Syilx Salmon Feast returns to sx̌ʷəx̌ʷnitkʷ Sept. 18–20
Three-day gathering at Okanagan Falls will include ceremonies, a canoe paddle, stick games, a salmon run and the Sunday feast honouring the river
A canoe paddle is among the activities planned for the annual Syilx Okanagan Nation Salmon Feast, which runs Sept. 18 to 20 at sx̌ʷəx̌ʷnitkʷ Provincial Park in Okanagan Falls.
Photo: Okanagan Nation Alliance
The annual Syilx Okanagan Nation Salmon Feast will take place Sept. 18 to 20 at sx̌ʷəx̌ʷnitkʷ Provincial Park in Okanagan Falls, bringing together cultural traditions, community activities and ongoing efforts to protect salmon, water and their habitat.
Organized by the Okanagan Nation Alliance, the gathering is held at a culturally significant Syilx site that has long served as a fishing camp, gathering place and trading site. The ONA describes the Salmon Feast as part of continuing efforts to preserve and revitalize Syilx traditions, customs and language while supporting habitat protection, watershed rehabilitation and relationships with water and fish.
The weekend begins Friday afternoon with registration for the stick-game tournament, followed by dinner and tournament play. Saturday's program starts with a huckleberry pancake breakfast at 8:30 a.m., followed by a canoe paddle from Skaha Lake to Okanagan Falls at 10 a.m. and a 2.5- to five-kilometre Salmon Run/Walk at 11 a.m.
Children's activities, arts and crafts and bingo are scheduled through the afternoon, with dinner at 5 p.m. The Salmon Motor Riders are scheduled to arrive at 6 p.m., followed by live music and performances beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Sunday's program centres on the Salmon Feast and a ceremony honouring the sacredness of the river. Children's activities and arts and crafts begin at 10 a.m., followed by an opening and welcome at 11 a.m. The feast begins at noon, with a ceremony and giveaway scheduled for 3 p.m. and closing at 4 p.m.
Everyone is welcome to attend. The ONA says parking is limited and is encouraging visitors to carpool where possible and bring lawn chairs.
sx̌ʷəx̌ʷnitkʷ was a major fishing site
The history of the gathering is closely tied to sx̌ʷəx̌ʷnitkʷ itself. According to BC Parks, sx̌ʷəx̌ʷnitkʷ means “little falls” and is connected to sx̌ʷnitkʷ, or “big falls,” at Kettle Falls in what is now Washington state. Both were among the most important fishing sites within Okanagan Nation territory.
BC Parks says the Osoyoos Indian Band's Okanagan ancestors lived, camped, traded and fished at sx̌ʷəx̌ʷnitkʷ for thousands of years. Chinook, coho and sockeye were historically caught there. Sockeye are now the only salmon species fished at the site, as coho have been extirpated and chinook populations are endangered.
The land was included in an 1877 reserve allotment to the Osoyoos Indian Band for fishing purposes, but was cut off from the reserve in 1913 through the McKenna-McBride Royal Commission. The falls that gave the place its name were blasted in the 1950s to make way for a flood-control dam.
The provincial park was established in 1956 and was renamed sx̌ʷəx̌ʷnitkʷ in 2015 to reflect its traditional Okanagan place name. That same year, the province and the Osoyoos Indian Band agreed that the band would manage the park.
The park closes annually on the third weekend of September for the Salmon Feast, and its campsites are closed to the general public during the gathering. The celebration itself remains open to everyone.
Salmon restoration remains part of the broader work
This year's feast comes as the Okanagan Nation Alliance continues salmon-restoration work across Syilx territory. In April, the ONA announced that about 330,000 sockeye fry would be released into creeks, rivers and lakes in the Okanagan and Columbia basins during 2026, with more than 310,000 slated for tributaries of the Okanagan basin.
That total is below some previous release years. ONA fisheries officials have said releases have reached as high as four million fry in the past.
The Nation also reported difficult conditions for returning salmon in 2025. Unfavourable water temperatures created thermal barriers in the Okanogan River system and delayed Okanagan-bound salmon, while fishing in the United States also affected returns. About 9,000 adult spawners returned that fall, compared with an expected return of fewer than 72,000.
The Salmon Feast places those concerns within a broader cultural and environmental context. The ONA describes the gathering as part of continuing work involving salmon, habitat protection, watershed rehabilitation and the carrying forward of Syilx traditions and teachings.
The 2026 Salmon Feast runs from Friday, Sept. 18 through Sunday, Sept. 20 at sx̌ʷəx̌ʷnitkʷ Provincial Park on Green Lake Road in Okanagan Falls.
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