To the editor:
The Okanagan Indian Band applauds the unanimous (8-0) decision of the Supreme Court of Canada regarding land-title and the Tsilhqot’in Nation.
Today’s (June 26, 2014)decision should serve as a reminder to all levels of government that the land issue in British Columbia must be dealt with. The aboriginal peoples of B.C. have been waiting a very long time.
In 1910 the Chiefs of the Okanagan, Shuswap and Thompson nations presented Prime Minister Sir Wilfred Laurier with a letter outlining grievances and a desire to settle issues which, for 114 years, have remained unsettled.
Much of our land was never lawfully surrendered, let alone lawfully taken.
I hopes that this decision will help all parties involved move forward, towards reconciliation.
Without resolution, this issue will not simply go away. Now is the time to solve it, not in 10 generations.”
The Okanagan Indian Band is comprised of six geographically disconnected reserves spread throughout ancestral lands with an office at the north end of the Okanagan Lake.
Chief Byron Louis,
Vernon
