The story of the sacred creature of Okanagan Lake goes back at least a few centuries, and possibly even thousands of years, to the syilx/Okanagan people who called it nx̌aʔx̌ʔitkʷ [N’ha-a-itk], which means Spirit of the Lake.

nx̌aʔx̌ʔitkʷ was feared and respected, though the syilx people did not consider it to be malevolent. They would make offerings to nx̌aʔx̌ʔitkʷ when they crossed the lake near Rattlesnake Island, where it was said to live in a subterranean cave at Squally Point. The sacred being was depicted in petroglyphs and other forms of art as an aquatic serpent and was said to feed on kokanee salmon.

As with other sacred Indigenous beings, nx̌aʔx̌ʔitkʷ serves as a reminder to take care of the earth's precious resources, in this case, the waters of Okanagan Lake.

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