“way̓ x̌ast sx̌lx̌aʕlt iʔ p snaqsilxw. iʔ sqilxw skwist nq̓ aq̓ aml̓s uł iʔ sumaʔ
skwist Serenity Baptiste. kən təl snpinktn”. Translation: “Hello, good day
everyone. My Okanagan name means ‘to be calm and serene’ and my
English name is Serenity Baptiste. I was born and raised in Penticton, BC”.
I’m a proud member of the Penticton Indian Band located in the unceded
territory of the Syilx Okanagan people. I had the honours of being raised
around fluent speakers of nsyilxcən (Okanagan) and I’m currently slowly
becoming a fluent speaker myself. I’m also a 23 year old two-spirited young
woman actively involved in language and culture, and currently getting
back in touch with my artistic side. I've been creating art since I was little,
but it was only recently that I started to get 'out of my shell' by starting to
share some of my poetry I’ve written over the years through local
exhibitions.

‍