Arts and Social Sciences, Irving K. Barber Faculty of (Okanagan)
DSpace
UBCO
Alexis, Sarah
Master of Arts - MA
University of British Columbia
This thesis examines the story threads of syilx people and concepts regarding responsibility and enacting accountability to the ecosystems in the Okanagan Valley. The research looked at gaps in contemporary understanding of ecological accountability as informed by the nsyilxcn language. The thesis argues that understanding the conceptual ideas of the syilx regarding the larger ecosystem serves to establish stronger individual, familial, community, and national ties to environmental accountability and does this through syilx oral narratives that serve as a framework of looking outwards at the world. The methodological approach for this thesis includes a search and analysis through syilx-specific literature and autoethnographic sources and stories to help situate and address this research. The thesis queries asked: how do I as a syilx scholar approach Indigenous research through a syilxcentric analysis?; how did my experiences of being a sqilxʷ person inform coming into a view of sqəlxʷcawt?; how does nsyilxcn as a language in its authentic form underpin sqəlxʷcawt, (ways of being), to ensure the transfer between bodies of generational knowledge and inform our contemporary syilx responsibilities?; and how do syilx ancestral oraliture, captikʷɬ and smaʔmayʔ, inform syilx social values and understandings of responsibility, including water? The findings for this thesis is that contemporary syilx sqəlxʷcawt is informed directly from the intricate and lived understanding of the physical, metaphysical, visual, and spiritual connections of nsyilxcn.
EXPLORING SYILX RESPONSIBILITY THROUGH SQƏLXWCAWT by Sarah Alexis B.A., University of British Columbia Okanagan, 2015 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE COLLEGE OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Interdisciplinary Studies) (Indigenous Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Okanagan) December 2024 © Sarah Alexis, 2024 ii The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the College of Graduate Studies for acceptance, a thesis entitled: EXPLORING SYILX RESPONSIBILITY THROUGH SQƏLXWCAWT submitted by Sarah Alexis in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts. Dr. Jeannette Armstrong, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Supervisor Dr. Bill Cohen, Faculty of Education Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Marlowe Sam, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Supervisory Committee Member Dr. Rachelle Hole, Faculty of Health and Social Development University Examiner iii Abstract This thesis examines the story threads of syilx people and concepts regarding responsibility and enacting accountability to the ecosystems in the Okanagan Valley. The research looked at gaps in contemporary understanding of ecological accountability as informed by the nsyilxcn language. The thesis argues that understanding the conceptual ideas of the syilx regarding the larger ecosystem serves to establish stronger individual, familial, community, and national ties to environmental accountability and does this through syilx oral narratives that serve as a framework of looking outwards at the world. The methodological approach for this thesis includes a search and analysis through syilx-specific literature and autoethnographic sources and stories to help situate and address this research. The thesis queries asked: how do I as a syilx scholar approach Indigenous research through a syilxcentric analysis?; how did my experiences of being a sqilxʷ person inform coming into a view of sqəlxʷcawt?; how does nsyilxcn as a language in its authentic form underpin sqəlxʷcawt, (ways of being), to ensure the transfer between bodies of generational knowledge and inform our contemporary syilx responsibilities?; and how do syilx ancestral oraliture, captikʷɬ and smaʔmayʔ, inform syilx social values and understandings of responsibility, including water? The findings for this thesis is that contemporary syilx sqəlxʷcawt is informed directly from the intricate and lived understanding of the physical, metaphysical, visual, and spiritual connections of nsyilxcn. iv Lay Summary syilx sqəlxʷcawt, ways of being, has been disrupted by Colonialism. This research examines and brings together stories from the authors’ experiences throughout their research across syilx Okanagan territory. The methodology for this thesis is directly tied to the lived experience and expertise through an autoethnographic approach highlighting sqəlxʷcawt through nsyilxcn, the language of the syilx Okanagan People. Understanding the nsyilxcn language is critical in living syilx sqəlxʷcawt. This thesis looks at sqəlxʷcawt on how it is connected to the self, to the family, to the community, to the syilx Nation, and to the water. The findings highlight that syilx sqəlxʷcawt is informed directly through the experiential understanding of the physical, emotional, and spiritual connections of nsyilxcn and gives contextual examples of the distinct syilx layers of responsibility and accountability. v Preface In 2018, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council-funded project, Waterways: Past, Present, and Future was established as a collaborative multi-disciplinary approach between several faculties at the University of British Columbia Okanagan. Dr. Aleksandra Dulic is the Principle Investigator for this project and two articles were produced ‘Okanagan Waterways Past, Present and Future: Approaching Sustainability through Immersive Museum Exhibition’ (2023) and ‘Bringing the salmon home: a study of cross-cultural collaboration in the syilx Okanagan Territory of British Columbia’ (2023). My own research experience from this project is included in this dissertation and no parts of the actual research project have been utilized. The use of the UBC Research Ethics Board was not required for this research. This research has not used, in any form, generative AI, in any production for this thesis. vi Table of Contents Abstract .........................................................................................................................................................iii Lay Summary................................................................................................................................................ iv Preface .......................................................................................................................................................... v Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................... ix Glossary ......................................................................................................................................................... x Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................................... xii Dedication ...................................................................................................................................................xiii Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1 1.0 Context: The syilx Okanagan ..................................................................................................... 3 1.1 Positioning of Self ...................................................................................................................... 4 Chapter 2: Methodology ................................................................................................................................ 8 2.1 Autoethnographic Methodology ................................................................................................ 9 2.1.1 My Own Experience ............................................................................................................ 9 2.1.2 My Elder Teachings............................................................................................................. 9 2.1.3 My Own Work ................................................................................................................... 10 2.1.4 My Language Journey ....................................................................................................... 11 2.2 syilx Academic Groundwork ................................................................................................... 12 2.2.1 The nʕawqnwixʷ Framework ............................................................................................ 13 2.2.2 The sqəlxʷcawt or spider’s web framework ...................................................................... 16 2.3 captikʷɬ Oral Narratives and Literary Analysis ........................................................................ 17 2.3.1 nsyilxcn (language) and captikʷɬ (story) analysis .............................................................. 19 Chapter 3: syilxcentric Research: Theory and Approach ............................................................................ 22 3.1 Epistemology, Place and Accountability ................................................................................. 22 3.2 Relationality ............................................................................................................................. 23 3.3 captikʷɬ and smaʔmay̓ .............................................................................................................. 24 3.4 Research as Resistance ............................................................................................................. 25 3.5 Research as Transformation ..................................................................................................... 26 3.6 Research as Responsibility ....................................................................................................... 26 3.7 Responsibilities of embodying nsyilxcn within syilx research ................................................ 27 Chapter 4: nsyilxcn Language .................................................................................................................... 28 4.1 nsyilxcn: the Language of the syilx People.............................................................................. 28 4.2 nsyilxcn language informing time frames ................................................................................ 30 4.2.1 st̕lsqilxʷ – torn from the earth ............................................................................................ 31 4.2.2 xaʔtmasqilxʷ – in front of us sqilxʷ ................................................................................... 32 4.2.3 sqilxʷ – dream in the spiral ................................................................................................ 33 4.2.4 ʕawtmasqilxʷ – to come after sqilxʷ .................................................................................. 34 4.2.5 k̓ʷaʔsic – a time thereafter ................................................................................................. 34 4.3 nsyilxcn informing standpoint – axaʔ isqəlxʷcawt .................................................................. 35 Chapter 5: syilx Ancestral oraliture, captikʷɬ and smaʔmay̓ ....................................................................... 37 5.1 Indigenous Oral Narrative ........................................................................................................ 37 5.2 captikʷɬ and smaʔmay̓ as Knowledge Systems ........................................................................ 37 5.3 nsyilxcn informs concepts of sqəlxʷcawt ................................................................................. 40 5.4 sqəlxʷcawt informing contemporary responsibility and accountability ................................... 41 5.5 Syilx captikʷɬ and Names ......................................................................................................... 41 5.6 captikʷɬ and Ecosystems Concepts........................................................................................... 42 5.6.1 tmixʷ .................................................................................................................................. 44 5.6.2 siwɬkʷ ................................................................................................................................. 45 5.6.3 tmxʷulaʔxʷ ......................................................................................................................... 45 vii 5.7 Literary Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 46 5.8 Oral narratives and captikʷɬ analysis........................................................................................ 47 5.8.1 Individuals informed by captikʷɬ ....................................................................................... 47 5.8.2 Families Influenced by captikʷɬ ......................................................................................... 48 5.8.3 Community influenced by captikʷɬ.................................................................................... 48 5.8.4 Territory influenced by captikʷɬ ........................................................................................ 50 5.8.5 Wetlands and water influenced by captikʷɬ ....................................................................... 50 Chapter 6: Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 52 6.1 Enacting sqəlxʷcawt and Implications for Community ........................................................... 53 6.2 Final thoughts ........................................................................................................................... 53 Reference List .............................................................................................................................................. 55 ix List of Figures Figure 1 “Analog Imagery: Principles in Enowkinwixw” in Constructing Indigeneity: Syilx Okanagan Oraliture and tmixw Centrism. (Armstrong, 2009, p. 174) ......................................................................... 15 Figure 2 “Sqilxʷcawt Model” in Coyote Failed School, so Fox Made a New One: Indigenous Okanagan Knowledge Transforms Educational Pedagogy (Cohen, 2010, p.41) ......................................................... 