Syilx Preliminary Traditional Use Study

Okanagan Indian Band, Upper Nicola Band, and Westbank First Nation Preliminary Traditional Use Study

Kwusen worked collaboratively with the Okanagan Indian Band, Upper Nicola Band, and Westbank First Nation (the Syilx Parties) to conduct a Preliminary Traditional Use Study in relation to BC Hydro’s proposed West Kelowna Transmission Line Project. The research and report were designed to assist the Syilx Parties in assessing the potential effects of the proposed Project on Traditional Use Values, opportunities to exercise rights, the proposed Project’s contribution to cumulative effects, and effects on the broader Aboriginal Rights and Title of the Syilx Parties. The TUS research methodology training and ongoing mentorship with community researchers further helped to build capacity within the Syilx Parties to conduct their own research. The multi-media interview materials recorded during interviews were uploaded to the Parties’ Community KnowledgeKeepers (CKK), a web-based data management and mapping software developed by Kwusen.  This functionality provides each of the Syilx Parties with a confidential and text-searchable video archive of all interview materials, as well as a platform to review, search, and cross-reference all previously recorded TUS interview data and community concerns against proposed developments. In this way the results of the TUS can be easily utilized in future consultation processes as well as provide support for future Syilx educational and research initiatives.