Natives seeking a piece of the action at the Mount Mackenzie ski resort
Revelstoke Times Review
Leader of the Okanagan Indian Band seeking a piece of the action on Mount Mackenzie were in town last week to talk with City officials and ski resort developer Robert Powadiuk .
We have identified a goal but we can't say what it is yet," Chief Fabian Alexis said in an interview last Tuesday.
We still have some homework to do before we can reveal our objectives publicly."
Alexis said the band's talks were very productive and couched in reasonable and open-minded language.
I think - I really believe - it can go somewhere," he said.
City Administrator Don DeGagne agreed with Alexis and said the talks were productive.
Powadiuk welcomed the discussions with the band and said the project they have in mind is feasible if it meets certain conditions. In particular, he would like to see the band spearhead a project that involves the two other Indian bands - the Ktunaxa and the Shuswap - that claim to have traditionally used this region.
It makes much more sense to have one project that involves all three bands than three separate ones," he said Thursday.
The Okanagan people used this area for 10,000 years," Alexis said. The courts have said the province doesn't have the right to interfere with aboriginal rights."
That includes a right to benefit economically from logging, mining and resort development, Alexis said, adding that the band would like to see more Okanagan band members living and working in the area.
In line with this the band is busy reasserting its right to use the area in a traditional manner.
Last week about 15 Okanagans from B.C. and Washington State set out in hand-carved dugout canoes from Enderby on Wednesday. They paddled to Sicamous and then drove their canoes to Shelter Bay where they camped Wednesday night before launching them south down Arrow Lake. They intend to paddle to Castlegar.
Band Cultural Coordinator Leon Louis said the trip is intended, in part, to set an example for youths who feel culturally adrift.
It also serves a political purpose, too," Alexis said, alluding to the band's desire to reassert its right to use the area.
Could they be seeking some timeshare action? time will tell....
Leader of the Okanagan Indian Band seeking a piece of the action on Mount Mackenzie were in town last week to talk with City officials and ski resort developer Robert Powadiuk .
We have identified a goal but we can't say what it is yet," Chief Fabian Alexis said in an interview last Tuesday.
We still have some homework to do before we can reveal our objectives publicly."
Alexis said the band's talks were very productive and couched in reasonable and open-minded language.
I think - I really believe - it can go somewhere," he said.
City Administrator Don DeGagne agreed with Alexis and said the talks were productive.
Powadiuk welcomed the discussions with the band and said the project they have in mind is feasible if it meets certain conditions. In particular, he would like to see the band spearhead a project that involves the two other Indian bands - the Ktunaxa and the Shuswap - that claim to have traditionally used this region.
It makes much more sense to have one project that involves all three bands than three separate ones," he said Thursday.
The Okanagan people used this area for 10,000 years," Alexis said. The courts have said the province doesn't have the right to interfere with aboriginal rights."
That includes a right to benefit economically from logging, mining and resort development, Alexis said, adding that the band would like to see more Okanagan band members living and working in the area.
In line with this the band is busy reasserting its right to use the area in a traditional manner.
Last week about 15 Okanagans from B.C. and Washington State set out in hand-carved dugout canoes from Enderby on Wednesday. They paddled to Sicamous and then drove their canoes to Shelter Bay where they camped Wednesday night before launching them south down Arrow Lake. They intend to paddle to Castlegar.
Band Cultural Coordinator Leon Louis said the trip is intended, in part, to set an example for youths who feel culturally adrift.
It also serves a political purpose, too," Alexis said, alluding to the band's desire to reassert its right to use the area.
Could they be seeking some timeshare action? time will tell....
posted by Lee at 11:40 PM
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