17 Figure 3 A hand drawn diagram of the sqəlxʷcawt in the middle of the nested system model and the nʕawqnwixʷ four societies model. ............................................................................................................... 21 Figure 4 sqəlxʷcawt spiral in relation nested system and syilx oral narratives. ......................................... 46 x Glossary NSYILXCN ENGLISH nsyilxcn language of the syilx People sqilxʷ human, Indigenous, dream in a spiral iʔ sqəlxʷcawt human, Indigenous ways of being captikʷɬ oral stories, knowledge systems, smaʔmay̓ anecdotal narratives iʔ stqʷlqʷltiplaʔs iʔ sƛaʔƛaʔ tə sm̓ypnwiɬn formal knowledge research k̓ʷaʔsic known as a time thereafter swit askʷíst? who is your name? crt̕ups Fisher siwɬkʷ water nʕawqnwixʷ drops of water coming together sk̓łpaʔx̌ conscious thought twi designation of a deceased person sxʷƛ̓aƛ̓ʔám formal researcher x̌ʷʕaylxʷ fox ntytyix chinook salmon spiƛ̓m bitterroot siyaʔ saskatoon berry skmxist black bear yilmixʷm chief, leader, one who coils x̌əl iʔ kʷu sqilxʷ for us the people nəɬnaʔsqilxʷtn people eater monsters xi snk̓lip coyote haʔ uc k̓ɬʔanwintxʷ? Did you feel that? nw̓ist iʔ snmaʔmayaʔtn high educational learning əcxʷuy snk̓lip captikʷł also known as the “coyote-was-travelling c̓əskʕáknaʔ chickadee sumix power skawilx watersnake tmixʷ all living beings sntr̓us unravelling motion; connection to things; x̌asłcawt good way of doing things k̓słcawt bad way of doing things st̕lsqilxʷ torn from the earth xaʔtmasqilxʷ in front of us sqilxʷ ʕawtmasqilxʷ to come after sqilxʷ siwɬkʷ water tmxʷulaʔxʷ land k̓ʷul̕ncútn creator, one who creates oneself sqəlxʷúʔlaxʷ land of Indigenous peoples łkʷitkʷ to lap water siwst to drink water xii Acknowledgements limlmt isnqsilxʷ. limlmt iʔ syilx naʔɬ sqilxʷ. limlmt x̌əl iʔ tmixʷ. limlmt x̌əl iʔ tmxʷulaʔxʷ. limlmt x̌əl iʔ siw̓ɬkʷ. Thank you to my family. Thank you to the Okanagan People. Thank you to the all of the living beings where our stories come from. Thank you to the land and the places we live. Thank you to water, our oldest ancestor. limlmt isəxʷmaʔmayaʔm. limlmt iʔ əcmaʔmayaʔm. limlmt iʔ nwist iʔ snmaʔmayaʔtn inx̌aʔtus. limlmt isəxʷƛaʔƛaʔam. Thank you to my teachers. Thank you to my students. Thank you to my higher learning leaders, the ones who have helped pave the way. Thank you to the collaborating researchers supporting this work. limlmt snk̓lip. Thank you coyote for sharing your stories. xiii Dedication This research is dedicated to the people-to-be. 1 Chapter 1: Introduction iʔ stqʷltqʷltiplaʔs iʔ sƛ̓aʔƛ̓aʔ tə sm̓ypnwiɬn | My formal knowledge research thesis statement axáʔ ismaʔmay̓ k̓l nw̓ist iʔ snmaʔymáyaʔtn. cəm̓ ɬaʔ ʔaʔumntxʷ isck̓łpaʔx̌ k̓l iʔ sƛ̓aʔƛ̓aʔ tə sm̓ypnwiɬn k̓l iʔ sqəlxʷcaw̓tət uɬ iʔ misx’c̕x’ac̕t aʔc̕mistim taʔc k̓l iʔ smaʔmay̓ uɬ iʔ captikʷɬ uɬ inca iscmy̓pnwiɬn t̕l yʕat iʔ xʷuymn l̕ isckʷul, l̕ isƛx̌ap, uɬ l̕ iscmyaʔmaʔyaʔ tə nqilxʷcn uɬ nixʷ q̓sapiʔ inƛ̓x̌ʷəƛ̓x̌ʷap ɬa c̓ʔu̓llus uł tqʷaʔqʷamisəlx cəm iʔ kʷasic iʔ sqilxʷ k̓l sənxˑaʔcnus. ha cəm iʔ tmixʷ cus iʔ sic iʔ sqilxʷ iʔ kɬ nxˑastansəlx c̕x̌iɬ tə caw̓tət q̓sapiʔ? Here are my stories for the academic learning. When you read the thoughts from my research for knowledge of our Syilx ways as well as the most important knowledge we have from narrative story and oral story as well as my auto-experiences from all areas, in my work, in my growing up, and in the learning of my language, and also from long ago, my elders, when they gather and spoke about the future of sqilxʷ people. Will the tmixʷ be able to tell the sqilxʷ people what will be beneficial to them in our ways like long ago? nsyilxcn, the language of the syilx people, smaʔmay̓, syilx anecdotal narratives, are included in this thesis to create spaces for syilx practices of formal and informal storytelling within academia. These smaʔmay̓ are for current language learners, future language speakers, and all those who are pulled to the language of this land. This thesis addresses the following research questions: • How do I as syilx scholar approach Indigenous research as a syilxcentric analysis? • How did my sqilxʷ experiences of being a sqilxʷ person inform coming into a view of sqəlxʷcawt? • How does nsyilxcn as a language in its authentic form1 underpin sqəlxʷcawt, ways of being, to ensure the transfer between generational knowledge bodies? and inform our contemporary syilx responsibilities? • How do syilx ancestral oraliture, captikʷł and smaʔmay̓, inform syilx social values and understandings of responsibility, including water? 1 Not trying to translate it into English ideas/concepts but to examine the concepts/ideas from the sqilxʷ knowledge view. 2 This thesis comes at an important time in the wider escalating global environmental crisis and impacts of climate change are threatening ecosystems worldwide, highlighting the need for innovative approaches to environmental stewardship. Indigenous knowledge systems, characterized by deep-rooted environmental ethics and sustainable practices, are proving indispensable in addressing these challenges. These systems provide essential insights and frameworks that are often overlooked in mainstream environmental policies, underscoring the importance of integrating these perspectives to bolster biodiversity conservation, ecosystem resilience, and societal sustainability. Set against the backdrop of the global environmental crisis and the looming impacts of climate change, this thesis explores the topic of syilx water responsibility. The syilx Okanagan Nation have lived in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia and Washington State since time immemorial. With its diverse ecosystems, landforms, and many at-risk species, the Nation epitomizes the intrinsic connection between Indigenous communities and their natural environments. The syilx People's knowledge, which is deeply intertwined with the natural world, is crucial for their survival and is threatened by the ongoing loss of biodiversity and ecological degradation. This research explores how syilx beliefs embody a broader sense of responsibility that transcends individual, communal, and national boundaries, extending to a deep connection with the natural world. By examining contemporary syilx perspectives on water, this thesis taps into the insights of syilx academics and thinkers to enhance our understanding of their ethics and beliefs. It aims to enrich both academic and community knowledge bases. By addressing critical gaps in the awareness and understanding of water issues within and beyond the syilx community, this work positions itself at the forefront of a paradigm shift. It advocates for a transformative approach that elevates syilx viewpoints and knowledge, promoting water resilience and 3 sustainability across their territory. This thesis highlights the critical role of captikʷɬ, or oral stories, in transmitting the philosophical underpinnings of tmixʷcentrism (Armstrong, 2009, p. 2), the syilx environmental ethic, as articulated by the syilx scholar Jeannette Armstrong. 1.0 Context: The syilx Okanagan Contemporarily, the syilx people are a transboundary Indigenous Nation situated within the southern interior region of British Columbia, Canada and the north-central region of Washington State in the United States of America. The syilx Nation and its people existed and thrived well before settlers arrived. Historically, before the disruption of colonial settlement, syilx people held their own “distinct districts” in which they would live and act upon; these districts were divided according to region within the syilx Nation (Derickson et al., 1994, p. 6). These districts were socially structured by the collection of village sites and places of high interest throughout the territory (Derickson et al., 1994). syilx people were more dispersed in major and minor village sites across the territory (Boas & Teit, 1927). Settler contact in the Okanagan began in the early 1840s with the arrival of the missionary Jesuit Priests followed by the Oblate Priests who were amongst the first to erect non-sqilxʷ buildings and settled in various places throughout the Okanagan (Teit, 1898); most notably of the settlements were in places such as Oliver, Penticton, and Kelowna, all of which are located along the Okanagan valley bottom. While in contemporary times these districts still exist yet hold complex and emotionally churning origins of political ties to the Canadian Federal Indian Act. The syilx Nation has been divided into Indian Bands or Communities. These communities exist and thrive within our contemporary time of k̓ʷaʔsic , known as a “time hereafter” (Alexis, 2018, p. 24). Most notably, the syilx Nation is comprised of seven Indian Bands on the Canadian side of the border - 4 Okanagan Indian Band, Upper Nicola Indian Band, Westbank First Nation, Penticton Indian Band, Osoyoos Indian Band, Upper Similkameen Indian Band, and Lower Similkameen Indian Band - and, one Confederated Tribe, Colville Confederated Tribes, on the American side (Okanagan Nation Alliance, 2017). 1.1 Positioning of Self It is a part of syilx customs and practice to introduce oneself, family, and where they come from. This introduction creates a chance for the listener and reader to observe and see the relationality between kinship ties, areas of responsibility, and connections ‘to place’ wherever those might be located (Cohen, 2010, pp. 65-66). This research is based on the worldview in which I am situated and to which I relate: my dual heritage of Okanagan and Dakelh roots. In syilx practice, introductions are the highest form of creating space to connect the many strands of kinship ties together. My introduction situates myself, my relative ties, my connection to place, and the work I am responsible to undertake. In nsyilxcn it is a common question to ask, ‘swit askʷist?’ translated into English as ‘who is your name?’ This question helps to define “a ‘who’ rather than a – what and represents your genealogical and tribal identity(s)” (Cohen, 2010, p. 65). My introduction allows a glimpse into the multifaceted worldview in which I stand and the origin of this research. way̓ x̌ast sx̌lx̌alt ipsnəqsilxʷ. iskʷíst sk̓awílx. isəmmaskʷist Sarah Alexis. kn t̕l naʔsntkʷitkʷ. inmistəm ciqʷlx iʔ skʷists, intum tybi iʔ skʷists. innxaʔxaʔcin twi Murray Alexis naʔł Dora Louis uł nixʷ twi Steven Quaw naʔł twi Mary Peters iʔ skʷístkʷístəlx. iʔ st̕mt̕mk̓iltət stemaliaʔica naʔɬ mulxica iʔ skʷiskʷístsəlx naʔł isx̌ilwiʔ Brian Muselle iʔ skʷists. kn sxʷƛ̓aƛ̓ʔám uł səxʷm̓am̓áy̓aʔm uł kn səcmaʔmayaʔm. 5 Hello, good day all of you, my relatives. My syilx name is watersnake. My nqilxʷcn name comes from two places, the first is a dream I had as a young woman and the second is from my elder sister who helped decide my tmixʷ name. I do not hold any ancestral names although members of my family and extended family do. My English name is Sarah Alexis. My English name has its origins in Hebrew and is connected to the religious views my grandparents held and currently still hold. I am from Nashwito Creek – also known as Siwash Creek – a tributary that feeds into the north part of Okanagan Lake. My father’s syilx name is tamarack and his English name is Paul Alexis. He is from the syilx Nation. His bloodline consists of a mix of syilx and Scottish ties. My mother’s name is ‘place of flooding’ in Carrier and Gloria Quaw in English. She is from the Cheslatta Carrier Nation and belongs to the Frog Clan as directed by her matrilineal lineage. As such, my sisters and I as well as our children also hold ties to the Frog Clan. My late paternal grandfather is Murray Alexis and my paternal grandmother is Dora Louis. My paternal grandfather was chief of Okanagan Indian Band for several years and fought for the Rights of syilx people until his passing. His lineage is connected back to kʷikʷit̓aʔsq̓t high mountain cloud, a high chief of the syilx people. My paternal grandmother Dora Louis holds connections to a larger extended family with ties to the prominent Cameron’s and McDougall settler families in the occupied settlement of the Okanagan. My late maternal grandfather is Steven Quaw and my late maternal grandmother is Mary Peters. My maternal grandfather originally comes from Saik’uz, 6 Stoney Creek and belongs to the Caribou clan and my maternal grandmother is the granddaughter of the late high Chief Louie in the Carrier region in Northern British Columbia. My daughter’s name is daddy-long leg blanket and she gets her name from the tmixʷ that would surround me during my pregnancy with her and my second daughter’s name is cottonwood blanket and she holds a direct syilxified version of my mother’s Carrier name. My husband’s name is Brian Muselle. I am a researcher, a teacher, and a lifelong student. This introduction helps to situate the duality of my roots and the plurality of values that I hold from each of my parents and grandparents before me. Each of these components of my introduction hold a key to understanding my own individual and familial kinship ties, the social networks I belong to, the economic systems I work in, and the cultural communities I identify with (Cohen, 2010). I situate my research in this context through my name and the responsibilities, through my family and kinship, and through the work I am doing, which is my sqilxʷ, dream in the spiral, approach. This thesis research has been a journey in which I have taken it upon myself to do in relation to my people. It has called to me and led me into the roles I hold and the areas I am responsible for. Working for my people at the Okanagan Nation Alliance acted as a catalyst to become a syilx researcher. A syilx researcher who holds valuable insight and connection to place, people, stories, and knowledge in an institution where syilx place, people, stories, and knowledge are not yet centric. Being syilx in this research journey and in this institution is paramount to this work. During my undergraduate experience, there have been instances where I would turn to my elder sisters involved in academia to seek out clarifications on what I was trying to accomplish through my coursework. Time