— Kamloops this Week
Police are now investigating reports of multiple mushroom-picking advisory signs having been defaced around the Elephant Hill wildfire area.
The signs were erected by the Skeetchestn, High Bar, Whispering Pines and Bonaparte bands, which are responsible for issuing mushroom picking permits in the area.
Two of their signs in the Cache Creek area and one on Loon Lake Road near Clinton have now been vandalized, RCMP Cpl. Mike Mucha told KTW.
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Those details came to his attention earlier this week while making inquiries with the bands regarding one of their mushroom-picking sign that was defaced in Kamloops up Lac Du Bois Road, which police are now investigating.
That sign was covered in large red spray-painted letters saying “F— Indians.” The white supremacist sayings “white is right” and “white power,” as well as the sentence “Indians have had enough” were also written on it in smaller black writing.
“It’s not so much an isolated incident here. It seems to be a culmination of stuff,” said Mucha, adding he’s not sure if the three other signs contain racist graffiti like the one in Kamloops, as officers are now trying to visit each sign.
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Another sign was found defaced on a forest-service road near the Ashcroft Airport last weekend, which did contain racist remarks. The sign had the words “white power” written over top the phrase “Secwepemc Territory” in what appears to be black marker.
A portion of the words “You are on the unceded territory of the Sepwepemc (Shuswap) people” is also scribbled out.
He said the RCMP is trying to get possession of the sign that was defaced in Lac Du Bois and is waiting to hear back from the Bonaparte band, which was involved in removing that sign on the Canada Day long weekend.
The culprit could be looking at mischief charges if found by investigators, Mucha said.
He said police opened a file after being notified of its existence by local media.
