On August 9th, 2026, several W̱SÁNEĆ youth participants in W̱LC’s SX̱OLE Revitalization Project set a SX̱OLE (Reef Net) at SX̱IX̱ŦE, one of many traditional SX̱OLE SWÁLET (Reef Net location).
The SX̱OLE Revitalization Project is a youth-led project that began in 2020 as an effort to bring the traditional fishing modality of SX̱OLE – which was outlawed by the colonial government in the 1900s – back to W̱SÁNEĆ. It builds on the revitalization work of W̱SÁNEĆ Elder, and UVic Indigenous Education advisor XEMŦOLTW̱ (Nick Claxton), who created the first SX̱OLE since the ban in 2014.
Through the program, youth work with Elders and knowledge holders to learn how to construct, set, and store a SX̱OLE. Participants also have opportunities to gather traditional materials used to build the SX̱OLE – including SX̱ ELE,IȽĆ (pacific willow) – and to steward the lands where these materials grow.
Each year, the program culminates with an attempt at setting the SX̱OLE the youth constructed – a process that requires patience, skill, and teamwork. With each iteration of the program, the youths’ skills grow and the process of building and setting the reef net becomes a bit easier. This year marked the program’s 7th year, and the second consecutive year the group has successfully set the net – a monumental feat.
Several W̱JOȽEȽP youth participate in the program year after year, steadily contributing to SX̱OLE’s revitalization as a widespread practice. W̱JOȽEȽP participants this year included Edna Ellsworth, Laila Morris, Marquez Caffiero, and Siyelaat (Rose George). While this year marked Marquez’s first time in the program, Siyelaat, Edna, and Laila have several years of experience. Edna and Laila, in fact, have even served as co-coordinators, a position that allows them to share their knowledge and experience with newer participants.
When interviewed, first-timer Marquez shared his newfound understanding of the SX̱OLE and its importance. “The reef net was actually built because we don’t have any fresh water,” Marquez explained, “the net brings all the hibernating and migrating fish into our net and the fish go up the current and swim into our net.”
Marquez also eagerly shared about how he feels the program is directly contributing to revitalization. “This knowledge is so good to pass down to other generations,” Marquez said, adding that the knowledge transfer doesn’t only move in one direction. “Even just explaining it to our parents who have forgotten it,” Marquez remarked, “gives them interest and knowledge and revitalizes.”
Edna echoed this sentiment, saying:
All revitalization work, whether it be the language, the culture—all the pieces of our culture and our language that we as W̱SÁNEĆ people haven’t been able to have immediate access to throughout all of colonial history . . . bringing that back is very important to me and it’s very profound.
She added:
Each step we make along the way is one step forward in the big picture of finally bringing back this way of fishing for our people.
Siyelaat, who joined the program each of the last three years, said she relishes the opportunity to get to meet Elders, learn teachings, and bring something so important back to W̱SÁNEĆ. She eloquently described why this work is so critical, noting that:
Doing the work everyday to figure out how to use this technology is really important because my hope for the future generations is that they’ll be able to use this technology consistently throughout the year – working on it throughout the year and fishing through the summer.
Siyelaat also described the profound personal impact this work has had on her, saying:
I have gained a different worldview, just learning about how the salmon are a family and seeing them in that way and learning the stories of when they were here with our people and the connections between the salmon people and our people.
In addition to the profound cultural revitalization impacts of the SX̱OLE program, what keeps youth coming back year after year is the joy, laughter, newfound friends, and teamwork that are woven throughout the entire experience. Marquez shared, “I got so many more friends and a lot of teachings from people around me and the teachings from our ancestors all the way down to our new generation like me, and I’m pretty new to this program so it’s cool.” Siyelaat added, “It’s the funnest job I’ve ever had.”
W̱JOȽEȽP celebrates the youth who contribute to this critical program, lauds their efforts, and looks forward to witnessing the compounding effects of the work over time. As Edna shared, “the progress we make is going to come very slowly, but it’s happening and it is something that is a success for our people.”
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