and time again, cr’tups, Fisher, would remind me to think of these 7 five questions whenever there was a particular conundrum I was facing. She would remind me that the questions and the answers I was searching for would bubble up from these queries and would often cause rippling questions and answers. These are the five queries she would pose to me regarding my academic queries (Personal Journal, 2019, p. 27): • What does the land tell us? • What do our stories tell us? • What do our elders tell us? • What does the language tell us? • What do our dreams tell us? As a graduate student, I would continuously turn back to these questions in both my academic work and personal life outside of institutional learning. These queries are reminders about the pillars of deep localized knowledge, generational experiences, long-standing areas of expertise, and the notion that my work – both academic and otherwise. These queries are ripples in the un-beginning and unending spiral of sqilxʷ life. The queries would in turn become the facet in which my research grows from and is constantly reinforced through the diverse forms of syilx storytelling through captikʷɬ, smaʔmay̓, and sminumpt (Armstrong, 2009); in turn, they inform the positions I undertake through my own developing pedagogical teaching style 8 Chapter 2: Methodology This research represents a micro synthesis of my career and work I have been affiliated, including my Waterways project work and teaching experience, emphasizing an ecological movement within my own individual worldview. The thesis includes an analysis of captikʷɬ to highlight syilx understandings of water and ethics to the natural world, as outlined and directed by Cohen’s (2010), Armstrong’s (2009), Alexis’ (2018), Derickson’s (2024), and Archibald’s (2008) foundational scholarly work. I explore syilx concepts of ecological relationships stemming directly from nsyilxcn understanding, and a select few smaʔmay̓, anecdotal stories, of syilx leaders on habitat restoration, the importance of siwɬkʷ, water, and how captikʷɬ shapes contemporary syilx worldview. The narratives in this thesis help to fill gaps in understanding of the importance of captikʷɬ. While this research is aimed at creating a contemporary understanding of syilx beliefs around Syilx concepts of accountability, the work completed will help to continuously verify syilx beliefs and ethics all while utilizing the work of syilx-centric scholarly figures. In academic lingo, methodology and methods convey a very strict process detailing the procedure on how research is done by the researcher. In a syilx context, methods and methodology are often a common piece of the story work being told. Storytellers and language speakers talk about how storytelling is iterative in that it often tells the who, the how, the what, the when, and the why – but not all of these components are relayed so succinctly, and hence the challenge in articulating Indigenous research according to conventional academic protocols. My research as reflected in sqəlxʷcawt applies two conceptual methodological models: the nʕawqnwixʷ also commonly spelled in English as “enowkinwixw” framework (Armstrong, 2009, p. 26) and the sqəlxʷcawt or “spider’s web model” (Cohen, 2010, p. 40). 9 2.1 Autoethnographic Methodology 2.1.1 My Own Experience This thesis explores my own experiences as a researcher through research projects, land excursions, language experiences, and my own ah-ha moments. Research is a mechanism in which I as an individual within my family, my community, and my nation, carry forward a sense of duty to share smyʔmayʔ and sk̓łpaʔx̌, conscious thoughts, about the accountability of the individual and how this trickle outwards. nsyilxcn stories are reflective in part of my teaching and studying as a syilx researcher and remain a key part of my own experience growing up. smaʔmay̓ are moments where I was posed with moments of solitude and reflection of syilx ecological pedagogy and nsyilxcn conceptual practice. These smaʔmay̓ are reflexive of my own personal understandings of accountability and the need to reciprocate my own ah-ha moments in direct relation and practice of syilx responsibility all while exploring the spaces between English concepts and nsyilxcn concepts. In conducting this research with a syilx worldview, storytelling became a means of transmitting knowledge beyond the individual into the family, the community, the territory, and beyond. 2.1.2 My Elder Teachings In 2016, I started my language journey and undergone all curriculum books of the Paul Creek Curriculum. For three and half years, I dedicated everyday learning nsyilxcn. I learned to speak, write, and read nsyilxcn under twi Samtica Sarah Peterson’s work alongside many dedicated learners. Throughout these learning years, we heard from many fluent speakers all speaking about the importance of learning nsyilxcn to live it and not just learn it. This language work carries forward in all manners of the coursework I teach. 10 2.1.3 My Own Work 2015 marks the beginning of my research career with the Okanagan Nation Alliance. I began as a research assistant and moved through many roles surrounding syilx research on water. My role enabled support to many syilx nation level initiatives including the siwɬkʷ Water Strategy, siwɬkʷ Water Declaration, and siwɬkʷ Water Responsibility Planning. Through each of these initiatives, I was able to support broader research initiatives outside of the organization including the Social Life of Water Project and the Waterways: Past, Present, and Future. Each of these initiatives struck a chord in the immense responsibility of working towards creating a water centric discussion in the Okanagan and allowed space to examine contemporary syilx perspectives on water. In the fall of 2018, I joined the ‘Waterways: The Past, Present, and Futures,’ a community-based research project and museum exhibition aimed at sharing syilx values around water within the Okanagan valley and the larger Columbia River basin, and emphasizing the complex and dynamic relationship between humans and water. The Principal Co-Investigators for this project were Dr. Aleksandra Dulic and Dr. Jeannette Armstrong. My role was to provide a syilx lens on community-based research, including co-developing ethnographic interviews with syilx and non-syilx partners, and to create communication and liaison avenues between academia and syilx communities and organizations. The Waterways exhibition captured a glimpse of the complexity of the contemporary nature of the ecosystems in the Okanagan, with its deep value coming from the voices of transboundary syilx community members. I participated in several rounds of interviews in Waterways. The first round (11 interviews) captured voices of the southern syilx living in Washington State; the second round (7 interviews) recorded Indigenous voices involved in the Return of Sockeye Salmon and restoration at the ECOmmunity Place located in Penticton, 11 British Columbia. Interviews were open-ended to create and elicit syilx smaʔmay̓ in water and syilx epistemology. The interviews utilized fall within the parameters of self-identified syilx interviewees. These interviews helped identify and conceptualize syilx social values of water within a contemporary social setting. They also provided depth to nsyilxcn definitions and understandings, contemporary understandings and uses of captikʷɬ, as well as real-time examples of how syilx values of water are necessary in ecological education and rehabilitation. 2.1.4 My Language Journey From 2021 – 2023, I wore the hat of sessional instructor, teaching assistant, and teaching fellow at UBC Okanagan, I held multiple teaching roles with the University of British Columbia Okanagan and the En’owkin Centre where I held the role of teaching the following: NSYL 351: Language Applications – Numeracy and Math, INLG 160: syilx Ways of Knowing: nsyilxcn Social Foundations, and INLG 260: Ways of Knowing: syilx Land Culture. I also held the role of teaching assistant in the following: NSYL 110: Pronunciation – Learning the Sounds, NSYL 111: Pronunciation – Root Sounds, INLG 282: Structures of Endangered Languages – Conservation and Revitalization; And where I was mentored to teach the following: NSYL 352 Language Applications – Literature and Performative Arts, NSYL 353: Language Applications – Traditional Ecological Knowledge, NSYL: 350 nsyilxcn Immersion – Introductions to Mentored Special Topics. Each of these courses played an instrumental role in my academic journey and has taught me the multi-layered and complex role of teaching and being taught. When course work is unraveled to its core, it is a reminder of passing forward embers of knowledge that become sparks of accountability for syilx people. The transfer and sharing of knowledge take on a sacredness that is later discussed in Chapter 3 nsyilxcn Language. A strong portion of this thesis 12 research is to share the evolving position of my experiences as contextual knowledge sharing through my journey as a səxʷƛaƛam, a formal researcher, and as a metaphorical x̌ʷʕaylxʷ, a fox – both of which are entities that aim to continuously seek out all of the bits of knowledge and experiences to gain the opportunity to create transformative growth and change. syilx captikʷɬ stories describe brothers Coyote and Fox. In the captikʷɬ of How Names Were Given, x̌ʷʕaylxʷ was given the ability to revive Coyote whenever he would die. x̌ʷʕaylxʷ would gather all of the physical pieces of snk̓lip and breathe life back into snk̓lip (Derickson, 2024, pg. 4). x̌ʷʕaylxʷ and snk̓lip become a conceptual metaphorical pair in academia in where coyote represents the researcher, the one who explores all of the queries and where fox represents the transformative change research brings, the change brought on by all of the bits of information, data, and knowledge together (Armstrong, 2009; Cohen, 2010). My own personal context has begun with my introduction and my smaʔmay̓’s at the beginning of each chapter. I will also be sharing short learning experiences that have offered me further clarity in my own exploration of responsibility and accountability. 2.2 syilx Academic Groundwork This thesis taps into insights of syilx academics and thinkers who are utilizing storytelling as a means of sharing insight. Both the nʕawqnwixʷframework and the spiders web nested system are utilized in the analysis of this thesis research allowing for a complex overview of how sqəlxʷcawt can be seen. Both of these frameworks are utilized by scholars to frame research such as: Armstrong (2009), Cohen (2010), outline methodological process Sam (2013), Johnson (2020), Good Water (2018), Chenoweth (2017), and frame analysis methods Derickson (2024). 13 2.2.1 The nʕawqnwixʷ Framework Situating my research questions, methods, and approach within the nʕawqnwixʷmodel is imperative for keeping a syilx worldview. The nʕawqnwixʷmodel is a framework which derives from the captikʷɬ – How Food Was Given. In this captikʷɬ, each of the four chiefs, ntytyix known as chinook salmon, spiƛ̓m as known as bitterroot, siyaʔ known as saskatoon berry, and skmx̓ist known as black bear, gather to decide the outcome for the people-to-be (Okanagan Elders Council, 1996). The process of gathering and building consensus is known as nʕawqnwixʷ. If we were to visualize the representation of nʕawqnwixʷ, it is the thoughts that are represented through four food chiefs all coming together to create clarity (Armstrong, 2009). The chiefs themselves are the four pillars of syilx society, each representing various aspects of the syilx social paradigm (Cohen, 2010). The yilyalmixʷm - known as the ones who twist together strands – a visual representation of a leader or chief - are the ones who dedicated their lives to the people-to-be (Armstrong, 2009). o yilmixʷm skmx̓ist is chief of all the animals on the land (Armstrong, 2009) and embodies the concepts of “Place – Rooted to the Land, Spiritual Rituals, Place, Customs, Traditional Knowledge, the elders – Bear” (Cohen, 2010, p. 121). o yilmixʷm spiƛ̓m is chief for all the things under the ground (Armstrong, 2009) and embodies the concepts of “community relationships - the nurturers, family connections, consequences, well-being, the mothers - Bitter Root” (Cohen, 2010, p. 121). o yilmixʷm siyaʔ is chief of all the things growing on the land (Armstrong, 2009) and embodies the concepts of “Visions - the Thinkers and Dreamers, Innovation, Imagination, Ideas, Creativity, the Youth – Berry” (Cohen, 2010, p. 121). 14 o yilmixʷm ntytyix is chief of all the creatures in the water (Armstrong, 2009) and embodies the concepts of “Actions – the doers, the Implementation, Getting things done, Self-Discipline, Implementation, the fathers – Salmon” (Cohen, 2010, p. 121). Of the four yilmixʷm, my research lens is in line with yilmixʷm spiƛ̓m, Chief Bitterroot, to look at the complexity of relationships and the concept of sqəlxʷcawt, ways of being (Cohen, 2010). My motto has always been to work within my communities, both animate and inanimate, and I have dedicated my work under the phrase x̌əl iʔ kʷu sqilxʷ - for us the people. This is a phrase I have heard continuously at the syilx Nation level in Nation-oriented events. I was raised with the belief that thriving communities require strong relationships interwoven and intersected with each of the components within the ‘Four Parts Nested’ system of individuals, families, communities, and the natural world (Armstrong, 2009, p. 174). This nested system is critical in the way my sister had mentioned to me the importance of asking questions – asking questions to whom and for what purpose. It was to train myself as a researcher to think beyond my own self and look at the larger systems that are in play around us – our social networks, the ecosystems we live in, the political communities influencing decisions, how the individual is a micro of the macro. It is a reminder for me to look at our plant and animal parents and include all of the animate and inanimate, tangible and intangible pieces of our worlds into my research and to know that syilx research takes place beyond the institution. It is also a stark reminder to look at the balance and imbalances that can occur during any given system, whether a system of mechanism or thought. 