Dawn Machin

Dawn Machin is a member of the Okanagan Indian Band, part of the Okanagan (Syilx) Nation, and a Masters student in the Department of Biology at UBC Okanagan. 

Dawn Machin is a member of the Okanagan Indian Band, part of the Okanagan Syilx Nation. She holds a B.Sc. from the University of British Columbia and is currently pursuing her M.Sc. at the University of British Columbia Okanagan.

After receiving her degree, she started as the Okanagan regional biologist for the then Canadian Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fisheries Commission, and then moved the Okanagan Nation Alliance where she was responsible for program management of the Fisheries Department. Key tasks were related to the Nation’s vision to restore Okanagan Sockeye to the Basin, and establishing strong technical partnerships with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the then Ministry of Environment, and with our Okanagan relations in Washington State. At this time, Dawn was a board member of the provincial crown corporation Fisheries Renewal BC (1997-2001) and participated in local stewardship groups, such as the Thompson Basin Fisheries Council.

She was then blessed with three boys and the opportunity to devote her time to raising them and learning nsyilxcn (the Okanagan language). She has since returned to the Okanagan Nation Alliance to reconnect with the people and community involved in the management of Syilx resources. She was appointed as a Board Member of the provincial Wild Salmon Advisory Council, summer 2018 to spring 2019. Dawn is currently the Treasurer of the First Nations Fisheries Council of BC.