Penticton Indian Band expands education options

The Penticton Indian Band is part of the Okanagan Nation Alliance, an eight-member tribal council composed of tribes located in eastern British Columbia, Canada, and eastern Washington, US. The language of the Okanagan peoples is Colville-Okanagan (oka), though perhaps only 150 people are fluent today.

Steady progress has been made in widening language options:

In 1998, the En’Owkin Centre was moved to the Penticton Indian Reserve, where it began offering language classes. The center serves families and community members in addition to students.

In June 2008, the Paul Creek Language Association received a grant for a project that the Penticton Indian Reserve worked on, among others. The project was to create science and mathematics workbooks for grades kindergarten to four.

In July 2010, the Penticton Indian Band celebrated the opening of a child care center whose activities include language classes.

And last month, the Penticton Indian Band opened the Outma Squil’xw Cultural School, a kindergarten to eighth grade school offering language classes.

This is a lot of progress to be proud of!