15 Mourning Dove describes spiƛ̓m as “[t]he flowers of the bitterroot plant are dainty and attractive, in various shades of pink. The plants grow low to the ground on rocky slopes and gravel flats. The thin, twisted roots are dug when the plant is in bud” (Mourning Dove, 1990, p. 19). Her account and description tell us of a medicinal plant that grows close to the ground in difficult conditions but also begins to describe the physical traits that Cohen (2010) has helped to conceptualize further. Cohen describes spiƛ̓m, within the context of the nʕawqnwixʷ model framed as “A Quadrant Model of Society” and associated as “Community Relationships – the Nurturers, Family Connections, Consequences Well-being, the mothers – Bitter Root” (Cohen, 2010, p. 121). If we were to use this frame of lens of spiƛ̓m, we can utilize the nsyilxcn linguistic word breakdown and an understanding of captikʷł to create a step further into the concepts of responsibility in context of relationships. Figure 1 “Analog Imagery: Principles in Enowkinwixw” in Constructing Indigeneity: Syilx Okanagan Oraliture and tmixw Centrism. (Armstrong, 2009, p. 174) 16 2.2.2 The sqəlxʷcawt or spider’s web framework The methodological process this thesis takes is one that Cohen (2010) refers to as spider’s web model. This model depicts the flow of knowledge and responsibility through generations through kinship circles of the world, territory, community, family, and future generations. With this model, the ‘people-to-be’ or future generations are placed in the middle of the conceptual work. In this thesis, the spider’s web model is the visual image of a spider web where the research is only one component of the web. If we were to apply this framework within the research realm, the web itself interconnects and intersects all possibilities of research while the spider, the one who weaves the web, acts as researcher. A major component of this framework is the balance of the web that is created through the lived experience of the researcher and the research, the experiential approach taken, and the concept of weaving research, researcher, and experience together as it relates to syilx concepts of responsibility. 17 Figure 2 “Sqilxʷcawt Model” in Coyote Failed School, so Fox Made a New One: Indigenous Okanagan Knowledge Transforms Educational Pedagogy (Cohen, 2010, p.41) 2.3 captikʷɬ Oral Narratives and Literary Analysis While there are prominent scholars who speak and write on the importance of storytelling as a means of communicating key Indigenous values, Archibald (2008) speaks on the importance of including personas from Indigenous stories into research; most prominently, she speaks about her journey of finding Coyote in her academic career. While she speaks of Coyote as a “trickster” (p. 5), within a syilx context, Coyote, or snk̓lip, is most noticeably known as a transformer (Armstrong, 2009, p. 264) and held the role of changing all the nəɬnasqilxʷtn or “people eater monsters” (Armstrong, 2009, p. 98) into softer versions of themselves. While 18 Coyote plays a major part in Archibald’s work, that understanding is within the context and frame of Sto:lo and Coast Salish. From a syilx perspective, key landforms including snk̓lip land markers, sites of captikʷł, and sacred sites, will help draw the connections from oral literature to stewardship principles that are etched across the territory serving as physical reminders to the responsibilities syilx people have to the land and water (Cohen, 2010). The academic approach of methodology is based on many Indigenous scholars aiming to re-Indigenize and decolonize research approaches and applications. The most applicable Indigenous Studies research approach of utilizing Indigenous Stories as a methodological approach means utilizing the most applicable stories to the localized Indigenous Nation (Kovach, 2010). Later on in my thesis, my analysis draws an understanding of syilx responsibilities to water from the standpoint of an individual syilx researcher, while also outlining relevant gaps in the literature. I analyzed contemporary smaʔmay̓ as a means for deeper contextualization of syilx concepts of responsibility as outlined in the How Food Was Given captikʷɬ. My work involved analyzing and building an understanding of the characters, storyline, use of nsyilxcn words, developing questions of the story and identifying key themes that emerged. This captikʷɬ was chosen through a syilx practice of noticing vibrations and actions. Andrew Joseph Sr. writes about “aʔ uc k̓ɬanwintxʷ?”, which translates into English as, “did you feel that?” (Joseph Sr., 2013, p. 25). In the same manner, Andy talks about how syilx babies and children are trained to notice the vibrations of life around them. This captikʷɬ was chosen similarly. During my first year of graduate school, I sifted through many written and published captikʷɬ to help determine which captikʷɬ will help shape and guide this thesis research. My mentor, Dr. Armstrong, helped me to begin analyzing captikʷɬ. She posed queries to look for topics and messages within the 19 captikʷɬ that include coded and hidden themes that can be understood through a number of captikʷɬ (Personal Journal, 2019, p. 12). The analysis is based on quantitative values using syilx oral narratives. The analysis is broken into several components, each of which contributes to the overall analysis of the captikʷɬ through components of specific data: characters identified, synopsis, story notes, emerging themes, further questions, and a copy of each of the versions of the captikʷɬ itself. Notes of any nsyilxcn used are captured to see how language is used within the context of versions of stories. The themes are identified by grouping categorically similar data points to see emerging theme concepts based on notes of each version of the captikʷɬ. 2.3.1 nsyilxcn (language) and captikʷɬ (story) analysis The interpretation of captikʷɬ, How Names Were Given, in this thesis is a living interpretation, which has the capacity to change with each new piece of knowledge that I gain as a Sqilxʷ, Indigenous, woman. I have learned that syilx researchers can utilize and approach research that is grounded in syilx ways of being, including: • Having a clear vision & determined outlook for goals and outcomes. • Taking very specific pieces of knowledge and transforming it for the people to be. • Understanding the clear outcomes and not to stray from these goals. • Utilizing cultural practices, ceremonies, and prayers is necessary. In this captikʷɬ, coyote “centers the people to be at the center of all the work” that needs to get done (Cohen, 2010, p. 38). This captikʷɬ as related to academia and research holds keys to deeper processes that syilx Okanagan People may uncover based on their own worldviews and outlooks. While I see there are gaps within my own perspective, it is a dynamic process to delve into the oral literature that can have so many changes with each new view of the story. Throughout this research, I looked at five different captikʷɬ that each aligned with my own version of the nested system specifically at the five layers of the individual, the family, the 20 community, the territory (including land, water, and all living beings), and wetlands – the fifth circle included in my own research. For each of these layers, I examined captikʷɬ that spoke to these nested system pieces juxtaposing how sqəlxʷcawt is told. For the individual layer, I looked at how names were given, for the family layer I looked at Boy and Bear (Andrist, 1971, p. 68) for community I looked at How Coyote Broke the Salmon Dam (Mourning Dove, 1976) and How Turtle Set the Animals Free (Kou-Skelowh, 2010, pp. 63-85), for the territory I looked at Three Brothers and the Kalispel Woman (Peterson et Al., 2006, pp. 5-6), and for wetlands I looked at Frog and Crane (DeSautel, 2002, pp. 65-69). In my research approach, I read (and listened to when possible) each of these captikʷɬ several times. I made field notes on story content, questions it leaves me with, and emerging story themes. I also noted any nsyilxcn use and would search for published materials related to nsyilxcn words I was not familiar with and to see what scholars were saying about complex conceptual terms. My analysis utilizes the nʕawqnwixʷ framework paired with the nested system to look at sqəlxʷcawt and syilx responsibility to water. The following diagram is a visual conceptual design of looking at sqəlxʷcawt that is centered around the “oppositional dynamic” tension held between the four food chiefs’ quadrants (Armstrong, 2009, p. 181). While this diagram is similar to Cohen’s (2010), it centers sqəlxʷcawt at the center and holds space for how each component of the nested system may look at sqəlxʷcawt from its four food chief quadrant or lens. \ 21 Figure 3 A hand drawn diagram of the sqəlxʷcawt in the middle of the nested system model and the nʕawqnwixʷ four societies model. 22 Chapter 3: syilxcentric Research: Theory and Approach 3.1 Epistemology, Place and Accountability In the Okanagan Valley, the term sqəlxʷcawt is poorly understood. All systems, social, political, ecological, and spiritual, hold a complex story to be shared. While these stories run beyond the confines of this thesis, these facets should be considered while exploring the contemporary concept of syilx accountability. Understanding the syilx worldview, beliefs, values, and ethics is necessary for grasping a stronger connection to the systems within the ancestral territory of the syilx people. The syilx territory is filled with diverse ecosystems that function within and around one another; furthermore, they operate as small pockets of refuge for many vulnerable terrestrial and aquatic species. This diversity in the natural world order plays a key aspect of research in that it reflects the necessity of diversity in academic research. My career focus has always been on the need to protect, preserve, and enhance the ecosystems across my people’s territory. The disruption of knowledge, experience, and expertise from colonial and neocolonial ways of being and living have caused a trickling effect on syilx people. While disruption has only served to slow down the syilx movement of intergenerational knowledge transfer, there is no doubt in my mind that we are currently living and experiencing a renaissance of the syilx worldview. The big push from my end as a young woman pursuing nw̓ist iʔ snmaʔmayʔtn, higher educational learning and nsyilxcn revitalization, is the need to promote and create the spaces for education and awareness to my own people and our little brother. A storyteller, Harry Robinson accounts a captikʷɬ of Little Brother, and in this captikʷɬ, Little Brother is the newcomer to these lands (Wickwire & Robinson, 2004, p. 22). As responsibility in the syilx family is about caring for all members and all individuals (Derickson et al. 4), this same responsibility extends to that 23 of the newcomers and settlers on syilx territory. My work at the syilx Nation level has involved unpacking the importance of living on the diverse landscape of the syilx while attempting to share these thoughts and ideas with Little Brother, which I have been doing through my teaching. Little Brother needs to become syilx and Indigenous to place is critical in moving forward for current and future generations. My late grandfather once wrote in The Queen’s People: A Study of Hegemony, Coercion, and Accommodation among the Okanagan of Canada: Even now, these feelings find no words to express the distress and the loss that was experienced. Perhaps when the time is right and we see each other, the Mother Earth, and the Spirit that sustains us, the words will then be found or no longer needed. Then, there will be no distinctions between the ‘Queen’s People’, and we shall all be Okanagan. (Carstens, year, xiv) Non-syilx people will need to see, believe, and take up the true value of these systems that are lived in and upon. This shift of worldview is fundamental since syilx thought and experience is localized knowledge in which non-syilx people can turn to live in manners that syilx people have sustainably maintained since time immemorial. 3.2 Relationality Relationality is a foundational concept in Indigenous research underscoring the interconnectedness among people, to the environments, and spiritual realms. In this practice, building knowledge is inherently relational, where understanding emerges not through solitary inquiry but through dynamic interconnections. It includes the application of ethical frameworks that prioritize respectful and reciprocal relationships, ensuring that research practices are deeply rooted in community engagement. Such methodologies emphasize holistic approaches, recognizing the importance of understanding systems in their entirety rather than isolated parts. By employing methods like storytelling and collaborative dialogues, Indigenous research nurtures these relationships, fostering a research environment that respects and integrates 24 community values and perspectives. Furthermore, relationality is pivotal in decolonizing research paradigms, challenging traditional hierarchical structures, and promoting a model of inquiry that is mutually beneficial and sustainable. This approach not only enriches the research process but also aligns with a broader commitment to maintaining the integrity and vitality of both human and non-human elements within a system. 