Clearing work on a Cawston orchard earlier this week unearthed what is believed to be a native burial site. Photographer: Steve Arstad

Lower Similkameen Indian Band collects ancestral remains under ministerial order

The Lower Similkameen Indian Band says the change in provincial government and a ministerial order from the Ministry of Lands is allowing them to recover ancestral remains from private property in the Cawston area.

In a press release, the band announced a technical recovery team had begun removing desecrated remains under the supervision of band members and police.

The band says the burial ground was desecrated in February, 2016 and it had not been given the necessary access, recovering 500 exposed remains during a temporary access permit issued by the previous provincial Liberal government, but leaving more behind.

Band Chief Keith Crow said a meeting with Minister Doug Donaldson and indigenous relations minister Scott Fraser gave the band the legal support it needed to complete the recovery and reburial process.

The band says the ministerial order was granted under the Heritage Conservation Act.

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John McDonald

John began life as a journalist through the Other Press, the independent student newspaper for Douglas College in New Westminster. The fluid nature of student journalism meant he was soon running the place, learning on the fly how to publish a newspaper.

It wasn’t until he moved to Kelowna he broke into the mainstream media, working for Okanagan Sunday, then the Kelowna Daily Courier and Okanagan Saturday doing news graphics and page layout. He carried on with the Kelowna Capital News, covering health and education while also working on special projects, including the design and launch of a mass market daily newspaper. After 12 years there, John rejoined the Kelowna Daily Courier as editor of the Westside Weekly, directing news coverage as the Westside became West Kelowna.

But digital media beckoned and John joined Kelowna.com as assistant editor and reporter, riding the start-up as it at first soared then went down in flames. Now John is turning dirt as city hall reporter for iNFOnews.ca where he brings his long experience to bear on the civic issues of the day.

If you have a story you think people should know about, email John at jmcdonald@infonews.ca

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