For most people, it’s just another highway through the South Okanagan.
For Osoyoos Band Chief Clarence Louie, it’s a daily reminder of the land his community says was taken more than a century ago.
After years of negotiations, the Osoyoos Band is working with the province of British Columbia on one claim to the land exchange that can re-draw where the reserve begins and ends.
Rather than seek the return of highways that now cross the reserve land, the group is negotiating for a piece of crown land of comparable value, including sites of cultural significance and an ancestral burial ground.
“They want the highway that goes through our reservation,” Louie said. “They’re asking for it. We want our old reserve lands back. Call it a land swap.”
The sweat lodge is a sacred purification ceremony practiced by many indigenous peoples. During the negotiations, one of the mediators of the provinces took part in the sweat.
Cohan Sassaman
The proposal would allow the highways to remain open while returning other Crown lands to the gang.
Louie says the biggest misconception is that nearby homeowners could lose their property.
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“Property owners have nothing to worry about,” he said. “No private property was on the table. No one should have to worry about their private property.”
Instead, the negotiations focus entirely on crown land.
For Louie, however, it’s not just about replacing acres.
“The natives had no churches,” he said. “We had landmarks, like Stained Lake – that’s our church. We want our churches back and we want our cemeteries back.”
These spiritual and cultural connections are why some of the lands discussed include places of historical significance.
Chief Clarence Louie who participated in the negotiations.
Cohan Sassaman / Global News
BC Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Spencer Chandra Herbert says negotiations like these could avoid years of uncertainty in the courts.
“You actually do more when you work together. When you find mutual interest, you get more out of it,” he said.
Louie hopes this deal proves that historic land disputes don’t have to pit communities against each other. Instead, he says, they can be resolved through negotiation, protecting public highways, leaving private property intact and returning Crown land that carries generations of history.
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