First Nations
UPDATE: Missing woman last seen in downtown Kamloops located
UPDATE: 10:53 A.M., DEC. 30, 2015 RCMP say Gloria Bowe has been located and is safe and sound. Personal information has been removed. 12:04 P.M., DEC. 23, 2015 KAMLOOPS - Gloria Bowe, 55, was reported missing Dec. 22 and was last known to be in the downtown area of Kamloops. Anyone with information on her...
State of the art Splatsin Community Centre to open next month
ENDERBY - A new landmark on the Splatsin First Nation reserve in Enderby is set to open its doors next month. The Splatsin Community Centre on Highway 97A will have a grand opening Dec. 5. The circular building is modelled after the Splatsin’s traditional winter pit houses and features a green roof. With a full-sized...
Murray Sinclair speaks in Kamloops of Aboriginal people’s past, present and future
KAMLOOPS - Justice Murray Sinclair led an emotional evening in Kamloops last night as he spoke of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s findings on Indian Residential Schools. A Canadian judge and chair of the commission, Sinclair spoke to a packed house in the Grand Hall at Thompson Rivers University yesterday, Oct. 26. He said the...
Band financials for neighbouring Kamloops areas
KAMLOOPS – The July 29 due date has passed for First Nations to submit reports on financials including chief and council salary, remuneration and expenses as part of the First Nation Financial Transparency Act. So far, InfoNews has reported on the numbers for bands near Osoyoos, Enderby, Vernon and Kamloops. Numbers for the Penticton Band have...
Why First Nations chiefs and councillors can’t be compared to city councils
PENTICTON - The Chief of a local First Nations band says he wants to see more respect throughout the province and the country for the roles band chiefs and councillors play. New federal laws requiring First Nations to release audited financial statements publicly has brought numerous comparisons between First Nations chiefs and councillors to city...
Newspaper ad congratulates aboriginal high school grads for ‘sobriety’
VERNON - A newspaper ad taken out by a Vancouver MP was meant to be congratulatory, but is instead leaving many in shock and disgust. The ad, which was taken out by Liberal MP Joyce Murray, tells aboriginal youth that ‘Sobriety, education and hard work lead to success.’ The ad is printed in First Nations...
Biosolids protest expected to disrupt downtown traffic in Kamloops
KAMLOOPS - The Nicola Valley biosolids protest is coming to Kamloops this morning, and RCMP are warning there may be traffic disruptions. Friends of the Nicola Valley are planning a protest today, June 19, at 11:30 a.m. at the corner of Victoria Street and Fifth Avenue. It is expected the protest will last several hours...
Regional districts, Splatsin band join forces to acquire abandoned railroad
ENDERBY - Local governments and First Nations will work together to acquire a discontinued rail corridor stretching from Armstrong to Sicamous. The North Okanagan Regional District, Columbia Shuswap Regional District and Splatsin Band have formalized their partnership with a Memorandum of Understanding, an important step in pursuing the land deal. “It brings us together as...
Okanagan Indian Band to continue fight for Commonage Reserve lands
VERNON - After fighting for title rights to the Commonage Reserve in Vernon for over 100 years, the Okanagan Indian Band says an unfavourable court ruling does not mark the end of the battle. “We’re not going away,” Chief Byron Louis says. “We haven’t given up on it for the last 133 years, I’d be...
Okanagan Indian Band embraces Lake Country mayor’s support for land claim
VERNON - Lake Country Mayor James Baker appears to have thrown his support behind the Okanagan Indian Band’s land claim to the Commonage Reserve including the portion which includes the CP Rail line intended for the Okanagan Rail Trail, and the band intends to hold him to his words. Chief Byron Louis says he welcomes...
Vernon School District sees best aboriginal completion rate in years
VERNON - The Vernon School District is celebrating a six year high in the number of aboriginal students completing high school. The completion rate for aboriginal students in School District 22 has reached 71 per cent, the best in six years and higher than the provincial rate of 61 per cent. The good news came...
Preschoolers tackle racial tensions using locally-designed dolls
ENDERBY - A troop of handmade, multicultural dolls called the Backpack Kids have been deployed to local childcare centres where they are bringing a message of diversity and acceptance to young children. The life-sized puppets, each representing a Canadian kid with a different cultural background, are part of a newly launched teaching curriculum designed to...
Okanagan Indian Band opposes rail corridor sale
BUYER BEWARE: BAND SAYS NO CLEAR TITLE ON RAIL CORRIDOR VERNON - The Okanagan Indian Band is speaking out against a recent deal between Okanagan municipalities and CN Rail to buy the decomissioned rail line between Vernon and Kelowna. Chief Byron Louis said Tuesday the band is advancing a land claim for the Commonage Reserve,...
Local bands miss deadline, given extra leeway
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Four bands neighbouring Kamloops have missed the federal government’s deadline for financial statement submissions and could face a block on funding if the numbers aren't submitted this winter. Three weeks have passed since the cut-off date for bands to submit audited financial documents as part of the First Nation Financial Transparency Act. In...
Kamloopa Pow Wow expected to draw 20,000 people
KAMLOOPS - The largest pow wow in the west is just over a week away and organizers are busy preparing for the nearly 20,000 people expected to attend the event. The Kamloopa Pow Wow is set for Aug. 1-3 and will feature about 600 dancers, about a dozen drumming groups and a variety of Aboriginal...