cover image: iʔ  ‿  sməlqmíx - Our Connection to the Land and Water is Sacred

20.500.12592/fzjxmv

iʔ ‿ sməlqmíx - Our Connection to the Land and Water is Sacred

20 Apr 2022

The nʔaysnúlaʔxʷ is a place of connection, a great trade and migration route of historic and present cultural significance, linking the sməlqmíx to the ƛ̓msiw̓ (Stó:lō) in the west through the Pasayaten into the Skagit and connecting the nʔaysnúlaʔxʷ to the mitx̫̌ aʔ (Methow), merging the sməlqmíx with syilx at a critical juncture in our history. [...] Armstrong the broader syilx prophecy of how humans came to be is grounded in four stages of learning, with deeper knowledge and relationality with the natural world gained each stage: The original people of the Okanagan were wished here by k̫̓ l̕ ncútn, the Creator of oneself, the Creator and arranger of the world… In the captikʷɬ we are told the k̫̓ l̕ ncútn created and sent senk’lip, Coyote, t. [...] The first place they passed was kaɬnƛi̓ḿqs then they came down the nʔaysnúlaʔxʷ, and then they came through akɬ scw̓aʔnayt̓mx, the place of the Sasquatch, then akɬ stunx, the place of the beaver, then akɬ púnɬp, the place of the juniper trees. [...] In addition to the Ashnola watershed, sməlqmíx elders have identified the cktṕikn (Olalla Highlands), the sḱaʔitkʷ (Skagit), and the the akɬ túlmn (Tulameen) as priority areas that are needed to sustain the water and ecosystems of our homeland. [...] 32 iʔ‿sməlqmíx BACKGROUNDER Within the context of protection and sustainability-based decision making, those who have occupied the land for the longest period of time have the most information related to the health of the land in a specific place, and are best equipped to make decisions related to that place.
Pages
40
Published in
Canada
Title in English
iʔ ‿ sməlqmíx - Our Connection to the Land and Water is Sacred [from PDF fonts]