The Okanagan escarpment, peaks and valleys were formed sometime between 9,000 and 11,000 years ago when glacier activity during the Pleistocene Epoch carved out what we now know as the Okanagan Valley. (Pleistocene Epoch was an age that began approximately 2.6 million years ago and is anachronistic with the most recent Ice Age, according to Kim Ann Zimmermann of Live Science)
The leftover grinded silt from the movement of the glaciers was eroded by Earthly elements and created the deltas in which Penticton, Kelowna and Vernon are now located. Beside them, the Swan, Kalamalka, Skaha, Vaseux and Osoyoos lakes, according to James Marsh of the Canadian Encyclopedia.
The region was first walked upon by the Okanagan of the Interior Salish, who gave the valley its name. Okanagan translates as 91裸聊视频減lace of water,91裸聊视频� wrote Marsh.
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Elder from Westbank First Nation, Pamela Barnes, whose ancestral name means, 91裸聊视频渢he coming of a storm and the coming of change,91裸聊视频� explained the relationship between the Indigenous community and what the Okanagan lands mean to them at a Journey Home event earlier in the summer.
91裸聊视频淥ur lands are made up of the blood and the bones of our ancestors for thousands and thousands of years,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 all sacred to us.91裸聊视频�
Barnes said First Nations people do not see themselves as owners of these lands 91裸聊视频渋n the way that newcomers have defined ownership.91裸聊视频� They see themselves as borrowers from their great ancestors.
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91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 a very big difference between the concept of ownership and the concept of borrowing,91裸聊视频� she said, grabbing the necklace that hangs from her neck. She explained how she can sell, give away or damage the necklace because she owns it, rather than borrowing it, in which case her actions would need to change. It is not hers, she must return it in the same, or better, condition than when she first received it.
91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 more like holding (these lands) in trust for the future generations,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淲e have responsibilities.91裸聊视频�
In about 1840, European missionaries built their first settlement near the northern tip of the Okanagan Lake. Almost 20 years later, they established themselves in Kelowna, according to Marsh.
In 2019, inhabitants share the expansive 200 km long and 20 km wide valley, known for its spectacular views, backyard hikes and harvestable soils91裸聊视频攁lthough the first apple trees were planted near Osoyoos around 1857, Marsh accords that the 1930s were truly the dawn of fertile lands that replaced the quasi-desert.
Now, between the Central Okanagan, North Okanagan and Okanagan-Similkameen regions, the valley has approximately 362,258 residents, circa 2016, according to the Canadian 2016 Census.
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David.venn@kelownacapnews.com
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