![]() ![]() One of the museum’s missions is to tell the story of the area’s Indigenous people, and talk about the importance of n ̓x̌ax̌aitkʷ in protecting the lake. To Miller, a member of the Westbank First Nation, n ̓x̌ax̌aitkʷ and Ogopogo are two separate entities and shouldn’t be conflated. Yet, the misappropriation and commodification of n ̓x̌ax̌aitkʷ is a sensitive issue. “That’s where I think that misunderstanding came from – settlers saw us throw a little bit of meat in the water,” Miller explained. The syilx fed n ̓x̌ax̌aitkʷ symbolically, with tobacco and sage, and occasionally an offering of Kokanee salmon to thank the lake for providing food and water. “Missionaries saw our water spirit and the habit was to demonise our spiritual beliefs.” “In our stories, actually very dark in colour and it’s got the head of a horse and the antlers of a deer,” said Coralee Miller, assistant manager at the new Sncəwips Heritage Museum in West Kelowna. Sometimes, though, the spirit would reveal itself from within the lake. It existed in two forms: a spiritual form and a physical, tangible form, which was embodied by the lake itself. Chief among them was the importance of water, represented by n ̓x̌ax̌aitkʷ. They had their own laws, justice system and beliefs. Before European fur traders arrived in the valley in 1809, the syilx had been living in the area for at least 12,000 years. ![]()
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