The Osoyoos Indian Band is one of 11 funding recipients from the First Peoples’ Cultural Council for Indigenous (FCCP) cultural heritage projects in B.C.
The band has received $400,000 from the FPCC, as part of the Province of B.C.’s Community Economic Recovery Infrastructure Program.
The FPCC program supports Indigenous communities to safeguard, revitalize and celebrate heritage projects that include the conservation of structures, sites, landscapes, trails and archives.
The Osoyoos Indian Band’s Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre has been recognized internationally and is considered vital to the sharing and preservation of the Okanagan (Syilx) culture.
“Sharing our history and culture comes at a big cost. Financial support, like the Indigenous Cultural Heritage Infrastructure Grant we have received from the First Peoples’ Cultural Council and the Government of B.C., is necessary to move forward with the next phase of our centre’s growth,” said Chief Clarence Louie of the Osoyoos Indian Band and chair of the Nk’Mip Desert Heritage Society.
The $400,000 awarded to the Osoyoos Indian Band will go towards the construction of a traditional Pit House and a new interpretive program that includes cultural and historical stories and conservation of the land.
FPCC received 104 applications for shovel-ready projects in response to the funding opportunity, with requests totalling $45.7 million. Of these applicants, 11 projects were selected to receive funding over three years with project completion by March 2023.
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