There were songs, stories. prayers and much laughter on the Penticton Indian Reserve on Thursday.

Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer - Castanet

Ground is broken on a new sockeye salmon hatchery on the Penticton Indian Reserve

Not only, were schoolchildren invited to release salmon fry into the river channel, the day also featured the ground breaking ceremony for the new sockeye salmon hatchery.

"Fourteen years ago our elders said we want our salmon back for the sustainability of our people," said Penticton Indian Band Chief Jonathan Kruger, as he stood on the land where the hatchery will be built. "The fish hatchery is another part of ensuring the salmon come back to the land."

The Okanagan Nation Alliance and its subsidiary company, Okanagan Aquatic Enterprises Ltd., collaborated with the Grant and Chelan Public Utility Districts in Washington, the Penticton Indian Band and Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, among others, to make the project a reality..

The 25,000 square foot hatchery is slated to be completed in late 2014 and will have the capacity to rear up to 8 million sockeye salmon eggs, which will be released annually as fry into the Okanagan system.

During the groundbreaking ceremony, representatives from the alliance and others spoke of the collaborative effort and the importance of taking such actions for future generations.

"Our whole ecosystem has to be sustainable and this is truly an honour for me to be here," said Commissioner Randy Smith, with the Chelan Public Utility District. "Our staff has been working with the Okanagan Nation Alliance for many years to make this a reality and it has been a labour of love."

Karen Peachey, the hatchery project manager, said they have worked across the border and on the reserve, trying to develop the project that meets everyone's interests.

During the ceremony, a circle of drums was formed and chiefs and others were invited to break ground with shovels at the location where the hatchery will stand.

Prior to the ceremony on the land, next to the ball field on the reserve, a safeguard ceremony was held on the banks of the river channel as schoolchildren released salmon fry.

Children, who had leaned about the development of eggs into fry in their classrooms, were invited to release them into the river. The fish then follow waterways to the Pacific Ocean.

"I love seeing all the kids come out and how excited they are knowing that the fish come back to feed us," said Tara Montgomery, communications coordinator for the alliance.

Kaitlyn Innes, 9, who was one of the first in line for the release, enjoyed the whole process from start to finish.

"I got to hatch a fry," she said. "And now it's good because they can finally swim in the river."