Kelowna Museums hosts storytelling events with Syilx Knowledge Keepers.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Alana Firedancer

Kelowna Museums is spreading Indigenous knowledge and awareness through storytelling.

The nakulem program, which is nsyilxc?n for “what we do”, provides a series of educational events led by Knowledge Keepers and Elders of the Syilx Nation.

Organizer Alana Firedancer said there is a strong appetite for Indigenous learning in Kelowna.

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“People love it,” Firedancer told iNFOnews.ca. “We have a lot of repeat attendees who really have that desire to learn.”

Firedancer, who is Cree and Métis, said the response has given her hope for the future of Indigenous representation and education.

“It's not the entire city or the City of Kelowna politicians, but you know, it is the community who are coming out and they're thirsty for this stuff,” she said. “They want to unlearn (and) they want to figure out how to do it.”

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This Sunday, Feb 25, Elders and Knowledge Keepers, through oral teachings known as captik?l, will share the how names were given in the Syilx creation story. 

The event will begin with Westbank First Nation Elder Pamela Barne and Knowledge Keeper Jasmine Peone giving a brief history of the Syilx Okanagan Peoples.

Following that will be interactive storytelling using costumes and music.

“It’s really important for anyone who comes to this museum to recognize that while we're talking about some of the later Kelowna history, there is so, so, so much more that happened before then,” Firedancer said. “Museums kind of have a really bad history of, you know, misrepresenting indigenous history in their museums, and oftentimes, not even consulting indigenous communities.”

Firedancer said the program has continued gaining traction for the two years it has been operating.

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“It needs to be brought more into the public consciousness that the history of Kelowna is that it was built on colonialism and dispossessing the people of the land," she said. "I think that the community is starting to become more aware of that.”

Firedancer and Kelowna Museums work alongside Wildrose Native Traditions, a collective of Indigenous teachers, to put on various events.

Next week on Feb 29, the program will host a wild tea-making workshop, as well as puppet storytelling on March 18.

The museum welcomes all ages to attend the events which all take place at the Laurel Packinghouse in Kelowna.

“They're not just stories,” Firedancer said. “They all have lessons. They carry deeper meanings about the laws morals and ethics of the Syilx culture, they hold a lot of importance.”

More information about the events can be found here.

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