3.3 captikʷɬ and smaʔmay̓ This research is rooted in the rich oral traditions of the syilx people, particularly through the lens of captikʷɬ narratives. Indigenous oral literature has been in place for millennia stemming over countless generations and has stood in place over long periods (Neeganawedgin, 2015). The vital importance of stories is best understood through the power that is contained within stories and the metaphorical ripples they cast through their teachings, knowledge, and wisdom (Archibald, 2008). Central to this approach is the “əcxʷuy snk̓lip captikʷł,” also known as the “coyote-was-travelling” form, a method selected for its ability to clarity and interrogate the complexities of water responsibility (Armstrong, 2009, p. 96). This narrative form is employed as both a metaphorical guide and a practical framework, enabling a deep dive into the layers of syilx knowledge and cultural expressions. The structural foundation for analysis is drawn from Dr. Armstrong's (2009) categorization of captikʷɬ into four distinct realms: “world-before-humans, coyote-was-travelling, there-was-people-living, and sacred text captikʷɬ” (pp. 93-102). This categorization aids in systematically breaking down the narratives to uncover underlying themes and teachings relevant to understanding syilx perspectives on governance, environmental interaction, and community dynamics. The research engages with “How Names Were Given,” to interpret the 25 stories’ multi-layered meanings. The stories are analyzed not just as texts, but as living transmissions of knowledge that reveal insights into the syilx worldview and social ethics. 3.4 Research as Resistance Rigney (2017) has stated that standpoint theory has its origins in the feminist movement yet holds traction for Indigenous peoples throughout academia. Understanding one’s lens, one is situated in and coming from, can help to serve the Indigenous movement of “radical liberation” from the confines of colonial and neocolonial oppression that is often associated with in academic research and work (Rigney, 2017, p. 43). During the coursework for my graduate studies, my professor Dr.Armstrong poised Rigney’s underlying query, ‘if research is not resistance, what is it?’ to our course and it really provoked me to shift and frame my research towards syilx concepts of responsibility. I used one of the perspectives of my older sister’s research c̓əskʕáknaʔ, known as chickadee in English, to help frame what this query meant in a training exercise to begin analyzing oral narratives. In captikʷł, c̓əskʕáknaʔ is often depicted as a small young bird which might not seem like it could contribute a lot, c̓əskʕáknaʔ is also depicted as a cunning bird who observes and watches to learn different truths or processes about other animals. c̓əskʕáknaʔ is the only one of the animal people who can reach the upper world using it’s sumix, power, bow and arrows (Alexis, 2018). Just as c̓əskʕáknaʔ would observe silently how things were being done, my research became a platform for asking about the objectives and aims of my research and its multi-layered characteristics. I approach this research as part of a larger picture of Indigenizing movements and thus creating another thread of knowledge for ‘indigenist’ research (Rigney, 2017, p. 37) within the context of syilx accountability as it stems from nsyilxcn and the ecosystems (Armstrong, 2009). Indigenizing as a mechanism in which syilx epistemological values are centralized to contemporary institutions and its approaches is 26 key in the transformational movements and shifts in syilx thought and behaviour when listening to syilx captikʷł. 3.5 Research as Transformation For Indigenous scholars and thinkers, research can be seen and understood as many different mechanisms including forms of ceremony (Wilson, 2008), liberation (Rigney, 2017) educative apparatuses (Archibald, 2008), and forms of resistance (Smith, 2012). In my research and the research of syilx scholars, research takes the form of transformation of new bodies of knowledge and ways of knowing and turns them into pieces current and future generations can take up and hold. Transformative approaches to research such as this one are in alignment and follow the direction of snk̓lip’s own responsibility of transforming nəɬnasqilxʷtn (Cohen, 2010, p. 238). This research also aims to create pathways for future people-to-be to be able to transform the things that will eat us into things that can help us. Research in this context is about transformation as snk̓lip shows us in captikʷɬ and the transformative practices we can each call upon as relayed by our own individual names as told in How Names Were Given. 3.6 Research as Responsibility Throughout my years as a graduate student and instructor, research has taken on many roles within my shifting understanding. At times, it acts as a means of journeying and questing as my ancestors and people do. Other times, it acts as a position of strength within the political and legal landscape or as new contemporary smaʔmay̓, creating spaces for stories within structured contexts. At yet other times, it acts as different forms of ceremonial and spiritual connections. Research for me, as sk̓awilx, becomes a strong responsibility to disseminate my understanding, my experiences, and my expertise within contemporary times. It helps me to act on the role of taking care of syilx Traditional Knowledge for the people to be by creating and transforming 27 knowledge, creating, and upholding the spaces to share the voices of tmixʷ, known as all living beings, and fulfilling a desire of curiosity. As individuals, we all carry roles and responsibilities, as articulated by Andrew Joseph Sr. (2013) in his biography. He writes: most animals, birds, fish, reptiles have a behavioural pattern. Each has a song on how it maneuvers or moves. Take a spider; it is called Tooplh (tupl’) which means grandma. The word Toopa (tupa) has healing power, trying power, and blocking power. Using that power can kill or heal most anything; most of it belongs to a woman. All songs are there to study what we want to learn, like a doctor, lawyer, teacher, or entertainer. But we sing or act the part. (Joseph Sr., 2013, p. 11) The notion of everything has its own song to live by and its implication on my role as a researcher is reflected in the syilx captikʷɬ How Food was Given and the importance of fly. Fly’s role was based on the cumulative efforts of all the animal and plant people before him (Cohen, 2020) and helped revive Chief black bear. Fly sang his song and weaved his spiritual effort into the cause of transformative practice regarding cultural knowledge. I learned during this early era of my research work that songs and the use of songs play more pivotal importance in syilx work and research; it is through ceremonial and spiritual values of reciprocity which we can achieve the highest forms of respect for ourselves, our families, our extended communities, and the natural world itself. Much like Fly sharing his song, this thesis reflects the responsibility tmixʷ, including ourselves, have in instigating change. 3.7 Responsibilities of embodying nsyilxcn within syilx research The visual representation of research represents the unwinding process that sntr̓us can represent. How this thesis works is a macro of the unending and unbeginning (Mattina, 1987) of captikʷł and by extension, syilx thought itself. Accountability in the frame of nsyilxcn is a tie that is physically connected to the ecosystems in which this thesis is shaped from; the nested system outlined by Armstrong (2009) and Cohen (2010) can help to visually represent how the individual is intersected between the family, the community, and the land. 28 Chapter 4: nsyilxcn Language This chapter explores the unwinding of traditional syilx thought as guided by the teachings and responsibilities outlined in the nsyilxcn language, and in doing so, intertwines individual experiences with communal and environmental connections, fostering a deeper understanding of syilx ways. 4.1 nsyilxcn: the Language of the syilx People nsyilxcn is the Indigenous “language spoken by syilx people” (Cohen, 2010, p. xiv). As Dr. John Lyon (2013) explains the language of the syilx people is nsyilxcn, also seen as nsyilxcn, nsəlxcin. It is also referenced as Okanagan and is “spoken in South-central British Columba and North-central Washington” (p. 8). Given the variations of the language, this thesis uses the term nsyilxcn for clarity and specificity. Dr. Maxine Baptiste (2019) describes nsyilxcn as “bounded by other Salish languages: From the north, by Shuswap, to the east by Kootenay (language isolate), to the south, by Spokane/Flathead/Kalispell, Coeur d'Alene, Pend Oreille, Moses Columbian, Wenatchi, Chelan, Methow, and to the west by Thompson” (p. 12). nsyilxcn is classified as endangered (Baptiste, 2019) and has seen a decline in speakers due to colonial disruptions and ongoing neocolonial impacts. According to a 2018 report by the First Peoples Cultural Council, only about “2.3% of the syilx Nation are fluent nsyilxcn speakers” (Dunlop et al., 2018, p. 45). While this statistic does not consider the speakers to the south of the border in Washington State nor provides a clear definition of fluency, it underscores the drastic need for language revitalization across the syilx territory. This endangerment of the nsyilxcn language is particularly concerning given that it is integral to understanding water responsibility and conveying cultural values and responsibilities related to the natural world. Breaking down and understanding the complexity of nsyilxcn is an important gateway to 29 learning and uncovering cultural significances that tie directly back to the natural landscape (Armstrong, 2009). The nsyilxcn language itself offers deeper insights into the syilx epistemological worldview and can inform how sqəlxʷcawt can be contextualized in our contemporary social eras through storytelling. Storytelling is a social process that syilx people continuously undertake and reveal natural laws. These stories contain generations of localized expertise, experience, and knowledge (Cohen, 2010). The importance of localized sqilxʷ stories is emphasized by Similkameen storyteller Harry Robinson who emphasizes, “Every hill, valley, canyon, creek and river has its story” (Robinson, 1989, p.14). Each component of nsyilxcn words, sentences, and structures are pieces of a large visual metaphor, each of which can hold “its own history, its own genealogy” and hold within its abstractness specific syilx history, complex expertise of geography and other sciences, as well as insights about syilx people (Ragoonaden et al., 2009, p. 384). nsyilxcn is woven in all aspects of syilx living. nsyilxcn can play a role of transforming English ideas of syilx concepts and use a visual metaphor to full appreciate the way nsyilxcn provides clarity in the content of exploring syilx accountability. Dr. Armstrong writes about how syilx thought is created and shaped by the very ecosystems it comes from and that these thoughts and ways of thinking are extensions of the ecosystems themselves (Armstrong, 2009). nsyilxcn takes on a metaphysical layer that the land and ecosystems are ourselves as we speak, write, think, act in nsyilxcn. The use of nsyilxcn allows for fully exploring the deeper connotations of accountability and responsibility as they stem from the land and can fully provide how accountability and responsibility look like. syilx knowledge is a direct link to the ecosystems in which nsyilxcn derives from. This ‘place’ praxis becomes a critical piece towards a healthier and more collective approach to caring for the syilx territory. Understanding syilx values helps to 30 clarify and provide an individualistic perspective on syilx beliefs and concepts of responsibility moving beyond the individual, communal, national, and ecosystems. It also helps to contextualize and create awareness of syilx beliefs around the nʕawqnwixʷ nested model and how these components are intricately intersecting together (Armstrong, 2009). iʔ sqilxʷcawt or iʔ sqəlxʷcawt is the nsyilxcn phrase best understood as “human ways of being” (Cohen, 2010, p. xv). sqilxʷ is the nsyilxcn term for human but it can also be deeply understood as ‘dream in the spiral’ (Cohen, 2010, p.15) and in a contemporary context of the racialized concept of being Indigenous. The worldview of the syilx people draws upon the layers of cultural understandings through storytelling, dreaming, ceremony, as well as the act of living and being sqilxʷ. Dr. Mattina, a Salishan linguist describes cawt as “the way one does things; doing; the way something goes; the way something happens to someone” (Mattina, n.d. definition). These descriptive interpretations help us to understand that ‘cawt’ is a way of doing or being something. In my years as a nsyilxcn beginner speaker, colleagues and friends would describe me as x̌słcawt, known as good way of doing things or kind person, and I would often joke that I was more k̓słcawt, bad way of doing things or bad person. While my understanding as a beginner speaker was limited during those times, I never once faltered from the idea that sqəlxʷcawt is an integral part of my life and supports my academic journey. As a more pronounced speaker, my understanding of sqəlxʷcawt has taken on an even deeper understanding in which I can conduct all manner of work and life as forms of further weaving sqəlxʷcawt in the bigger of story of being syilx. 4.2 nsyilxcn language informing time frames Five-time frames or time eras related to nsyilxcn help to contextualize a cyclical movement of syilx thought, values, beliefs, and all manners of living, as described in We Get 31 Living Like Milk from the Land (1993): “stl̓sqilxʷ - torn from the earth, xaʔtmasqilxʷ - in front of us sqilxʷ, sqilxʷ - dream in the spiral, ʕawtmasqilxʷ - to come after sqilxʷ and k̓ʷaʔsic – a time thereafter” (p. 3). While contemporary syilx people shift through the multi-faceted understandings of each of these time frames, they are relevant in the scope of syilx accountability and responsibility. Both accountability and responsibility help to paint a more complex spider web (Cohen, 2010) as nsyilxcn terms are explored and used to contextualize a contemporary understanding of sqəlxʷcawt, also known as Indigenous ways of being. Each of these concepts are better understood within the visual nsyilxcn context. 