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Okanagan Indian Band
Okanagan Indian Band elects some fresh faces to council
VERNON – Six new councillors have been elected to the Okanagan Indian Band council. Yesterday’s,…
Okanagan Indian Band members vote for next chief and council
NORTH OKANAGAN – The polls are open as Okanagan Indian Band members vote for a…
Okanagan Indian Band ‘vehemently and vigorously’ opposing neighbouring band’s claim to Silver Star Mountain
VERNON – Letters back and forth between the Okanagan Indian Band and Splatsin First Nation…
Okanagan otters more common than you think
OKANAGAN – Whether you knew it or not, otters are everywhere in the Okanagan. “They’re…
Okanagan Indian Band sues government for neglecting to remove unexploded military bombs from reserve land
VERNON – The Okanagan Indian Band is taking the federal government to court over dangerous…
First Nation vigils planned across Thompson-Okanagan to honour missing and murdered women
OKANAGAN – First Nations across the country will be holding vigils this week to call…
Fintry Queen sails to winter home in north arm of Okanagan Lake
OKANAGAN – The saga of the Fintry Queen continues with the owners of the former…
Indigenous youth prepare for multi-day journey the length of Okanagan Lake
VERNON – Indigenous youth will lead a five-day canoe journey across traditional Syilx territory and…
Historic release of sockeye salmon fry in Okanagan Lake symbolizes a long journey
OKANAGAN – A ceremonial release of thousands of sockeye salmon fry at Six Mile Creek…
Okanagan Indian Band says B.C. author appropriated cultural story in new children’s book
VERNON – The Okanagan Indian Band is voicing outrage after it says a non-indigenous author…
Okanagan Indian Band announces involvement in creation of rail trail
OKANAGAN – The Okanagan Indian Band is getting involved in the planning and construction of…
Removing military explosives from Okanagan band land ‘not as simple as putting money at it’: DND
VERNON – The Department of National Defence is responding to criticism from a local First…
Why a private developer got $11M to remove bombs while the Okanagan Indian Band is still waiting
‘THE RICH GET RICHER AND THE FIRST NATIONS ARE LEFT IN THE AVENUES LAID OUT…
Okanagan Indian Band tired of waiting for Defence Department to clean up military explosives
VERNON – Military explosives left littered on their lands by the Department of National Defence…
Car snags power pole guy wires and flips near Vernon
VERNON – A car hit the guy wires on a Hydro pole on the north end of Westside Road near Vernon, flipping the vehicle and knocking out power in the area today. The crash happened just around 10:50 a.m., Oct. 25, on Westside Road about a kilometre south of Highway 97, on 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 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 argues case against rail deal in Vancouver Supreme Court
OKANAGAN – The Okanagan Indian Band is arguing its case this week in Vancouver Supreme…
$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...
Injunction hearing over Okanagan Rail corridor set for this month
VERNON – A Supreme Court Judge will hear the Okanagan Indian Band’s argument for an…
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...
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...
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...
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...