Upper Nicola Band
Upper Nicola is a proud, inclusive Syilx community working together to promote suxʷtxtəm, teach our captíkʷł and committed to building foundations through EnoWkinWixʷ.
Upper Nicola is the only Syilx (Okanagan) community in the Nicola Valley. In the 18th century, ancestors of Upper Nicola permanently inhabited the Upper Nicola and Salmon River watersheds as a result of the Fish Lake Accord with the Kamloops Shuswap tribe. The agreement was made in the late 1700s between the Chiefs of the T’kemlups Secwepemc and the Syilx to end wars between these two communities, where the Syilx were granted the former Secwepemc territory in the vicinity of Douglas Lake.
We were stewards of the lands and waters that nourished us and treated them with reverence. We took only what was needed and were experts in the uses of plants and animals. We were careful stewards of our environment, using regular controlled burning to clear brush and produce abundant berries and roots for harvesting. Water is revered as sacred and is part of creation stories, teaching and laws in Upper Nicola/Syilx spirituality, and must be treated with respect and dignity.