4.2.1 st̕lsqilxʷ – torn from the earth The first term, stl̓sqilxʷ, refers to “st̓əlsqilxʷ (torn from the earth sqilxʷ) life form of first people without natural instincts to survive” (Armstrong, 2009, p. 78; Derickson et al., 1993, p. 3). It has also been described as “st̓əlsqilxʷ - torn from the earth people, the first people” (Alexis, 2018, p. 23) and “st̕lsqilxʷ: ripped-from the earth-torn-away-beings (human) commonly translated as living humans or the transformed people” (Armstrong, 2009, p. 376). The visual image is thus of something being torn away from something else; in our modern syilx lens, we can imagine a plant being torn from the earth, where the action of tearing becomes a strong tenant in nsyilxcn. stl̓sqilxʷ encapsulates the physical and metaphorical disconnection from natural origins, emphasizing human responsibilities to family, community, and environment. How humans are physically torn from the earth and our responsibilities and accountabilities as human beings; whether those responsibilities are to our families, our communities, or our work, the imagery is a clear connection to ‘place’, with ‘place’ being the lands, waters, earth, skies the syilx people live within. Responsibility is thus physically and spiritually tied to our physical natural world. This 32 form of physical connection can be understood through the concept of transformative praxis such as Cohen’s (2010) coyote and fox metaphor. 4.2.2 xaʔtmasqilxʷ – in front of us sqilxʷ The second concept, xaʔtmasqilxʷ, refers to “‘those who come after people” (Alexis, 2018, p. 24) and “in-front-of-us. First people” (Armstrong, 2009, p. 376). It is also described as “(in front of us sqilxʷ) first thinking people who learned the natural law to survive” (Armstrong, 2009, p. 376;Derickson et al., 1993, p. 3). The visual imagery of the concept xaʔtmasqilxʷ is if we think about people or a group of people in front of us. This imagery can be thought of as the ancestors and kinship lineages that have all lived and died before us. There is a term in my graduate studies that I became familiar with as my role as a Teacher’s Assistant. The term was tkʷínplaʔnt and it was used in the context of explaining the direct connection of leading from one generation to another. The visual imagery of tkʷínplaʔnt is a person metaphysically holding a rope connected to a group of horses who are all being led. The imagery is about the tie that connect the lead person to all the horses that follow it. In the context of this thesis and this research, tkʷínplaʔnt is then about these pieces of knowledge that are a part of a large network that are imparted from either generation to generation or various iterations of myself and my thought process. Each of these pieces that I learn and write about are then metaphysical and metaphorical threads that are held on from my ancestors before me and my relatives below me. These metaphorical threads are then re-connected back to the concept of xaʔtmasqilxʷ, where the idea is to focus and realign my work, my research, my ideas, my stories with the ones in front of me as they continue to guide. This concept xaʔtmasqilxʷ is about a strong reminder to heed the knowledge and experience of all of the individual humans who came before me in order to create me. 33 4.2.3 sqilxʷ – dream in the spiral The third concept is known as sqilxʷ, which is described as “(dreaming ones, bound together, of the land) original people who learned to live together on the land in peace” (Armstrong, 2009, p. 78), or as “dreaming ones - bound together, humans” (J. Armstrong), as “[t]he People torn from the earth and dream in a spiral” (Chenoweth, 2017, p. 12), or generally as “Indigenous/people” (Johnson, 2020, p. xiv). Cohen (2010) explains: The Okanagan term for the Indigenous people also commonly called the Okanagan whose territory is located in the southern interior of BC and north central Washington, literally translates as the dream in a spiral. [s]yilx is also used and refers to the peoples who speak [n]syilxcen, the Okanagan language. (p. xiv) The breakdown of this term is best described by Armstrong in my mentorship during an nsyilxcn course and is as the following: s – references something as a noun qil – comes from the term sqiltk, the term for ‘body’, which in turn comes from qilt, the term for ‘reach top of’, which in turn comes from tqiltk, the term for ‘surface of something; outside of something’ the second idea of this ‘qil’ references the term qis which is the ‘act of dreaming’. lxʷ – comes from the term yilx which references the concept for ‘wrap something; or body covering’. Linking the term to water responsibility, sqilxʷ, in its nsyilxcn form defined as to “dreaming ones” (Armstrong, 2009, p. 376), is about the original people who mastered living in harmony in the natural world amongst siwɬkʷ - water, tmxʷulaʔxʷ - land, and tmixʷ. This concept is also understood in more contemporary context as: “One of the nsyilxcn words for the Okanagan, Indigenous people of the southern interior of B.C. The transliteration is “people from the land” (Derickson, 2024, p. xii). This term allows us to understand the implications on community and individual identity, focusing on the interconnectedness of dreaming and physical existence in the natural world. 34 4.2.4 ʕawtmasqilxʷ – to come after sqilxʷ The fourth concept, ʕawtmasqilxʷ, is described as “the people who come before the time of ḱʷaʔsic” (Alexis, 2018, p. 24) or as the “To-struggle-and- come after the contemporary syilx” (Armstrong, 2009, p. 375). ʕawtmasqilxʷ is further described as “to struggle and/or come after today’s sqilxʷ today’s sqilxʷ after the arrival of newcomers” (Armstrong, 2009, p. 78) (Derickson et Al., 1993, p. 3), which is the opposite of xaʔtmasqilxʷ. ʕawtmasqilxʷ are sqilxʷ or humans who come after or behind; conceptually it refers to all the next generations that are yet to be born and hold none of the ancestral understandings and values or to the sqilxʷ people with no connection or recollection of responsibilities to anything. 4.2.5 k̓ʷaʔsic – a time thereafter The fifth term, k̓ʷaʔsic is described as “the time known as ‘hereafter’” (Alexis, 2018, p. 24). The term parallels religious concepts of ‘the end of time’ and ‘the judgement that happens at the end of the world.’ In the syilx context, we can imagine the end of sqilxʷ: i.e., no more dreaming, no more humans, no more humanity. Derickson describes it as “k̓wasic: nsyilxcn word for the last (possible) evolutionary stage of [s]yilx being” (Derickson, 2024, p. xii). In captikʷł times, snk̓lip was tasked with capturing and transforming spapła, known as people eating monsters, for the future generations. As our time frames have shifted, spała has also shifted and adapted. The most notable example of a contemporary spała is in the work of Cohen (2010), where he describes the contemporary colonial education system as a people-eating monster that changes Indigenous and syilx people. These spała are also changing and give cause for concern. In contemporary times, this translates into unjust governance beliefs, colonial beliefs emphasizing individualism, and globalization. These spała take the form of belief systems and practices that are not congruent with syilx value and syilx ethic. 35 4.3 nsyilxcn informing standpoint – axaʔ isqəlxʷcawt The strong visual imagery that is conjured from working with nsyilxcn language understanding through captikʷɬ and smaʔmay̓ are able to provide clarification and the essence of the syilx worldview. It is through this complex source of insight of sqilxʷ thought, voice, and vision, that contemporary syilx people and non-syilx people can shift social value and conduct to reflect the very place informed responsibilities of upholding practice, belief, and visioning. The intent of having this informational context for this thesis is to share a comprehensive in-depth analysis and context for non-nsyilxcn speakers to grasp a stronger footing in the syilx ethics of accountability. This thesis explores the many avenues of understanding sqəlxʷcawt. In one of my classes during my first of graduate studies, I was fortunate to be a part of Dr. Jeannette Armstrong’s course on Indigenous Standpoint Theory. At the beginning of the course, she spoke about how every single word in our “nsyilxcen language can be viewed in much the same way as an artifact might be viewed [with respect]” (Armstrong, 2009, p. 74). This is a reminder for me on the importance of research stemming from and within nsyilxcn. This thought has stuck with me ever since and has proven to be true in this research context. nsyilxcn, in all its complexity, is incredibly endangered. Each of the nsyilxcn words included are meant to paint a larger picture on the true conceptual meaning and show the interconnectedness between nsyilxcn. While these words are documented in such a way in English they do not, however, paint the fullest picture in nsyilxcn. In my own personal journey of language revitalization, fluent speakers have described speaking nsyilxcn to me is on par with watching a movie – where it becomes more complex and plural in nature as opposed to a singular thought. (Personal Journal, 2022, p.56) 36 These written terms aim to bring about a larger shift in the understanding of how syilx and non-syilx relate to these concepts. These concepts will in turn help to distinguish the values of the natural world and how they are conveyed and acted upon in current syilx society. The in-depth analysis will provide clear responsibilities that syilx people hold to the natural world. This thesis and these nsyilxcn understandings are one string of an un-beginning and unending syilx story. 37 Chapter 5: syilx Ancestral oraliture, captikʷɬ and smaʔmay̓ 5.1 Indigenous Oral Narrative syilx oral narratives reflect the vast extent of Indigenous knowledge and highlight the underlying and foundational epistemologies, ethical views, and worldviews (Armstrong, 2009). Oral narrative is a form of knowledge and expertise in which all manners of teachings are shared generationally and extend concepts of respect and reciprocity of all life forms of nature are taken into account and reflected back to reinforce core social values (Cajete et al., 2010). In Indigenous Storytelling, Eder elaborates on how oral narratives contain sets of intrinsic and empowering strategies to reinforce patterns of meaning and deep reflection all while supporting the emotional bridge to carry forward stories (Cajete et Al., 2010). This deeper reflection and embodiment of oral narratives are and continue to be reinforced by place-based livelihood. 5.2 captikʷɬ and smaʔmay̓ as Knowledge Systems The broad context of this thesis is based on the syilx metaphor contextualized within the oral literature itself. This thesis utilizes əcxʷuy snk̓lip captikʷł also known as “coyote-was-travelling” (Armstrong, 2009, p. 96) form of captikʷɬ to seek clarification on sqəlxʷcawt towards water. Dr. Armstrong (2009) has identified four major categories in which captikʷɬ can be broken down and understood by: “world-before-humans, coyote-was-travelling, there-was-people-living, and sacred text captikʷɬ” (pp. 93 -102). Furthermore, syilx captikʷɬ are knowledge systems which “express cumulative knowledge” (Cohen, 2010, p. xiv). captikʷɬ can also be understood as “history as legend or myth” (Sam, 2013, p. vi), “history as teachings, values and principles” (Johnson, 2010, p. xiv), “Okanagan syilx oral history that contains reminders to the Okanagan” (Good Water, 2018, p.x), “intergenerational history and oral record of the syilx (Okanagan) People” (Okanagan Nation Alliance, 2017), “formal story” (Alexis, 2018, p. x), and 38 as “stories which explain how and why the world and its creatures came to be” (Robinson, 2004, p. 16). In my own language revival journey, I have heard many speakers give visual conceptual reference of captikʷɬ as embers of light and hope to be cast outwards for generations to pick up and revive those embers into fire. That each time a story was told, a metaphor and transfer of knowledge can alight the flame within the listeners, thus perpetually and continuously being enlightened. captikʷɬ are abstract bodies of knowledge that are continuously reinforced through physical landscape reminders and social behaviour during the contexts when oral narratives are shared. care longstanding knowledge and community systems that are shared generationally and with complex layers of meaning and understanding. syilx captikʷɬ are complex systems of knowledge, experience, and expertise which contain “Okanagan epistemologies, life-ways, and ways of knowing and doing” (Ragoonaden et al., 2009, p. 383). Some of the major understandings associated with captikʷɬ include knowing that each captikʷɬ “is never complete. A story is unravelled from past to present to future” (Ragoonaden et al., 2009, p. 384). I have heard on several occasions throughout my language journey the sentiment that captikʷɬ have no beginning and no end and thus are complexly intertwined and intersect all facets of syilx livelihood. There exists a concept “sntrusntm i7 captikʷlh means to “unravel the story” (Ragoonaden et al., 2009, p. 384) and this phrase itself is a key visual component to understanding the theoretical framework for this thesis. While captikʷɬ remain and continue to hold fundamental aspects and insights to syilx scholarly thought, captikʷɬ also give a contemporary manner in which syilx and non-syilx can connect to ‘place’ and thus create a tethered relationship to the ecosystems we live on. 39 Within captikʷɬ are tmixʷ characters, which listeners follow along with, most notably is snk̓lip, coyote. While snk̓lip represents the concepts of search and refinement, of discovery and mistake making; while x̌ʷʕaylxʷ, snk̓lip’s familial counterpart represents the bringing together of diverse bodies of knowledge and creating it into a new form (Cohen, 2010). Much like snk̓lip, each syilx scholar is working through different layers of inquiry and research. The snk̓lip and x̌ʷʕaylxʷ metaphor is emphasized through the linguistic definition of syilx itself. syilx scholars all define the concept of syilx as a social construct which shapes the identity of current syilx Indigenous people. The Four Food Chiefs captikʷɬ and How Names Were Given are two captikʷɬ which define the methodological process and the analysis in this thesis context. An analysis of captikʷł help to provide individual perspectives to understanding generational