APPLICATION DEADLINE: Mon. March 23, 2026
EVENT DATES: Mon. May 11 to Wed. May 13, 2026
LOCATION: Castlegar, BC; Slocan, BC; Revelstoke BC
Young adults aged 19-29 from the Syilx Okanagan, Secwépemc, and Ktunaxa Nations are invited to join the first Salmon Warriors Spring Gathering, May 11-13, 2026. New and returning Salmon Warriors are encouraged to apply. This is a Tri-Nation Road Trip to witness and celebrate this year’s annual Salmon Fry Releases in the upper Columbia River region.
Gather with Elders and community members from all three Nations to help Okanagan Nation Alliance’s (ONA) kł cp̓əlk̓ stim̓ Hatchery and Fisheries Team release the fry that Salmon Warriors helped collect as eggs and fertilize during the annual Broodstock Collection in Fall 2025.
Dams have blocked our salmon from returning to the upper Columbia River for over 87 years; the salmon need their people. Apply now to join other young adults from our three Nations to learn and connect with one another, the water, and the land. Together, we are enacting our shared and generational responsibility to return the salmon to their rightful and ancestral home in the upper Columbia region.
WHAT TO EXPECT: Full attendance and participation is required throughout. On Monday May 11, we will carpool to Revelstoke and leave vehicles overnight in the Fairfield Inn Parking Lot. Salmon Warriors board the shuttle bus to Castlegar, where we will stay the night at the Super 8. Teambuilding activities, creating agreements, and storytelling will help us get to know each other along the way. On Tuesday May 12 we will participate in salmon fry releases in Castlegar and Slocan, and then travel to Revelstoke where we’ll stay overnight. On Wednesday May 13 we will join the morning salmon fry release in Revelstoke, and then travel home.
Please watch this short video from a previous Salmon Warriors Gathering.
SUPPORT: Hotel accommodation, meals, transport, and a $500 honorarium will be provided. Bring warm clothing and be prepared to spend time outside by the river in cool spring weather.
FILL OUT AND SUBMIT THE APPLICATION FORM AT THIS LINK BY MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2026
For more information, please contact your Nation’s Bringing the Salmon Home Outreach & Engagement Organizer:
Syilx Okanagan: Billie Jean Gabriel – billiejeangabriel@outlook.com
Ktunaxa: Autumn Patrick – autumn.patrick@ktunaxa.org
Secwépemc: Beverly Saul – culturalcoordinator@shuswapnation.org
