What does being syilx entail?
The newest display at the Sncewips Heritage Museum on the Westbank First Nation has that name.
The show, according to museum communications coordinator Kayt Ell, “was developed with our community over the past month.” “We held four distinct painted tour occasions when members of the community visited.” Following a tour with a guide, they were instructed to paint anything that stood out to them as symbols of what it means to be syilx.
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Ell claims that it’s a chance to exhibit Canadians the creativity and brilliance of the Okanagan people.
“A significant portion of who we are and how we have been stems from the fact that we lost our identities and our bearings as a result of residential schools and the Indian Act. And for so long, being an Indian was horrible,” remarked Ell.
“And now, this exhibition is honouring what it means to be Native American and syilx.
The facility’s tour guide, Coralee Miller, believes that because there is a need for knowledge and information, this is a crucial time for everyone, especially Indigenous people.
Not all discussions on Indigenous history, according to her, will be pleasant, but they are necessary to have in order to further the healing process.
The problem is that the truth sometimes causes discomfort. However, discomfort is essential if you’re going to learn and if we’re going to advance together, Miller added.
Residential schools are but a fraction of the horrors that have occurred. Additionally, I want to underline that while those events did occur, we are also magnificent people with a rich culture and a lovely language.
The exhibit also offers visitors the option to explore the identities of two of the several groups who call the Okanagan home by responding to the question, “What does it mean to be Canadian?”
What it means to be syilx is the subject of a new exhibit at the Sncewips Heritage Museum.
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