am so thankful for Coralee Miller’s tour – it was funny, totally eye-opening, and sometimes devastating, including (as mentioned by Sofia) how Coralee explained that the North End area of Kelowna around Brandt’s Creek was a massacre site. I cannot imagine what it is like to tell some of these stories.

I loved the introduction with the turtle shell! It was amazing to see the shell and see the way that an organic, material form literally keeps time – and Coralee explained that this is an example of how the land keeps time. This was such an amazing insight to hear, and it helped me see how very real and true it is that the Land holds knowledge. I am white/settler, and recently I have been learning how Indigenous understandings of Land are not metaphors but very true. Coralee explained how “we have been here from time immemorial” is not a metaphor or a saying, but very real because the land has been here forever – and because we come from the land (are nourished and made from it) then we have been too. This phrase which I used to think of as a kind of metaphor shows the continuity between people and place. It is true and real in the same way the material body of the turtle keeps time.

I was also really moved when Coralee simply said “That’s your obligation” when describing how it is a necessity that people save the salmon eggs in a bucket. My PhD research looks at the responsibilities and obligations that come with living on Indigenous land. It was so powerful to hear Coralee explain obligations with such brevity and certainty.

If I could recount Coralee’s whole tour I would. I was also really grateful to learn some words and their pronunciation in the Sylix language, and to hear about the efforts to keep the language alive.

Thinking about Brandt’s Creek, I think my main takeaway is simply that we must always be incredibly mindful and attentive to the history of the place. I would never want to reproduce historical trauma in the report. We know that here, as elsewhere in Canada (and all over the world), colonial history is truly horrifying and devastating – and still is. I think we have to hold space for that with intention and care, and maybe not delve into it if that is not what the community would want. It is our job to try and care for this creek and pay attention to the history and continued survival of Indigenous relations to it with responsibility and seriousness.

Ilyas Kanybek

I absolutely agree with Thomas that this was perhaps one of the most interesting parts of the entire course we had. I learnt a lot and got to feel a little closer to the history of Kelowna and Brandts creek. I also agree that the land keeps time, it might not be directly easy to understand it from the first time but I think if one get to think about this concept more it becomes more clearer how deep the notion is and that indigenous people have been here for so long that I think we cannot even understand it. I very much agree with Tom that we must be mindful and attentive to the history of the place we are living in and I think it is incredible how much this history is complicated if you think.

Daisy Pullman

The tour of the Sncewips Heritage Museum was an absolute highlight of this class so far, and Coralee Miller was an amazingly engaging guide. As a newcomer to the Okanagan I still have an awful lot to learn about Indigenous history and culture, and I'm grateful for this opportunity to listen and learn. While the artefacts were interesting, it was Coralee's explanations and stories that brought them to life and reminded us that they are not just historical, but are still important parts of Syilx culture. The enormous canoe, for example, was actually created in the early 2000s using traditional techniques, and is still used by the community. Coralee discussed the long-term plan to drop the name 'museum' due to the its colonial legacy, and I think this will also help remind visitors of the endurance of Syilx culture into the present day.

I found the history of Sncewips' founding incredibly moving. The Westbank First Nation achieved self-government in 2005, but needed an official repository in order to reclaim stolen artefacts (including human remains) that were now scattered across Canada. Sncewips had to have state-of-the-art climate-controlled facilities and trained curators before these precious objects and even family members could be repatriated. This story made me incredibly sad and angry. It feels like another manifestation of colonial violence: a re-enactment of the violation of the initial theft. The arrogance of making a community jump through hoops in order to reclaim what is rightfully theirs is astonishing. Maybe it shouldn't be though, there are many examples of former colonial powers dictating the management of stolen artefacts, such as the British Museum's refusals to return the Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, or the Elgin Marbles to Greece.

In terms of the relation of this visit to our Brandt's Creek project, I think it was a vital reminder of that we are living and conducting research on unceded Syilx land that has an often violent colonial past. Coralee informed us that Brandt's Creek was once the site of a massacre of Indigenous people. Despite all of us researching the area extensively, I don't think any of us had come across this information. It reminds us that Indigenous history is systematically silenced, and our project will need to critically recognise the settler biases of many of the sources we are relying on.

Thomas Letcher-Nicholls

Thanks, Daisy! I totally agree with you – the Sncewips Heritage Museum was just an incredible experience, and one of the most moving and special that I have had at UBCO so far.

I really liked your historical perspective in this reflection, connecting it to the Benin Bronzes (Nigeria) or the Elgin Marbles (Greece). These are devastating stories and I am just all the more in awe of the work that they do at Sncewips.

I am also really moved by how you have connected this to our Brandt’s Creek project. I just had no words for much of what Coralee said. But it is up to us to do our work for this project in ways that do justice to the incredible work that is being done at the Sncewips Heritage Museum and by the Syilx community more broadly.