Tag Groups used in Events

Annotation 2.1 - Scudder’s introductory segment highlights a number of underlying concerns that he and many of the other experts, Knowledge Keepers, and Elders delve into throughout the radio documentary. During the time The Pocket Desert radio documentary was being produced and first aired through CBC’s Ideas, the South Okanagan Conservation Strategy of 1990-1995 was set to be implemented to protect and conserve myriad plant and animal species and habitats (Hlady 1). Scudder affirms the South Okanagan Conservation Strategy’s concerns with the south Okanagan’s “rapid human settlement over the past few decades” that has “resulted in a major loss of the natural environment” when referring to the impacts of orchards, vineyards, and urban expansion (1). Today, the Okanagan remains one of the least protected areas in the settler-state of Canada. A 2019 report from the World Wildlife Fund revealed the Okanagan “scored poorly” in their assessment of ecological representation despite being “a species hotspot” that “contains areas that have high levels of forest biomass and climate refugees” (Wildlife Protection Assessment 8). As identified by Scudder and the Conservation Strategy in the 1990s, the World Wildlife Fund report states that “[e]xpanding human population, and related road and housing infrastructure, and agriculture development have added pressure to the region where many stressed species have already been extirpated” (8). For further analysis and demonstration, see Sections 2 and 3 and annotations 2.2, 2.3, and 3.3.

Annotation 1.1 - The audio of crickets in the background appears to ease the transition between Scuddera's segment to the next. Layers of sound begin to build as flute music (played by Herman Edward) is introduced and followed by Dr. Jeannette Armstrong’s reading of her poem. As Jason Camlot notes, “we, as humans, are time-sensitive listening creatures” (4). Each pause and change of pace in Armstrong’s reading of a poem is thus apparent if not striking, especially as the poem is not offered in a visual format that would allow listeners to anticipate the meter and pace and because it differs from the formal and conversational forms of speech heard thus far. Unlike the more formal explanations and descriptions heard throughout the documentary, the poetry provides a much more intimate view and understanding of the land and its relationship to the speaker. At the same time, the reading of the poetry differs from conversational speech by providing a steady pace that fluctuates with particular words or lines to emphasise their significance and meaning. The music and poetry created and provided by Syilx Okanagan People ultimately expand methods of communicating research about the Okanagan beyond the hegemonic and limiting capacities of traditional Western research presentation. Further, the music and poetry provide personal significance amongst segments of Western science-based oral accounts given by those such as Dr. Scudder. As explained on the Westbank First Nation website, the Syilx Okanagan People “had many songs that were sung for a variety of reasons” prior to colonisation, which were then “outlawed, stolen, misplaced and misused” following assimilation efforts (“Okanagan Song”). As demonstrated in The Pocket Desert, many of the songs continue to be sung today despite colonialism’s pernicious attempts at erasure. For further analysis and demonstration, see Section 1 and annotation 1.2.

Annotation 4.1 - Lily Armstrong’s telling of the story of the white weasel woman in Nsyilxcən highlights several important considerations when examining the relevance of oral histories, storytelling and audio archives. Audio recordings have the ability to have “real-time” qualities that “opens a tunnel connection with the past” and appeal to our perception of time to create “an experience of real-time processing” (Camlot 3). Oral histories and oral storytelling also holds insurmountable significance to Indigenous nations and communities around the world, as a way of communicating Indigenous knowledge, culture, and epistemologies (Iseke 559). Along with their social paradigm and language, Syilx captikʷɬ (oral stories) strongly express how “Syilx knowledge can also be seen as a systems view” and allows for Syilx Traditional Ecological Knowledge to move continuously forward through each generation (Armstrong, “A Single Strand” 97). Due to colonialism, assimilation efforts, and land destruction, Indigenous languages and storytelling practices have been and continue to be threatened, thus making the practice of storytelling and speaking of Indigenous languages especially essential (Archibald 238). As Lily Armstrong’s telling of the story in Nsyilxcən is recorded, it both upholds and affirms the relationships and responsibilities between the Syilx Okanagan Peoples to their territory, lands, and resources while continuing to serve as a seemingly timeless and continuous bridge between the past and the present (Syilx Okanagan Nation Alliance). For further analysis and demonstration, see Sections 1, 3, and 4 and annotations 1.1, 3.1, and 4.2.

Annotation 3.1 - Similar to the first annotation on the segment featuring Edward’s music and Armstrong’s poetry, this segment of the radio documentary is an example of what audio can present and bring to research and understanding as the sounds of the wind, buzzing of insects, and horse hooves on the earth brings viewers to the desert in a way. It also models how “Syilx ethics and governance are linked to land use and regenerative conservation of ecosystems” and that the “Syilx people’s ecological knowledge is the basis of everyday practice” (Armstrong, “A Single Strand” 95). As Elder Jane Stelkia explains the significance of the pictographs, the land emerges as a foundational part of Syilx culture and tradition, while also informing the interactions between Stelkia and Delphine Derickson. The Nsyilxcən word and concepts of tmixʷ (all living things) illustrates numerous strands “fanning outward from one source that is not visible (96-7). Syilx Traditional Ecological Knowledge, which is centred in the concept of tmixʷ, involves the understanding that the entire Syilx territory “is a living whole system that requires human compliance” and “a deep level of cooperation and solidarity among groups in the whole of the system” (97-8). Our relationships with each other thus reflect our relationships with the land and vice versa (Armstrong, “An Okanagan Worldview” 66-7). By actively including and engaging with Derickson in her explanation of the significance of the pictographs, Stelkia not only accounts for the significance of the land but models the tmixʷ-centred Syilx philosophy of egalitarianism. For further analysis and demonstration, see Sections 2, 3, and 4 and annotations 1.1, 2.2, 3.2, and 3.3.

Annotation 3.2 - See annotations 2.2, 3.1,and 3.3 and Sections 2, 3 and 4 for further demonstration and analysis.

Annotation 1.2 - See annotation 1.1 and Section 1 for further demonstration and analysis.

Annotation 2.2 - See annotations 2.1, 2.3, 3.2, and 3.3 and Sections 2 and 3 for further demonstration and analysis.

Annotation 3.3 - See annotations 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, and 3.2 and Sections 2, 3 and 4 for further demonstration and analysis.

Annotation 2.3 - See annotations 2.1, 2.2, and 3.3 and Sections 2 and 3 for further demonstration and analysis.

Annotation 4.2 - See annotations 1.1, 1.2, 3.1 and 4.1 and Sections 2, 3 and 4 for further demonstration and analysis.