Former cultural liaison and Talking Rock golf pro Frank Antoine and Dene Greg Hopf of the Athapaskan people wanted to offer even more cultural encounters and so established Moccasin Trails, a company that offers tours to Quaaout Lodge guests and the public. One experience on offer is a two-hour canoe trip in a 12-passenger heritage canoe that culminates in a feeding of the water ceremony, where tobacco and prayers are offered to the river.

Although salmon runs have only recently become popular fall tourism attractions, salmon have been vitally important to Secwepemc people for thousands of years. The fish are an important food source, and their return is a time to come together as a community and  celebrate. “Shamans and medicine men would come [to the Adams River] and sing to the salmon,” says Lewis.

Considering the odds are stacked against their survival, perhaps the salmon are indeed happy when they return to the river. Some 700,000 sockeye salmon returned to the Adams in 2014, and 535,000 came back in 2018 — a lower-than-expected turnout in a dominant year. That means that on average, of the 4,000 eggs laid by a spawning female four years earlier, only two offspring survived their trip through Shuswap Lake to the Pacific Ocean and back. Across the Fraser River watershed, a 2017 report by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada found that eight of 24 sockeye populations are in decline and should be legally protected. It’s a problem without an obvious solution, since a number of variables can contribute to fluctuations in annual returns, including predation, fishing, water temperature and pollution, but salmon advocates agree that careful management is needed to preserve this iconic species.

Back on the riverbank, a group of schoolchildren jumps and shouts excitedly as they spot a male salmon stranded in the shallows, his battered, humped back poking out of the water. With a twist of his tail he wiggles free, his hooked jaw pointed determinedly upstream as the children cheer. Perhaps the secret to healthy salmon runs lies in adopting the values of traditional knowledge keepers like Lewis, who smiles at the children’s enthusiasm.

“All perspectives (of what is happening during spawning) are valid,” he says. “We believe a salmon is tucking its eggs in for the winter, sort of like we tuck our babies in for the night.”

Salute to the Sockeye

People have long flocked to Tsútswecw Provincial Park (formerly Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park) to witness the annual salmon run, so in the interest of protecting both the fish and the park ecosystem, the Adams River Salmon Society was formed in 1958 to organize the Salute to the Sockeye Festival.

Every four years for 24 days, smiling volunteers wave salmon-shaped paddles to direct traffic, educate visitors on the life cycle of the salmon, and help almost a quarter-million visitors enjoy the fish party atmosphere.

Spectators are encouraged to watch salmon from river level on the Island Loop trail or to gaze across the red backs of dozens of sockeye from the lookout (a short, level walk for people with mobility challenges). There are traditional arts and crafts for sale, piping hot bannock sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar or lathered with jam to enjoy, and of course salmon, fresh as it comes.   

The next festival takes place in September 2022.