About 13 km (8 miles) north of the US/Canada border is
Spotted Lake (Google Maps/streetview), a
endorheic basin, or terminal lake. In wetter times,
the lake is full, but spots are visible. During the summer months,
the water level drops, leaving spots of mineral-rich water. The waters have long been considered therapeutic, and
one story cites a truce in a battle to allow both warring tribes to tend to their wounded in the lake. Though
a sacred medicine lake of the Okanagan People, the lake and the land around it were
privately owned for 40 years. Mineral-rich salts were harvested during World War I for munitions, and decades later, the land owners were looking to mine the mud to sell for use in therapeutic spas.
In 2001, the land was finally purchased by the The Indian Affairs Department and the Okanagan Nation Alliance.
kłlil'xw is property of the Okanagan Nation once more.
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Feb 15, 2012 -
8 comments