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Unceded Sylix Land - Rose Valley - West Kelowna

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Photography for me has always been a creative outlet because of this it has been a mediator for my relationship with the land. However, I recognize that there is Indigenous scholarship that criticizes the colonial motives of “capturing” the land through photography. This project consists of photographing places that I have spent time with, and I am taking this to be a reflective creative process, rather than a capturing of my environment. I have taken these photos to show where I am, and what I am looking at. However, the term and idea of capturing a photo render itself to colonial ideologies which I would like to address here. Robinson states that “listening positionalities allows us to trace the unmarked normativity of listening but also reveals the ways in which the listening continuum has historically been consigned to the framework wherein one is listening well if one is able to capture the content of what is spoken, or the “fact” of musical form and structure” (38). While this may be focusing on listening, the idea of capturing correlates to the idea of capturing an image, “hungry listening prioritizes the capture and certainty of information over the affective feel, timbre, touch and texture of sound” (Robinson 38). Hungry listening allows us to understand that the way information is consumed and the intent behind consuming said information is important. The same goes with images, the way images are taken and consumed needs to be done with care, and away from harmful colonial expectations. Mojica describes her experience with photography by explaining that the act of writing something down while journaling feels like it interjects with “feeling a place” or “situation”(221). The act of taking away or separating oneself from the moment or place to record it removes one's presence away from the superficial form. Mojica continues with a powerful statement of: “I record and document with my body—that is my methodology—so circumstances that distract from that process result in material that is much less “usable” for my purposes” ( 221). My brain continuously defaults to colonial ideologies, when I read that statement there is a part of me that questions it. However, I can see the meaning and the intent behind it. Learning to use my creative outlet away from colonialism can offer me a way of deepening my relationship with place.

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Unceded Sylix Land - “Ogopogo” Figure - Downtown Kelowna

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Unceded Sylix Land - Okanagan Mountain

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This scholarship has encouraged me to investigate my relationship with photography, land and place. Jeannette Armstrong writes about the language of the land in Sharing one Skin: The Okanagan Community,' touching on the mainstream colonial understanding of the Okanagan. “The… difference between the Okanagan perception of the self and that of the dominant culture has to do with the "us" that is place: the capacity to know we are everything that surrounds us; to experience our humanness in relation to all else and in consequence to know how we affect the world around us” (Armstrong 465). The Okanagan is known for its land, it is known to be a place for people to come and enjoy the outdoors and an active lifestyle. They say the Okanagan is the place to spend the summer months because of its huge lake and hot weather. However, this is a colonialist point of view and is harmful to the Sylix people and land. Colonialism has come hand in hand with capitalism, therefore, Kelowna and the Okanagan has become a space tailored to tourism and to pull in the people who desire the lifestyle that is being sold in the Okanagan. I have added a photo of the ‘Ogopogo’ above as an example of this. The ‘Ogopogo’ has been created to draw in people to the Okanagan and made out to be a lake monster. However, this is not true at all, in the article “You don’t call him Ogopogo, you call him by his name, nx̌ax̌aitk” Xwayluxalqs (Tricia Manuel) speaks to the true nature of the so called Ogopogo, including his real name which is Nx̌ax̌aitk (Kilawna). Nx̌ax̌aitk protects the Okanagan water and protects those who are in and around the water (Kilawna). The Okanagan settlers have taken the true understanding of Nx̌ax̌aitk and turned it in a way to pull in more tourists and capitalize on the Ogopogo as a mascot. I would love to say that I did not fall into the colonialist, tourist, and harmful view of the Okanagan when I first moved here, but that would not be true. While I did not know much about the Okanagan before I decided to make the move for school, I quickly fell into this mindset. All I wanted to do was ‘take advantage of’ what the land and outdoors had to offer me. As a white settler, I grew up in a colonialist setting, but it still feels like a weak excuse to say “I did not know.” I may not have known but I know now how destructive colonialism is and that this system is still in place and continues to harm the Sylix people. My post-secondary education has allowed me to learn and understand the harms of colonialism. As I have continued to progress through my education it has evolved past this.

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Unceded Sylix Land - Okanagan Lake - Lake Country

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Photography is a way that allows me to reflect and offers me room to wonder and open my mind. However, this outlet historically has harmful implications with Indigenous peoples. In this reflection I explore how this is a complicated relationship, I am forced to review my relationship with photography alongside colonialism. However, I feel that there is not a set in stone answer to these questions but continues to be an ongoing dilemma. I plan to continue to decolonize this art form for myself and to be cautious of the harmful colonial implantations that photography can hold. 

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Works Cited

Armstrong, Jeannette. “Sharing One Skin: The Okanagan Community” The Case Against Global Economy. Sierra Club Books, 1996, pp. 460 - 470 

Kilawna, Kelsie. ““You Don't Call Him Ogopogo, You Call Him by His Name, nx̌ax̌aitk”.” IndigiNews, 23 Dec. 2021, indiginews.com/okanagan/dont-call-him-ogopogo-call-him-by-his-name-nxaxaitk-says-syilx-elder. 

Mojica, Monique. “In Plain Sight: Inscripted Earth and Invisible Realities.” New Canadian Realisms, edited by Roberta Barker and Kim Solga, 2012, 218-267.

Robinson, Dylan. “Hungry Listening”  Hungry listening: Resonant theory for indigenous sound studies. U of Minnesota Press, 2020, pp. 37-72