SX̌ʷƏX̌ʷNITKʷ, the second major salmon falls of the Syilx Illahie (and the only one remaining free of Grand Coulee Dam), is not alone in this light. Look at Coyote’s big knobby head […]
A Coyote at The Little Falls
Beyond Truth and Reconciliation
Let’s put this simply. It’s about land and water. And about the life force interwoven with them. And how people interweave with that. Interweaving is not just about commercial potential. Here’s my […]
Truth and Reconciliation and Humility
Three years ago, I sat with a Secwepemc elder and a couple young Secwepemc men near Yellow Pond below, in Stswecem’c Xgat’tem territory. We talked about a lot of things, including traditional land […]
Orchard Lies and Out of Touch Journalists and Your Lunch
This is a story about truth and reconciliation. The headline says it all. Many Okanagan Apple Farmers Are Facing This Year’s Harvest Short Handed, You know, I remember a time, long before […]
Bye-Bye Fire
The correct management of forests is to fill them with water and then to eat the trees. Well, actually the bark of the trees. The wood is used to hold the water […]
The Dance of Eye and Mind
Humans are visually oriented, and have a love of the bright colours, blue, yellow, gold, blonde and white that catch the eye at a distance. It is easier to notice the pollen […]
For Bees’ Sakes, Let’s Grow Up
When the world of summer flowers is blasted by neglect, bees have it hard. There really is nothing, for mile on mile on mile. Even planting a calendula helps. It’s up to […]
Should British Columbia Change Its Name?
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is asking this question. They illustrate it like this: There’s been a national reckoning on place names and the people they’re named after — and some say that […]
The Only Hope for the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys in a Culture of Fire
I hate to say it, but the dream that has kept my family tied to the land for 91 years in this trough in the Columbia Plateau is over. Instead of a […]
The Fire is Us
There are fires in all directions, for the fourth year in a row. Note the smoke above, in the Okanagan, and below, in the Cariboo. Cough cough. There’s a lot of talk […]
Okanagan Okanogan 