Across a colonial border, First Nations share salmon eggs to bypass dams

A homecoming for Upper Columbia River salmon

By PAUL MOLYNEAUX in News, West Coast & Pacific In early September 2025, for the first time in over 80 years, members of the Syilx Okanagan, Secwépemc, and Ktunaxa Nations saw salmon returning to the upper reaches of the Columbia River in British Columbia. While only two sockeye salmon that had been released as fry in the upper Columbia River in 2023 returned to Canada as adults, it marked the first step in what the Tribes hope will be the resto…

Across a colonial border, First Nations share salmon eggs to bypass dams

A tray of eyed chinook salmon eggs are seen in an incubator at the Okanagan Nation Alliance’s kł cp̓əlk̓ stim̓ Hatchery in snpink’tn (Penticton) on Jan. 16, a week after they were transferred from the Colville Confederated Tribes’ Chief Joseph Hatchery. As salmon grow in their eggs, the dark spots of their eyes become visible through its shell – a stage early in their development known as the “eyed eggs” period. Photo by Aaron Hemens First Natio…