transmission of knowledge. The oral narrative chosen for this working thesis is ‘How Names Were Given’ published by Theytus Books (1996). captikʷł are living bodies of history that have been passed across generations and outline the relationships and interconnectivity between the natural world and the human world. Through the use of analyzing nsyilxcn words and the underlying components of a captikʷł, we are able to identify specific processes and Syilx concepts framed in the oral literature. These components help to establish a clear understanding of the Syilx relationship to water and the framework for Syilx governance. As an active language learner, smaʔmay̓ stories are imperative in connecting the listener and speaker with a contextualized understanding of social nuances and beliefs. Many of the stories that have shaped my ever-growing sqilxʷ worldview stems from smaʔmay̓ and captikʷɬ in the forms of formal documentation in relation to Governance litigation to language revitalization recordings, from anecdotal stories amongst prominent and prominent community and nation storytellers, from captikʷɬ, and from the land itself (Armstrong, 2009; Dove, 1927; 1990; 1993; 40 Johnson & McGinnis, 2015; Peterson, 2006; 2019; Robinson, 1989; 2004; 2005). This research thesis acts as its own smaʔmay̓ in the exploration of contemporary beliefs and values around responsibility and accountability situated within a syilx worldview lens. The anecdotal smaʔmay̓ shared in this research paper will provide a contemporary understanding of why nsyilxcn is pivotal in creating and strengthening sqilxʷ beliefs, behaviours, and exploring accountability to the territories, people, communities, families, and individual self. 5.3 nsyilxcn informs concepts of sqəlxʷcawt There have been several studies in the literature each outlining definitions of sqəlxʷcawt within diverse research topics specifically contextualized to various thematic subject areas (Alexis, 2018; Armstrong, 2009; Cohen, 2010; Derickson, 2018; 2024; Johnson, 2013). These bodies of research specifically focused on sqəlxʷcawt have contributed to the increasingly growing body of literature in defining and contextualizing the nsyilxcn ways of being within the confines of an English mindset. There is consensus amongst syilx academics that sqəlxʷcawt can be described as ‘ways of humans’ but can be further framed within lens of political and governmental stances in context of contemporary Canadian social values. Armstrong (1991) summarized that sqəlxʷcawt is the “phrase that means ‘our native way’. The term refers to the things that we do as specific individuals within our culture as a deliberate part of our existence” (p.14). Alexis describes sqəlxʷcawt as “native ways/customs/practices” (Alexis, 2018, p. xii), while Cohen goes on to describe sqəlxʷcawt as the “Okanagan concept that means our Indian or Indigenous way, quite simply the evolving knowledge and practices that have sustained the people culturally and ecologically for thousands of years” (Cohen, 2010, p. xv). Johnson indicates that “sqəlxʷcawt describes a uniquely syilx community methodology, combining the two root words sqilxʷ (pronounced skay-lugh) and cawt 41 (pronounced chawt), to mean our ways, work, role and responsibility, as syilx people, interconnected with syilx ways and knowledges” (Johnson, 2013, p. 42). Derickson notes that sqəlxʷcawt is “a performance-based creative exploration that weaves the spiritual, mental, physical, and emotional through the act of storytelling” (Derickson, 2024, p. 7). 5.4 sqəlxʷcawt informing contemporary responsibility and accountability Amongst the body of syilx knowledge, several authors have contributed significant insight, each of whom layer individualized meaning and understanding to sqəlxʷcawt, captikʷɬ, and accountability to these two concepts. Both Armstrong (2009) and Cohen (2010) provide strong positionality of the manner in which sqəlxʷcawt can be actively thought of through syilx theoretical frameworks directly tied to captikʷɬ. The nʕawqnwixʷ conceptual model (Armstrong, 2009) and the spiderweb framework (Cohen, 2010) both emphasize the need to maintain balance and equilibrium amongst syilx thought and action. Additional authors such as Johnson (2013) (2020), Alexis (2018), Good Water (2018), Derickson (2024), and Mitchell (2018), all provide significant contributions through individual smaʔmay̓ and understanding of nsyilxcn concepts shared in their work. 5.5 Syilx captikʷɬ and Names The importance of names is emphasized in the syilx captikʷł of ‘How Names Were Given’ and this captikʷɬ has created a platform in which this thesis and my own individual exploration of responsibility stems from. The captikʷł itself reinforces many threads of enacting accountability to one’s own self and the self of others which make up the collective. The practice of introductions is reinforced from this captikʷł and helps to establish new connections on creating, transmitting, and transforming new bodies of knowledge and ways of knowing and being as related back to individual names. The nsyilxcn language helps in several manners to 42 uphold this cyclical movement of knowledge renewal and understanding by making visible the interconnections one has with others and by upholding the responsibilities tied to names. In the captikʷł ‘How Names Were Given’ (Okanagan Elders Council, 1996, pp. 35-61), the story explored in this research, snk̓lip is insistent on choosing his own name after any of the powerful or leader-type animals. He stays awake all night to try and be the first one to meet k̓ʷulncutn known as creator in English, for his name. Although snk̓lip falls asleep and misses the chance to be first, he arrives and finds out that all the names have been given and the only names left are his own and sweat house. He chooses his own name, snk̓lip. k̓ʷulncutn shows the responsibilities that snk̓lip now has with tied to his name. snk̓lip is charged with ensuring the people-to-be, all future generations, can live and survive on and from the land. In this captikʷł naming has been a convention that holds the outlines of one’s own role within society, it also literally holds the responsibilities tied to that name. Each of our names is a metaphorical and metaphysical reminder to enact syilx natural law by living one's own name and is reminded of contemporary syilx through coyote’s “new law[s]” (Armstrong, 2009, p. 118). 5.6 captikʷɬ and Ecosystems Concepts syilx captikʷł stems directly from the flora and fauna of the diverse ecosystems on sqəlxʷuʔlaxʷ (Armstrong, 2009) and thus creates the physical connection between humans and the ecosystems. To best understand the context of the syilx environmental ethic (Armstrong, 2009) is through the linguistic structures of nsyilxcn as direct mimicry of the land and all the life forms (Armstrong, 2009). Understanding that the captikʷł is best told and understood in nsyilxcn, we can therefore explore the visual metaphors and linguistic word breakdowns to further dive into concepts of syilx accountability in a contemporary lens. This thesis will explore and 43 examine the various understandings of nsyilxcn to paint the visual imagery as depicted in the nsyilxcn understanding. captikʷɬ outlines sqəlxʷcawt as every captikʷɬ shares each of the natural laws on the land, water, skies, and in and on the earth. The nsyilxcn language acts as a conductor between the understanding of sqəlxʷcawt and the threads from captikʷɬ. captikʷɬ show the eras of change within a syilx context and is further broken down into the nsyilxcn terms of these stages of learning. captikʷɬ is a source of true sqilxʷ thought, voice, and vision. It contains the necessary knowledge and experience for future generations to pass on. During a meeting I had in the winter of 2018, I heard a fluent speaker talk about captikʷɬ as “stories [which] are told and re-told until they become a part of our consciousness” (Alexis Personal Journal, 2018, p. 127). captikʷɬ is described as the “oral history that contain reminders to the Okanagan Syilx about how to live in the world. captikʷɬ is singular and cepcaptikʷɬ is plural” (Good Water, 2018, p. x). The continuity of captikʷł may be seen as ambiguous but is in place to ensure a place of understanding exists for past, present, and future syilx people. The more captikʷł one knows and comes to deeply understand, the stronger situated one becomes in light of the unendingness of captikʷł and by extension, the unendingness of knowledge and creation of knowledge. There exist many methods in which one can analyze and interpret syilx oral narratives and it can be deeper understood through Armstrong’s (2009) description of the facets of social conduct as noted: Each general category organizes story into those which offer social codes of conduct for a) the individual; b) family interaction; c) community relationships and; d) human interaction with the environment. This is one-way captikʷɬ works in order to educate, rationalize and institutionalize the logic of the required ethics in human interactions. The societal ethics shaped through the four categories of captikwɬ weave together to form a larger template of the wisdom for a society-wide appropriate ethic related to their inter-relationship with nature. (p.27) 44 These facets have been a quintessential aspect within my own teaching and research experience – exploring and contextualizing the layers of the nested system (Armstrong, 2009). Contemporary understandings of captikʷɬ: teaching sqilxʷ experiences through the physical embodiment of the language is integral in language revival. captikʷɬ is the primary method of transmissible knowledge between generational links. Armstrong describes it as “The primary role of captikʷɬ, as understood by the syilx Okanagan, is that it is an enjoyable communal way for those hearing the captikʷɬ to appreciate the art of storytelling” (Armstrong, 2009, p. 26). sqilxʷ is best wrapped up in the understanding put forward by Dr. Bill Cohen (2010): The Okanagan term for the Indigenous people also commonly called the Okanagan whose territory is located in the southern interior of BC and north central Washington, literally translates as the dream in a spiral. [s]yilx is also used and refers to the peoples who speak nsyilxcn, the Okanagan language. (p. xiv) While this description of the term sqilxʷ is often used interchangeably with the term syilx, there still remain several more in-depth manners in which we can better understand the term. During the late 80s, syilx fluent speakers and elders came together to create the framework for a book to hold vital information and knowledge regarding syilx people; this book, We Get Our Living Like Milk From The Land, has helped to share insightful values regarding baseline knowledge of syilx people. In this book, the term sqilxʷ is also explored; “sqilxʷ (dreaming ones, bound together, of the land) original people who learned the natural law to survive” (Derickson et al. 3). captikʷɬ and smaʔmay̓ offer the many threads of understanding what sqəlxʷcawt can be contextualized as within this modern era. There are three major nsyilxcn words that are used unilaterally to describe the natural world: tmixʷ, tmxʷulaʔxʷ, and siwɬkʷ. 5.6.1 tmixʷ syilx scholars outline that tmixʷ can be understood as “sacred life force of all things” (Sam, 2013, p. 5), all living things (Joseph Sr., 2013, p. 145), and “spirits of the land/ecology” 45 (Cohen, 2010, p. xv). Although each of these uniquely emphasizes all life forms, syilx scholar and fluent speaker, Dr. Armstrong (2009) references “tmixʷ translates better as life force” and that it can be understood in the context of “many strands which are continuously bound with each other to form one strong thread coiling year after year” (p. 3). 5.6.2 siwɬkʷ siwɬkʷ is often described as water. Most notably amongst the literature, is the description provided by syilx scholar Dr. Sam, “[the] nsyilxcn word for water [has] the meaning comes from (siw) and (łkʷ). The (siw) comes from siwst – to drink (human). The (łkʷ) comes from łkʷitkʷ to lap (animal). Together the two parts identify the [s]yilx ethic that the right to water is equal for animals and humans. siwɬkʷ is sacred as the sources of all life on the tmxʷulaʔxʷ” (Armstrong & Sam, 2015, p. 2). The emphasis on the nsyilxcn breakdown of this word is definitive to encompassing the syilx ethic in relation to water. That same relation of ethics is brought forward in Dr. Armstrong’s dissertation on tmixʷ being the source of syilx environmental ethics. 5.6.3 tmxʷulaʔxʷ While tmixʷ is the essence of all life in its continuous cyclical form, it can be understood as that which sits upon the earth itself. tmxʷulaʔxʷ is often described as the land (Alexis, 2018, p. xii) but can be more comprehensively understood as “lifeforce-place” (Armstrong, 2009, p. 376). Lifeforce place is more than just the earth and dirt. It goes beyond the notion of being a place or series of ecological terrains (Armstrong, 2009). Fluent speaker, Richard Armstrong, describes “tmxʷulaʔxʷ [as in] tmixʷ (all living things) are xʷaxʷula (on a spinning) ɬukʷlaʔxʷ” (Alexis Personal Journal, 2019, p. 78). It is described by the syilx Nation as “the core spirit from which all of creation arises and which unites everything. tmxʷulaʔxʷ is nsyilxcn for the land” (Okanagan Nation Alliance, 2021, p. #?). 46 5.7 Literary Analysis The captikʷł in this thesis are looked at through the many forms of uncovering localized processes that are framed through an oral narrative format and provides a place-based understanding of how behaviours and ethics are portrayed through a syilx Okanagan lens. The nsyilxcn components of this captikʷł will help provide a clarified understanding of how syilx responsibilities are outlined, how syilx people create relationships and relationality to ‘place’, and how water and the natural world are centric to this specific captikʷł. syilx methodologies are place-based, they derive from the natural world, provide direct connections between processes frameworks, and major concepts. This particular method reveals syilx conceptual frameworks through linguistic understanding and interpretations. This thesis chapter delves into the literary analysis surround sqəlxʷcawt. Five layers of analysis has occurred in this research and they are: individuals informed by captikʷɬ, families influenced by captikʷɬ, community influenced by captikʷɬ, territory influenced by captikʷɬ, and wetlands and water influenced by captikʷɬ. Figure 4 depicts the circular movement in which this literary analysis is conducted and emphasizes the visual connections of each layer. Figure 4 sqəlxʷcawt spiral in relation nested system and syilx oral narratives. 