Osoyoos Chief calls out ‘cowards, racists and low-life scumbags’ who defaced ancient pictographs

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Osoyoos Indian Band Chief Clarence Louie gave way to anger while speaking about an incident in which an Indigenous pictograph on the reserve was defaced with racist graffiti recently.

Louie says the damage was discovered on Saturday, Aug. 29, in a remote part of the reserve.

“It could have happened even a few days before, no one can say who did it. They were obviously trespassing,” Louie says.

Louie says the band has been in touch with archeologists and “other people who have dealt with this type of stuff before. He said they are getting advice on how to remove it without damaging the pictographs any more than they are. He called the perpetrators “cowards, racists and low-life scumbags.”

“You want to be a racist, I don’t care, but man up and say it to a person’s face,” Louie says about the incident. “Be front and centre about it, but you better be prepared to get your ass kicked. Growing up in the ‘70s, if you wanted to be a racist, that’s what happened.” 

Pictographs are ancient native artifacts, typically symbols painted on rock faces. 

Louie says band council will be discussing the incident at an upcoming council meeting, but have made no plans for an official statement at this time.

“I’ve talked to media, council and band members about it. I’m not on Facebook because I believe that’s where a lot of this cowardice comes from. Everyone is tough on Facebook because it’s so easy to jump on any bandwagon you want, and stir the pot in any direction,” he says.

“Most people don’t realize a reserve is private land. I see white people put up no trespassing signs everywhere, but when we do it, they just ignore it. People drive all over our reserve, it’s a daily occurrence,” he says. “Whoever did this got the reaction they wanted. They wanted to piss us off, they wanted to hurt us. They did that, but that’s what racist people do, they want to hurt and upset people.”

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