Partner for Purpose: This story is Part 4 in a five-part series highlighting how UBC faculty and staff partnerships create meaningful change, both within the university and beyond.

In the heart of the Syilx Okanagan Nation, the sound of horses whinnying and the laughter of youth express a way to wellness for extended families and tmxʷúlaxʷ (“the land that takes care of us”). By weaving together traditional Sqilxw (a term for Interior Salish and Indigenous) equestrianism, language and connection to tmixʷ (all living things), this first-of-its-kind equine-assisted therapy initiative in Thompson Okanagan responds to the need for culturally grounded wellness frameworks for Indigenous youth.

Central to the Youth, Elders, Ecology, Horses, and Health (YEEHAH) project are Dr. Bill Cohen, assistant professor at UBC Okanagan School of Education (OSE), nk’lxwcin Chad Eneas, En’owkin Centre Syilx Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) coordinator, and postdoctoral research fellow and project manager, Dr. Róisín Seifert, the En’owkin Centre, Sqilxw youth, elders and parents, and snkɬc̓aʔsqáx̌aʔ—the Syilx name for “horse which is as old as the language.”

Building a bridge between cultures and wellness

A member of the Okanagan Indian Band (OKIB) who grew up in Interior Salish horse culture, Dr. Cohen worked with many Sqilxw horse experts in the past. Therefore, he was well positioned to connect to Jane and Aaron Stelkia of Stelkia Ranch, who wanted to pass on wild horse training methods and Sqilxw ecosystems management knowledge to the youth. It was apparent that Sqilxw youth were experiencing high rates of mental health challenges, trauma and poor health outcomes associated with colonization and forced assimilation. Horses were having less presence in communities, with fewer rodeos and horse races, and horses were being replaced by ATVs for hunting, work and pleasure riding.

With Dr. Seifert’s thesis exploring the role of horses in Indigenous Tribes in the U.S., the duo saw an opportunity to bolster Syilx horse culture revitalization work across the region, as well as engaging the broader community. The YEEHAH vision brought youth, horses, Sqilxw horse experts, Elders (often the same people) together in land-based activities—and all would be the better for it in terms of being appreciated and cared for in extended families and communities.

The UBC Okanagan School of Education and the En’owkin Centre, the Syilx post-secondary cultural knowledge and language institution, have supported Dr. Seifert’s role in the YEEHAH project through a Mitacs-funded internship, supervised by Dr. Cohen. OKIB was chosen to develop a YEEHAH pilot project for its active horse culture and wild horse population, and the project has engaged various community groups, including the OKIB Youth Leadership Council and the Okanagan Wild Horse Society (OWHS). In 2023, Dr. Cohen and Dr. Seifert secured Community University Engagement Support fund and British Columbia Network Environments for Indigenous Health Research funding to continue building on this important work in the Okanagan.

The YEEHAH project offers equine-assisted therapy grounded in Sqilxw knowledge and cultural values, while protecting the cultural ecosystems within Syilx Okanagan communities, through community horse culture camps, wild horse training mentorship workshops and community stewardship of on- and off-reserve wild horse populations. Its goal is to co-develop tools and models that affirm Sqilxw knowledge and strengthen their relationship with the land.

Cultivating resilience through reciprocal equine partnerships

Dr. Cohen was conscious that traditional horse culture had been declining among Syilx communities, and contrary to the traditional Syilx understanding of horses as being culturally and ecologically significant, horses were considered wild or “feral” in news articles and social media. To shift this perception, youth are provided opportunities to engage with horses, and understand wild horse stewardship and the need to protect the Okanagan grasslands ecosystem for the betterment of their communities. By coaching the youth to be in the presence of, and sometimes to tame, horses that have never been touched by a human, the project is uniting young people with the ways of their ancestors, while giving them focus and drive.

“This project addresses the lack of culturally appropriate wellness frameworks for Indigenous youth,” said Dr. Seifert. “It considers how, for historically equestrian Indigenous Peoples, connecting with horse culture supports the wellbeing of people, the land and the horses themselves.”

Reflecting on the work done over the past few years, Dr. Cohen is deeply moved to see how much support and active engagement the YEEHAH project has received from elders, knowledge keepers, horse families and youth, all of whom care deeply for the horses and for Sqilxw horse culture.

“I think we’re very much on the right track,” he said, adding: “I feel really good about it. We’ve connected to a really strong horse knowledge tradition, and are strengthening relationships that have been diminished somewhat in the past 50 years.”

“The youth are feeling appreciated and loved,” he said. “They can see that people in the community care for them, and they’re enjoying working with the horses. The horses are also being cared for and have a much more useful place in the community because they are the means to connect youth to the land, to the ecology, to cultural knowledge,” he said.

The power of collective action in revitalizing Syilx traditions

The YEEHAH team are heartened to see “some really good outcomes” from the after-school programs at Rewild Ranch, led by Devyn McMillan, OKIB member, president of the OWHS and participant in the horse training workshops. A renowned community leader, Devyn has played an active role in developing programs and workshops for children, youth and adults, including interactive equine workshops for OSE teacher candidates. She is dedicated to strengthening the community’s connection to Sylix horse culture by passing on the teachings she has received. “People who are looking to connect for the first time, or reconnect with horses, have had educational and fun opportunities to join camps and horse culture days led by members of the Syilx Nation,” she said.

According to another community partner, Verlynn Mariano, vice-president of the Okanagan Wild Horse Society and staff member on the Okanagan Indian Band Youth Leadership Council, young participants have highlighted the healing power of being with the horses and being in community over the past two years.

Looking ahead, Dr. Cohen is seeing growing community interest and support for what YEEHAH is trying to achieve. The momentum is fostering increased community collaboration, and he will continue to source funding opportunities to take this work forward. In the future, the YEEHAH team envisions expanding wild horse training mentorships, developing a long-term approach to wild horse stewardship across all seven Okanagan communities in B.C., and Rewild Ranch style after-school programs and camps in Syilx communities with band and public schools in Syilx territories.

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tmxʷúlaxʷ is a Syilx concept explained by the late Syilx Matriarch, Lottie Lindley, as “the land that takes care of us.”