Okanagan Indian Band
Dying Nsyilxcn language given new life in classroom
OKANAGAN - Reviving an endangered language is a daunting task but Syilx Language House is going to try to do just that with Nsyilxcn, the Okanagan language. Thirteen beginning students have signed on with five co-teachers, who are also students. Lead teacher Michele Johnson says in a media release there are fewer than 100 fluent...
Okanagan and Splatsin band financial records revealed
VERNON - The Okanagan Indian Band’s chief and council were paid double what City of Vernon elected officials received in remuneration and expenses last year. This is the first year First Nations are required to disclose their financial information as part of the new First Nations Financial Transparency Act. It’s resulted in some eye opening...
Okanagan Indian Band members being taught how to dispose of dangerous military explosives
VERNON - Members of the Okanagan Indian band are training to clear unexploded military mortars left littered on their lands decades ago. Since the Boer War in 1906, the Department of National Defence used band land at Madeline Lake about 24 kilometres northwest of Vernon and Goose Lake to train soldiers in firing live mortars,...
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...
$1.4 million to train Okanagan Aboriginal workers for “in-demand” jobs
VERNON – The province is spending nearly $1.4 million dollars to train 50 Aboriginal workers to be heavy equipment operators it says are in-demand. The program will be run in partnership with the Southern Interior Construction Association with workers from the Splatsin First Nation, the Okanagan Indian Band and the Westbank First Nation will take...
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...
Provincial support for Okanagan rail trail may sway voters, but not Okanagan Indian Band
VERNON - While a recent funding announcement from the provincial government may entice some Lake Country voters towards a yes vote in an upcoming borrowing referendum, the Okanagan Indian Band is warning governments not to celebrate just yet. Premier Christy Clark announced a $7.2 million pledge for the acquisition of the Okanagan Rail corridor the...
Lake Country referendum could prove pivotal in closing CN Rail corridor deal
KELOWNA - The provincial government recently pledged more than $7 million for the CN Rail corridor purchase but it does nothing to solve Lake Country’s shortfall of $2.6 million. It may also have created a new problem — voter apathy in Lake Country where a yes vote for the purchase is still critical to the deal...
Rail corridor in doubt as Okanagan Indian Band takes land claim to court
VERNON - The Okanagan Indian Band is filing a notice of claim in B.C. Supreme Court, asserting aboriginal title to a portion of the discontinued CN rail corridor between Lake Country and Vernon. It’s part of the same rail corridor local municipalities are working towards purchasing for conversion into a trail, but Okanagan Indian Band...
History of the Okanagan Commonage Reserve
VERNON - With the impending sale of the discontinued rail corridor between Vernon and Kelowna, the Okanagan Indian band has revived a historic land claim on a large tract of land known as the Commonage Reserve. Formed in 1877 by the Joint Indian Reserve Commission (established by the governments of Canada and B.C. to create...
UPDATE: Missing woman found
MERRITT - The missing woman the Upper Nicola Band and Okanagan Indian Band were in search for has been located. Before she was found, Annie Joe Gottfriedson, 20, of the Upper Nicola Band was last seen Feb. 16 at noon near Nicola Street in Merritt. “Our concerns run deep for Annie Jo and her family,”...
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,...
The defence department borrowed land from the Okanagan Indian Band and left this behind
VERNON - The Madeline Lake range is a swath of sprawling meadow encircled by dense woods and stunning vistas of the North Okanagan. Bears and other wildlife roam the hillside overlooking the two grassy plateaus, located just off Highway 97 northwest of O’Keefe Ranch on the Okanagan Indian Band Reserve. The area is known to...
Okanagan Indian Band describes chief and council roles
VERNON - After releasing its chief and council pay, the Okanagan Indian Band is explaining the responsibilities behind the money. Infonews.ca ran a story last week comparing band council salaries and expenses with its counterparts at the City of Vernon, as well as their respective populations. Band chief Byron Louis issued a statement in response...
Two locals to receive Order of B.C.
KAMLOOPS - Two local men will be among the 25 British Columbians to be appointed to the Order of B.C. this year. Roger Barnsley and Hon. Leonard Marchand are among those who will receive the award, given to people who have contributed to the province in extraordinary ways. Barnsley, as president of the University College...