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Westbank First Nation

Thieves break into Westbank First Nation office

WEST KELOWNA - Someone has broken into the Westbank First Nation main office and stolen a computer. Kelowna RCMP spokesman Const. Jesse O’Donaghey says police received a call at 11:21 a.m., Jan. 1, from a passerby who noticed a broken window on the ground floor of the band’s office at 515 Highway 97 South. Investigators...

Students pass exam speaking traditional Nsyilxcn language

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Two Westbank First Nation students have completed an oral exam aimed at preserving their traditional language. Jordan Coble and Flynn Wetton completed their first exam that is part of a four-year Nsyilxcn language program that began in September 2015. The exam was given in front of fellow students, teachers and visitors on Nov....

Westbank First Nation sculpture unveiled at Big White

KELOWNA – A statue donated to Big White Ski Resort by the Westbank First Nation has been unveiled today, Dec. 5. The statue was created by artist Smoker Marchand and is based on the First Nation’s logo, according to a media release.  It features a grizzly bear, coyote and Ogopogo. The base of the statue...

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...

West Kelowna singer named best new artist at Indigenous Music Awards

WEST KELOWNA - A local First Nation singer and songwriter has won Best New Artist at the Indigenous Music Awards in Winnipeg. Kelly Margaret Derrickson, daughter of Grand Chief Ron Derrickson, beat out five other artists for the prestigious award on Friday, Sept. 11. Her debut album, Warriors of Love, was released in 2013 and...

Westbank First Nation ponies up for public beach extension

WEST KELOWNA - Local residents can now enjoy an extended beach in Gellatly Bay courtesy of the Westbank First Nation. The band dedicated a portion of band land along the lakeshore of Indian Reserve #9 adjacent to the public beach at Gellatly Bay today, Sept. 14. Chief Robert Louie says the band recognizes the importance...

Westbank First Nation promises to explain private hospital project at media conference

OKANAGAN - After weeks of silence, the Westbank First Nation leadership is offering an update on the status of the Lake Okanagan Wellness Centre. Chief Robert Louie is promising an update and will answer questions on the stalled private hospital project at a media conference this morning. Infonews.ca has been asking Louie for an interview...

Aboriginal forestry business gets boost from federal funding

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Aboriginal-owned forest sector companies in B.C. and Alberta will soon enjoy technical support and business advice from Western Economic Diversification Canada. Western diversification minister Michelle Rempel announced during a press conference at the Westbank First Nation corporate offices in West Kelowna that private company FP Innovations would receive $1.8 million to deliver educational...

Missing documents for Westbank audit mysteriously resurface

WHAT IT MEANS TO RECALL PETITION FOR CHIEF AND COUNCIL | In February, Westbank First Nation members demanded an audit of band dealings in the Lake Okanagan Wellness Centre after they found themselves on the hook for $7.9 million. When they failed to get it, they pursued the recall of Chief and council. In our ongoing...

Cracks were showing in Westbank First Nation’s private hospital plan last year

WESTBANK FIRST NATION - Despite assertions from the partners behind Canada’s first for-profit private hospital that it is proceeding as planned, documents show the deal to develop the Lake Okanagan Wellness Centre was in disarray last year. When it became clear in October 2014 that Ad Vitam Health Care was out of money and unable...

Stalled private hospital has Westbank band members, police asking questions about finances

FUNDING COLLAPSE; RECALL CAMPAIGN WESTBANK FIRST NATION - Canada’s first private, for-profit hospital, slated for development on Westbank First Nation land, has stalled amid lost venture capital funding and criminal allegations and the political fallout could claim the band’s chief and councillors. The Lake Okanagan Wellness Centre is a project the band announced with much...

$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...