47 There are four major method takeaways in this story that will begin to address the ways in which syilx researchers can utilize and approach research that is grounded in syilx ways of being. The syilx Methodology breakdown includes: • Having a clear vision & determined outlook for goals and outcomes. • Taking very specific pieces of knowledge and transforming it for the people to be. • Understanding the clear outcomes and not to stray from these goals. • Utilizing cultural practices, ceremonies, and prayers is necessary. 5.8 Oral narratives and captikʷɬ analysis 5.8.1 Individuals informed by captikʷɬ There was a time during the beginning of my graduate studies where I was given the opportunity to explore, begin grounding, practicing syilx core research skills through a variety of captikʷɬ. I originally chose a captikʷɬ about snk̓lip, coyote, juggling his eyes. This captikʷɬ at the time was fitting for me in the beginning steps of my formal academic training to begin exploring the syilx conceptual, metaphorical, and metaphysical world of oral narratives. The interpretations and in-depth analysis were and still are critical in my current work as a researcher and instructor. The captikʷɬ I familiarized myself with under the context of looking at individual responsibility was ‘how food was given’. The captikʷɬ of how names were given is about individual responsibility and shows the enactment of sqəlxʷcawt situated within the context of name and naming. Understanding the importance of names and naming dictates the transfer of knowledge, experience, and expertise but also the more deep-rooted nature of the ethics of sqilxʷ people within behaviour and beliefs of accountability. Coyote shows this in his transformation from “speeliya” to “snk̓lip” (Bouchard, 1975, p. 65) and shows what it means to undertake the responsibility of caring for future generations through transforming people-eating monsters. The name marks the tie one can have as an individual to one’s own personal morals. Snk̓lip’s name is a stark reminder for contemporary syilx people to remember coyote’s laws (Armstrong, 2009). 48 5.8.2 Families Influenced by captikʷɬ In 2021, I was mentored to teach Indigenous Languages: syilx Ways of Knowing nsyilxcn Social Foundations through the En’owkin Centre as part of the Bachelor of nsyilxcn Fluency Program course requirements. This course utilizes nsyilxcn keywords and captikʷɬ to explore syilx worldview. In my role as instructor and dialogue facilitator, it was my responsibility to provide my students with as much insight into different layers of captikʷɬ and how the captikʷɬ can in turn help us as contemporary syilx people. One of the captikʷɬ we cover in this course is boy and bear as told by Mourning Dove in her Coyote Stories collection (Mourning Dove, 1990). Reading this captikʷɬ over and over again, year after year, has given me continuous insight into the mechanisms in which family dynamics influence key components of familial relationships through cooperation, consideration, kindness, and responsibility to teach. I have heard and practiced telling this story during my language journey years and would often reflect on the ways in which family roles can be interpreted beyond the human family kin. One of the teachings I take from this story that resonates and is echoed from my nation work is to recognize and uphold our tmixʷ parents and tmixʷ relatives. That as syilx people, we do not need to get our education and life experience from only other humans but to look at the living beings and creatures in these ecosystems to learn. 5.8.3 Community influenced by captikʷɬ During the beginning of my community-based research at the syilx Nation and community levels, I have come across the strong need and desire to understand what syilx responsibility looks and feels like within a community driven lens. The need for responsibility has been reinforced by its counterpoint of accountability. What is reflected in the captikʷɬ can be 49 internalized, processed, and re-created to cause transformative practices and beliefs beyond the realm of syilx individual people and into the broader context of communities. My work at the Nation has had parallel stories around the collective shifts that occur over time – specifically both the story and the captikʷɬ of how salmon was brought to these waterways. In the captikʷɬ of how coyote brings the salmon or the longer version of how coyote breaks the dam, the emphasis is created on the transforming work snk̓lip does for the people to be. In this captikʷɬ snk̓lip directly shows what syilx communities can be doing as a collective to ensure sqəlxʷcawt is being passed from generation to generation. snk̓lip shows the importance of collective work such as ceremonies and gatherings, treating each other with respect, and how we have a responsibility to continuously be transmitting captikʷɬ and captikʷɬ teachings with each other. Much of this collective work is still being done for the salmon. syilx people are still doing the work that snk̓lip laid out in that original captikʷɬ by gathering, restoring habitat and riparian zones, restoring naturalized streams and waterways, holding ceremonial work, and only beginning to reflect on the true importance salmon plays in syilx lives both as a biological keystone specie but also as a mark of syilx health and wellness (Johnson, 2020, p. 1). In my experience at nation gathering events, the need to do things as a group was always emphasized; whether that be harvesting foods or medicines, doing ceremony, greeting new kin. It was all done with the belief that we are syilx people with our syilx values and ethics. An anecdotal example of this was during my daughters’ naming ceremonies which our kin and community were invited to attend. In both of these gatherings, my sense of pride swelled as I could witness the network of people in my community show up and greet my daughters with respect. 50 5.8.4 Territory influenced by captikʷɬ captikʷɬ stories are reinforced by our physical landscapes and ecosystems in which they remind us as sqilxʷ people of our laws, responsibilities, and accountabilities. By looking into key landforms including: coyote land markers, sites of captikʷł, and sacred sites, these landforms will help draw the connections from oral literature to stewardship principles that are etched across the territory serving as physical reminders to the responsibilities syilx people have to the land and water (Cohen, 2010). For this layer of my research, I looked at two captikʷɬ: “Frog Woman” (DeSautel, 2002, pp. 65-69) and “tkaʔkaʔłís sn̓cʔiw̓s uł iʔ ql̓spilx st̓aʔk̓míx” (the three brothers and the Kalispel woman) (Peterson et Al., 2006, pp. 5-6). In the tkaʔkaʔłís sn̓cʔiw̓s uł iʔ ql̓spilx st̓aʔk̓míx captikʷɬ, the strong connection between territory boundary and the introduction to plant foods. snk̓lip in this captikʷɬ shows how sqəlxʷcawt and the responsibility of knowing territorial boundaries are important – for people and plants. In our modern time, this is just as important to know the knowledge, history, and relationships between syilx people and neighbouring nations as well as knowing the experiential knowledge necessary in plant harvesting. This captikʷɬ is an example of many where relationships are integral to healthy social systems and healthy ecosystems. In this captikʷɬ snk̓lip is responsible in the exclusion of plant species being introduced. As contemporary sqilxʷ, it is our responsibility to ensure we are aware of what captikʷɬ hold regarding our responsibility and respect back to the natural world. 5.8.5 Wetlands and water influenced by captikʷɬ There exist many layers of stories that exist across the lands and waters. Each of these layers are informing of syilx social constructs such as experience, expertise, value, behaviour, relation. While these are aimed at sharing contemporary understanding as contextualized within my lens as an intermediate language speaker, the analysis is lacking in my own nsyilxcn 51 language level. Throughout my language revitalization journey, I have constantly read and listened to captikʷɬ in context of looking at how siwɬkʷ is shared; in what manner does siwɬkʷ come up? Who is making interactions with siwɬkʷ? Every captikʷɬ was a stark reminder for me to continuously reflect on my own actions, my own values, my own practices, and my own teachings in how it mirrors my belief of water is life. The captikʷɬ frog and crane by Dora Noyes DeSautel (2002) is a strong reminder on the functionality of healthy wetland ecosystems and the interrelationships of aquatic species as food sources for other aquatic and terrestrial species. Frogs are a reminder for me in the spiritual sense of my connection to the Carrier Frog Clan but also in the ecological sense in how frogs support riparian, wetlands and water systems. In my role as a researcher carrying these responsibilities, frog reminds me of the need to share my understandings on the functions of riparian zones and wetlands. This analysis is only one iteration of the research that can be done by syilx people, language speakers, storytellers, and leaders. Storytelling and the analysis work of storytelling is key in maintain syilx knowledge transmission and transformation. Jeannette Armstrong once stated in a language setting that “stories are constantly told and retold until they become a part of our consciousness” (Alexis Personal Journal, 2020, p. 9). 52 Chapter 6: Conclusion This master’s journey has shown me that research is a culmination of a lifelong process that is built upon years of experiential learning and doing. It is a physical representation of the metaphorical and conceptual movement of the spiral that is embedded in nsyilxcn and sqəlxʷcawt. Learning is multi-dimensional and experiential, which includes academic, work, community teachings, language journey, Self-shift; carried learning point – multidimensional experiential learning My autoethnographic research and the nsyilxcn analysis herein helps to provide a new worldview and value system that is necessary to move forward and provide a strong sense of responsibility and accountability to water, the natural world, and ecological functions that are required to be in place for syilx water resiliency. In order to address some of the challenges around the lack of understanding and lack of awareness around water is directly in alignment with the lack of understanding oral literature. captikʷɬ play an essential role in digesting the philosophical underpinnings of tmixʷcentrsm – the syilx environmental ethic (Armstrong, 2009). Research findings contribute a new pathway of thinking, acting, and behaving across syilx territory by bringing forward the fundamental need to understand the values around sqəlxʷcawt as responsibility from a syilx standpoint. The topic of syilx water responsibility is fundamental during the current global environmental crisis and the looming impacts of climate change. The syilx Nation territory holds a strong diversity of ecosystems, landforms, and many species at risk. The vulnerability of diversity loss is directly tied to the syilx people and the ever-dynamic bodies of knowledge that fluctuates with the natural world and ecosystems. Addressing the challenge of understanding syilx water values will only help to clarify and provide an individualistic perspective on syilx 53 beliefs and concepts of responsibility moving beyond the individual, communal, national, and into the natural world. While this research aims to create a contemporary understanding of syilx beliefs around water, the work completed will help to continuously verify syilx beliefs and ethics all while utilizing the work of syilx centric scholarly figures. Addressing the challenge of understanding the syilx social values of water will help to contextualize and create awareness of syilx beliefs around the nʕawqnwixʷ nested model and how these components are intricately intersecting together. 6.1 Enacting sqəlxʷcawt and Implications for Community Learnings from this thesis will benefit many demographics of the syilx Nation and the broader sqilxʷ Indigenous community, providing insights for current and future academic scholars, the people to be, and youth, and contributing to the larger collective syilx and sqilxʷ research field, including nsyilxcn. It will also be a source of interest to non-syilx allies and academics by showing another view of syilx research methods, theory, analysis, and outcomes. Specifically, it serves as a valuable resource to academia and personnel working within the water sector in and around the syilx territory. The benefits of understanding the importance of water will be crucial for upcoming syilx generations and both contemporary and grassroots syilx leaders. Furthermore, methods of information transmission such as storytelling can be utilized by many non-syilx leaders in local and regional levels of government to gain better clarification on stewardship and water responsibilities. 6.2 Final thoughts This research looks at nsyilxcn concepts in the context of syilx understandings of responsibility, based on existing literature as well as my own knowledge of nsyilxcn. I echo the sentiments of my mentor, Jeannette, in that “every single word in our nsyilxcn language is an artifact” and 54 must be held as such – in this thesis, in research, in our communities, in the ecosystems it comes from. 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Thesis/Dissertation
eng
Interdisciplinary Studies
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
Graduate
Armstrong, Jeannette C.
Exploring Syilx responsibility through sqəlxwcawt
Text