The sylix (Okanagan People) have always been here. This is the story of how (coyote) introduced ntytyix (salmon) to the sylix. One day was floating along a large river now called the Columbia. He came to a falls in the river, near where Portland, Oregon, stands today, and saw two women. The women had built a weir across the river, preventing the salmon from going upstream. changed into a canoe and the older sister wanted to use him as a dish to cook salmon in. The younger sister suspected it was and tried to break the canoe. then transformed into a baby. The sisters took pity on him and took him home to raise as their brother. When the sisters left the next day to dig roots changed back into Coyote, broke the weir and led ntytyix upriver. He searched for an area where the people would accept him and in those places that didn't. created rock barriers to block the salmon from going there.

To this day, ntytyix swims hundreds of miles from the mouth of the Columbia River all the way to Okanagan Falls. Okanagan Falls is an important gathering area where we honour the return of the salmon.