Indigenous Cultural Journey: People, Land & Traditions

DAY 1: ARRIVAL

Meet the Syilx-speaking people – the original inhabitants of a vast and beautiful territory that encompasses forests, grasslands, lakes, and deserts. Discover all they have to offer, from unsurpassed opportunities for travel and recreation to unique cultural experiences and opportunities.

• Arrival at Kelowna International Airport. Meet and greet by guides
• Hotel Delta GRAND Okanagan Resort

Immerse yourself in a lakeside ambiance in the midst of British Columbia’s Wine Country at Delta Hotels by Marriott Grand Okanagan Resort. Set on Okanagan Lake and surrounded by picturesque mountains, this urban resort offers stylish hotel rooms and suites with deluxe amenities.

• Dinner at OAK-CRU

OAK-CRU Social Kitchen & Wine Bar is a sought-after gathering spot with the kitchen and wine bar as the interactive hub of the hotel lobby. Sip a craft cocktail or beer on our lakefront patio while savoring our locally sourced menu.

• Traditional Welcoming Syilx Nation

DAY 2: DAILY ACTIVITIES

• Drive to Merritt and Kamloops
• Merritt, Quilchena and Douglas Lake
• Arrival in Kamloops late afternoon
• Delta Hotel by Marriott

Experience the best in streamlined travel at Delta Hotels Kamloops. This recently renovated downtown hotel has been thoughtfully designed with the essential needs of a frequent traveler in mind. The spacious hotel rooms and suites offer premium bathrooms, plush bedding, inspiring workspaces, and free Wi-Fi.

• Dinner at Cordo Resto Bar

Recharge at Cordo Resto Bar, a downtown Kamloops restaurant with picturesque mountain views. British Columbia’s natural bounty dominates the menu, from all-natural ingredients to a great selection of wines from the Okanagan region.

• Secepwemc Welcoming and Workshop evening

We acknowledge and give honour to the Secwepemc—the ancestral peoples who have lived here for thousands of years—upon whose traditional and unceded land Thompson Rivers University is located. The Secwepemc maintain a spiritual and practical relationship to the land, water, air, animals, plants, and all things needed for life on Mother Earth. It is with that in mind that we owe this debt of gratitude.

DAY 3: DAILY ACTIVITIES

• Breakfast at hotel
• Residential School Educational tour

This tour provides an excellent opportunity to learn about the untold history of residential schools in Canada. This tour includes a 20-minute introductory video, Eyes of the Children, directed by CBC, guided tour of the Kamloops Indian Residential School exhibits, guided tour of the Kamloops Indian Residential School rooms: Chapel, Dining Room, Kitchen and Boy’s Dormitory.

• Heritage Park tour

This seasonal tour provides botanical information about the Secwépemc territory. This tour includes a 20-minute introductory video, Welcome to the Land of the Secwépemc, guided tour of our ethnobotany gallery, guided tour of our Heritage Park containing traditional plants, and guided tour of our winter homes

• Kamloopa Arbour tour

Be in the Spiritual PowWow Arbor that hosts Western Canada’s Largest Powwow.

• Depart to Kelowna
• Indigenous Winery Tour

When you taste an Indigenous World wine, you are tasting fruit from the land that has supported the Syilx people for over 10,000 years. The concept of Indigenous World Winery emerged as Robert and Bernice’s way of combining the unique terroir of the valley and the Indigenous people’s stewardship of these lands. Every effort is being made to produce world-class wines in a respectful way to the environment and its people.

• Sncewips Museum tour (WESTBANK)

The Sncewips Heritage Museum began as a repository after Westbank First Nation achieved self-government in 2005. As their collection grew, they transitioned to the public sphere by opening their doors as a museum on June 14th, 2014. Five years later, they launched a much-anticipated move and re-opened the space on February 1st, 2020. Through all of its changes, the museum continues to provide a protected place for Sqilxw culture and heritage. The museum allows the public to experience the collections, histories, and oral stories of the Syilx people from a Sqilxw perspective.

• Check into Hotel Delta Grand Hotel Resort Okanagan

• Dinner at local restaurant Downtown Kelowna Here you’ll find a world-class kitchen, where the chef and his crew create flavourful and unique dishes, along with some classic comforts.

DAY 4: DAILY ACTIVITIES

• Breakfast at hotel
• Departure to Osoyoos

Welcome to Osoyoos – a treasure in the sun. Osoyoos is Desert Wine Country’s Sweet Spot with the charm of a beach town surrounded by the only living desert in Canada. Taste award-winning wine bottled where it is grown, savour sun-warmed fruit straight off the tree, visit centres devoted to the preservation of ecology, native culture and local history and then refresh yourself in the warmest freshwater lake in Canada.

• NK’mip Cultural centre tour

See legends come alive in two multi-sensory theatre experiences. Explore the “Living Lands” outdoor exhibit and sculpture gallery. Smell the wild sage along the network of walking trails and admire the view from the Chief’s lookout. Visit a reconstructed village and explore the rich living culture of the Osoyoos Indian Band. The spectacular Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre (pronounced in-ka-meep) is a state-of-the-art interpretive centre is an architectural marvel sensitively constructed into a hillside. Extensive indoor and outdoor exhibit galleries create a fun, interactive learning environment with hands-on displays, education stations and two multi-media theatre experiences. Discover the fascinating stories of Canada’s only desert and share in the rich living culture of the Okanagan people.

• Nk’mip Wine Tour and Lunch

The Nk’Mip Cellars were designed by Robert MacKenzie, a Penticton-based architect with a passion for celebrating the Okanagan character and advancing sustainable practices. The Cellars are as much about the people who visit and tour it as the building itself, offering a memorable and pleasurable experience that provides a powerful insight into our way of life. Nestled in our vineyard overlooking the town of Osoyoos, the Cellars include a world-class restaurant offering a locally sourced and lavishly prepared menu enjoyed on our expansive patio and enhanced by spectacular views of the lake and surrounding hills. The outdoor Patio Restaurant offers contemporary North American cuisine in a picturesque location, with fresh Farm-to-Table innovations.

• Departure for Peachland (Downtown walk)

Situated on eleven kilometers of Okanagan lakefront, Peachland is in the very heart of the recreation paradise that is the Okanagan Valley. Positioned midway between Kelowna and Penticton, it is the perfect location to draw from both population centres, and is well-positioned to act as a hub for wine and other agritourism activities.

• Arrival at the hotel
• Dinner at Winery ( Quails Gate Winery)

As one of the original winery restaurants in West Kelowna and one of the top-ranked in the Okanagan.

• Ceremonial gift exchange

In many Indigenous cultures, the practice of gift-giving has a unique significance. The tradition shows respect to the receiver of the gift, as well as to their family and ancestors. It is also a way to show appreciation of knowledge that is exchanged – when seeking guidance or advice, or for assistance from those with distinct abilities such as healers and ceremonialists. Gifting is also sharing one’s resources to benefit and support others. Gifts are an intrinsic part of the sharing ethos of Indigenous people; sharing has always been a necessary aspect of survival.

DAY 5: DEPARTURE

Your guides will shuttles to Airport for departure back home hearts and minds filled with authentic souvenirs of indigenous cultures of the Okanagan Valley.