W̱SÁNEĆ Youth Successfully Set Reef Net, Revitalizing Traditional Technology

For the sixth year in a row, W̱SÁNEĆ youth set a SX̱OLE (Reef Net) at a SWALET (Reef Net location) as part of W̱SÁNEĆ’s Youth SX̱OLE Project, a youth-led initiative to restore the traditional practice of SX̱OLE in W̱SÁNEĆ territory. This year, for the first time in the Project’s history, the team had the net sitting in correct orientation after successfully deploying it, marking an important milestone.

SX̱OLE is a traditional, highly effective fishing method that W̱SÁNEĆ practiced for thousands of years before the colonial government outlawed it in the 1900s. It involves suspending a net made of SX̱ ELE,IȽĆ (pacific willow) and other materials between two anchored canoes to catch salmon in a sustainable way. In the words of Edna Ellsworth, co-coordinator in the SX̱OLE Project, the SX̱OLE “mimics the sea floor with the kelp and the rocks at the bottom and then tricks and guides the fish into the net from the sea floor up to the surface.” In the net, there is an intentional hole, she continues, “allowing some of the salmon to escape so they can carry on their generations.” W̱IĆKINEM (Tsawout Hereditary Chief Eric Pelkey) describes the practice as central to W̱SÁNEĆ’s way of life and an important means for sustaining W̱SÁNEĆ.

Work to revitalize the practice began in 2014 when W̱SÁNEĆ Elder, and UVic Indigenous Education advisor XEMŦOLTW̱ (Nick Claxton) created the first SX̱OLE since the colonial ban. Now, W̱SÁNEĆ’s Youth SX̱OLE Project continues pushing this cultural revitalization forward.

Each year since 2020, W̱SÁNEĆ Youth SX̱OLE Project team members have worked under the guidance of knowledge holders and Elders to learn all the skills necessary to revitalize this critical practice. For example, youth learn about the traditional materials necessary to build a Reef Net – including SX̱ ELE,IȽĆ – and support restoration efforts to make it possible for future generations to gather SX̱ ELE,IȽĆ at ȾIKEL, a traditional SX̱ ELE,IȽĆ gathering place that W̱SÁNEĆ recently regained stewardship over after years of colonial control.

Youth on the team also engage in water safety training, practice canoeing and paddling, learn how to clean and store the net, and – ultimately – work together to construct and set a SX̱OLE at SX̱IX̱ŦE, a traditional SX̱OLE site with a powerful story.

Each year, a different group of youth come together to participate in the Project. This year’s team included Edna Ellsworth, Laila Morris, Jayshawn Jimmy, Jorge Sam-Gates, ĆIEMĆES (Julius Jayden Blaze Etzel), Lance Norris, Nick Morris, SÍEȽTEN (Oren Shamus Elliot Jr.), Siyelaat (Rose George), and Sakora Morris. Knowledge Holders Shirley Williams, Troy Olsen, and STIWET (Jim Elliott) supported the youth.

Many of this year’s youth are returning team members who are invested in carrying the Project forward. Ellsworth, for example, explained, “I keep returning to this Project because I find it so fulfilling to be able to provide for my community in this way and to be able to see many of our W̱SÁNEĆ grow in their own capacity and strengths.” Similarly, Laila Morris, co-coordinator, described the Project as “a big part of my identity as a W̱SÁNEĆ woman,” and explained she feels it is her duty to continue.

After over a month of hard work, the team deployed the net on August 7th, 2025. The team received support from several visitors from Lummi, who also traditionally used SX̱OLE technology, as well as W̱SÁNEĆ Marine Guardians and many community members of W̱SÁNEĆ.

Thanks to a combination of the right tide, the right current, intensive preparations, and the support of many community members leading up to the event, the team successfully set the net – a major feat that has only been accomplished a few times in the last hundred years.

Whereas in previous years the net failed to sink down into the water, this year the team leveraged all the learnings from the past five years to adjust the construction of the net, including adding weights that allowed the net to sink for the first time.

While the team did not catch any fish, they achieved something even more valuable: the revitalization of traditional knowledge.

With each passing year, the youth involved in the Project get better at working with the SX̱OLE, and their efforts are slowly making it possible for W̱SÁNEĆ to reclaim SX̱OLE as a regular practice.

Siyelaat, for example, shared:

From the Reef Net program I have gained a deep connection to my culture, my community, and the land and waters that sustain us. I have learned traditional fishing knowledge and how it is rooted in respect, patience, and responsibility. The program has taught me not just skills like setting nets or working with the tides, but also values like teamwork, leadership, and honoring our ancestors. It is giving me a sense of pride and purpose and is showing me how important it is to carry this knowledge forward to the next generation.

Long term I want our Reef Net to be a symbol of resilience, sovereignty, and stewardship, showing that Indigenous methods are not only a part of the past but a part of the solution for the future.

Other team members echoed this sentiment. ĆIEMĆES shared, “I’ve gained a baseline of knowledge of our Reef Net technologies, and I feel it is crucial to hand this off to the next generation.” He continued, “In the future I would really like to see year-round deployment and opportunities for everyone to get involved.”

In Sam-Gates’ words, “I think if we have help from all four W̱SÁNEĆ communities,” then “we can do a lot, and maybe even every family can have their own Reef Net one day.”

Ellsworth added, “I hope SX̱OLE will be able to sustain our people and allow us to provide food for our families again.”

W̱LC is proud of the youth who participated in this year’s Reef Net Project, celebrates their success at promoting and preserving W̱SÁNEĆ’s culture and traditions, and looks forward to supporting this Project for many years to come.

To learn more about SX̱OLE, listen to this podcast by W̱IĆKINEM. Then, be sure to sign up for W̱LC’s newsletter to learn about the many ways W̱LC is working to reclaim W̱SÁNEĆ’s culture, traditions, and sovereignty.