Getting to know Kelowna’s Indigenous culture through nature, food and wine

The hatchery is open for public tours (by appointment request) and they work with more than 20 schools, from Vernon to Osoyoos, including Castlegar and Trail, to provide aquariums in classrooms, from preschool to secondary, so students can raise salmon and be part of the hatchery’s fry release event.

The Bear

My next stop, just up the road on Highway 97 in West Kelowna, was Indigenous World Winery. “A winery is an amazing way to bring people together to share amazing culture and stories,” Ryan Widdup said, pouring a sample into a guest’s glass in the Westbank tasting room. When he placed the bottle on the counter, I noticed the artwork of a bear on the label.

“We share Indigenous culture in three different ways,” he continued. “The first being the stories of the people through the names of the family, which are the names of the wines.” Terroir takes on a new meaning here while connecting the grapes and flavours through the land but also this land telling people's stories.

In the Kelowna area, some of the terroir is influenced by volcanic rock and mineral deposits from Mount Boucherie, remnant of an ancient volcano. You can hike the Mount Boucherie Trail to get a bird's eye view of the whole city, and maybe you'll even sense n'ha-a-itk, the spirit of the lake.

“The second way we try to share the culture is the imagery on the bottles, with animals that have significance.” The Viognier bottle was teed up once again to splash its contents into an awaiting glass. “The third way is single-vineyard series wines which are small lots of premium grapes from the Okanagan and Similkameen valleys, so the traditional territories of the syilx/Okanagan Nation, and it lets you taste the land that has nurtured their people for the last 10,000 years.”

Founded by Robert Louie (Chief of the Westbank First Nation until 2016) and his wife Bernice, Indigenous World Winery has a beautiful tasting room and shop, as well as the Red Fox Club Restaurant just below, serving up world-class, modern native cuisine with local ingredients.

The Berry

Saskatoon berry bannock with a Saskatoon berry smoothie on the side? I arrived at Kekuli Bannock Cafe in West Kelowna just in time for lunch. The sweet and savoury options of the golden fry bread called my name. They have a new sage, cranberry venison taco on their handmade bannock, as well as a traditional wild smoked salmon on bannock. The Saskatoon tea is loaded with dried fruit and rose and hibiscus, if you’re looking for another berry option. The Saskatoon berry is high in fibre, protein and antioxidants and is native to North America. 

Founded by Sharon Bond-Hogg, and with locations in Merritt and West Kelowna, Kekuli serves up traditional ambience, light powwow music, artwork, and jewelry in its cozy cafe setting. It’s always worth a pit-stop at Kekuli to pick up gourmet berry bannock (with a side of s’mores, lemon butterhorn or raspberry coconut for good measure).

The Root

In the early spring, artist Janine Lott plants gourd seeds in her garden. They grow all summer long. She hand-pollinates them, and in the late summer/early fall the plants start to die back with the first frost, which starts to dry the gourds - and so begins her artistic process. 

“Gourds can teach us a lot about life,” said Janine as the late afternoon sunshine streamed into the window of her Westbank studio. She was etching one of her designs onto a dried, hollowed out fruit from her garden. “They have been able to adapt to different environments over the centuries and thrive and survive. They have the ability to float in the ocean current for up to seven years and land on different continents. They adapt and flourish.”

Janine say that a lot of cultures believe gourds reflect the essence of a woman, with their shape and the ability to sustain life inside with its seeds.

“My inspiration comes from nature, our First Nations people, our stories, and our general interaction with our environment and natural laws. Stories that I’ve heard, our pictographs, stories I’ve heard from elders along the way.”

She does some sales direct from her studio, around Westbank, West Kelowna, and at the Tourism Kelowna Visitor Centre on the waterfront at Queensway Avenue. When visiting Kelowna, this is a great starting point. 

Along with local artwork like Janine's, the Kelowna Visitor Centre provides tons of information so you can plan your trip and daily activities, and has a wide variety of branded merchandise - including some great Love For Kelowna tumblers, growlers, hats, and shirts.

Outside the Visitor Centre, you’ll also find a statue and monument to syilx Okanagan Chief, swkncut. During his time as chief, he maintained the central idea of peace between the syilx people and settlers over a century ago. Known for his peacekeeping and communications that maintained a balance of cultures, his statue points his feather fan across the lake toward the Westbank First Nation, in a meaningful gesture, frozen in time.

Your last stop on this journey, which for me was inspired by the Four Food Chiefs, should be at Okanagan Select tasting room in Westbank, where you can sample and shop sustainably caught seafood and fish. They have candied salmon, salmon jerky, cold smoke sockeye, hardwood smoked sockeye, maple or alder smoked salmon - and I even spotted some scallops. Pair your haul with a bottle from Indigenous World and you’ll have a true taste of the syilx/Okanagan culture, land, and water - and one very enjoyable meal.