Okanagan
The Okanagan, also spelled "Okanogan" or "Okana-gon," is a group of Indigenous peoples primarily located in British Columbia, Canada, and north-central Washington, United States. This community is divided into two main groups: the Northern Okanagan, represented by the Okanagan Indian Band, and the Southern Okanagan, known as the Sinkaietk, who reside on the Colville Reservation. The Okanagan people have a rich cultural heritage characterized by their seasonal lifestyle, which involved winter camps and a reliance on fishing, primarily for salmon, along with hunting deer and gathering various roots and berries during different seasons.
Historically, they maintained a minimal interaction with coastal nations and engaged in trade with European settlers, especially through the Hudson’s Bay Company. The Okanagan did not enter into a treaty with the U.S. until 1891, which was never ratified, leading to ongoing issues regarding land and fishing rights. Today, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and the Okanagan Nation Alliance work on economic development, resource management, and cultural preservation, aiming to sustain their heritage and rights in the modern context. The Okanagan community continues to advocate for recognition and compensation related to their ancestral lands and resources.
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Okanagan
- CATEGORY: Tribe
- CULTURE AREA: Plateau
- LANGUAGE GROUP: Salishan
- PRIMARY LOCATION: British Columbia, Washington State
- POPULATION SIZE: 2,030 (Okanagan Indian Band); small US population in the Confederated Tribes of the Colville in Washington state
Initially, the Okanagan (also spelled “Okanogan” and “Okana-gon”) comprised two groups, the Northern Okanagan and Southern Okanagan (also known as the Sinkaietk). The Northern Okanagan lived near the Canadian boundary in the present province of British Columbia, and the Southern Okanagan inhabited the area around the Okanagan River, a tributary of the Columbia River, in north-central Washington. The Northern Okanagan refer to themselves as the Okanagan Indian Band and are one of seven member communities of the Syilx Okanagan Nation in British Columbia. These communities, along with the descendants of the Southern Okanagan living on the Colville Reservation in Washington State, formed the Okanagan Nation Alliance.
The Southern Okanagan practiced the culture of the Plateau Indigenous Americans, and their interaction with coastal nations was minimal. The Okanagan followed a seasonal cycle. In the winter they lived in permanent camps, some in subterranean housing but most in a long mat lodge. A few lived in tepees. In the winter, they lived in permanent camps, some in subterranean housing and most in a long mat lodge. A few lived in tepees. During the winter, they depended on the resources they had collected during the spring, summer, and fall, supplemented by whatever they could hunt or fish. Their principal food source was salmon, but deer were also important to their diet.
With the coming of spring, the gathering of food began to replenish the exhausted winter supply, and the nation became mobile, breaking up into different groups. One of the first activities was fishing for suckers, followed by steelhead trout. The most important fishing, however, took place in the summer salmon camps. Weirs were built to aid the capture of large catches. The salmon that were caught were either dried or frozen. All the available salmon were taken, and the older women of the camp would even pick up the dead salmon that had spawned and prepare them. Almost the entire salmon would be used, including the head.
Another food source was the variety of available roots and berries. Camps were established to gather the camas root and numerous berries, including huckleberries, red or orange foam berries, and serviceberries. By fall, the Okanagan hunted deer, using the meat and the skins for clothing. Preparations were underway for winter camp by late fall.
Other aspects of Okanagan culture included a shaman and a dream cult. Sweat lodges were also used. Indigenous culture persisted throughout the nineteenth century, and although the horse probably was introduced by the 1840s, it did not appear to have much effect on Okanagan culture. The Okanagan traded with the Hudson’s Bay Company in the nineteenth century, which is probably how they acquired the horse.
Unlike many other Plateau nations, the Okanagan did not enter into a treaty with the United States government until 1891—and this treaty was never ratified. In addition to the fur traders, their contacts with European Americans were through Roman Catholic missionaries, miners, and settlers. The Okanagan did not fight in any of the major Plateau wars with the Whites, such as the Yakima War. They were unhappy, however, with the creation of the Moses Reservation in the 1860s; it was located on their land, but it only lasted until 1884. Upon termination of the reservation, many Okanagan members remained in the area. Others lived in the area of the Colville Reservation, which also included traditional Okanagan land. The Colville Reservation was first established in 1872 and became a home to the descendants of the Colville, Nespelem, San Poil, Lake (also known as Lakes or Sinixt), Palus, Wenatchi (Wenatchee), Chelan, Entiat, Methow, Southern Okanagan, Moses-Columbia, and the Chief Joseph Band of Nez Perce. Its official governing body is the Business Council of the Colville Reservation.
Numerous claims have been filed by Salish and other Northwest nations with the federal government for compensation regarding land and fishing rights. One of the claims dates back to the 1891 treaty, which was never ratified. In it, the Okanagan were one of the nations that agreed to cede 1.5 million acres for $1.5 million. An additional payment was awarded. Other claims concern lost fishing rights with the construction of dams, such as the Grand Coulee. In the twenty-first century, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation operated various businesses through the Colville Tribal Enterprise Corporation (CTEC), including gaming, recreation, tourism, retail, construction, and wood products. They also participated in natural resource management and individual nations worked to preserve their language, culture, and history.
In the twenty-first century, in Canada, the Okanagan Nation Alliance shared interest in the management of natural resources, rights and titles of what the bands considered their Indigenous lands, profit from tourism, and business with the private sector.
Bibliography
"About Us." Okanagan Indian Band, www.okib.ca/about. Accessed 26 Oct. 2024.
"Facts." Colville Tribes, www.cct-hsy.com/facts. Accessed 26 Oct. 2024.
History/Archaeology Department. "Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation." ArcGIS StoryMaps, 2024, storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/bb31cd48d0284fa59d6f454cafabe962. Accessed 26 Oct. 2024.
Joseph, Andrew and En'owkin Centre. The Country of Sen-om-tuse: Growing Up the Traditional Colville-Okanogan Way. Theytus Books, 2013.
Loelke, Brian. "The Okanagan Tribe." Prezi, 31 Oct. 2012. prezi.com/6h1rqreaobdx/the-okanagan-tribe. Accessed 26 Oct. 2024.
Muckle, Robert J. The First Nations of British Columbia: An Anthropological Overview. 3rd ed., UBC Press, 2014.
"About Us - Syilx Okanagan Nation." Syilx Okanagan Nation Alliance, www.syilx.org/about-us/syilx-nation. Accessed 26 Oct. 2024.
Thomson, Duncan Duane. "A History of the Okanagan: Indians and Whites in the Settlement Era, 1860–1920." The University of British Columbia, 1985, open.library.ubc.ca/collections/ubctheses/831/items/1.0107160. Accessed 26 Oct. 2024.