Osoyoos Chief Clarence Louie to receive honorary UBC degree

The Chief of the Osoyoos Indian Band will be receiving an honorary degree from the University of British Columbia at convocation this spring.

Chief Clarence Joseph Louie has been awarded the honorary degree for his economic and cultural contributions, according to a UBC media release.

“Since his election in December of 1984 as Chief of the Osoyoos Indian Band of the Okanagan Nation, Clarence Joseph Louie has consistently emphasized economic development as a means to improve his people’s standard of living,” reads the release.

READ MORE: Dr. Bonnie Henry, Greta Thunberg to receive honorary degrees from UBC

Under Louie’s direction, the band has become a multi-faceted corporation that owns and manages eleven businesses and five joint ventures that employ around 1,000 people.

UBC noted Louie’s commitment to preserve First Nations language and culture.

Chief Louie was elected to Tribal Chair by the Okanagan Nation Alliance last year. He received the Order of British Columbia in 2006 and the Order of Canada in 2016. He has also been inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame, according to the Business Laureates of British Columbia Hall of Fame.

Secwepmc (Shuswap) Nation Elder Jessie Nyberg will also receive an honorary degree from the university. 

A member of the Canoe Creek Band, Nyberg is described as a traditional Indigenous and academic scholar and visionary leader. She has held positions as a nurse in B.C., Alberta, California and Hawaii practicing acute and community care, specializing in urban, rural and remote Indigenous health.

International environmental activist Greta Thunberg and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry will also receive honorary degrees this spring.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to tips@infonews.ca and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.