SENK’LIP NEWS May - 2016 EDITION - OKANAGAN INDIAN BAND 12420 WESTSIDE ROAD VERNON, BC V1H 2A4 - FREE

SENK’LIP NEWS

Editor: Shaylen Smith

Chief: Byron Louis

Councillors: Homer Alexis, Lyle Brewer, Barbara (June)

Cole, Tim Isaac, Allan Louis, Coola Louis, Dan Wilson, Ray-

mond Marchand, Russell Williams and Leland Wilson

Ph: 250-542-4328

Fx: 250-542-4990

shaylen.smith@okanagan.org

UXO Clearance Work on Madeline

Lake Range—Notice Just a reminder that the UXO program has started once

again (April 18, 2016). Notra Inc and OKIB will be on site

at Madeline Lake Range providing clearance effort .

We are continuing to clean the site and will be on Made-

line this spring and throughout the summer. OKIB will be

providing Security Service on this site, if you are in the ar-

ea after hours please stop in and say hello to the team.

NOTE: The Madeline Lake Range may be closed during

demolition periods, if your require access at these times

just stop in at the security office.

Thank You, Lands and Economic Development.

Contact Info: Don Louis, 250-542-3444, or

Email: don.louis@okanagan.org

Talking Politics on UXO

Lands

March 16, 2016 - The Okanagan Indian

Band Chief, Councillor and Directors

welcomed a visit from the Honorable

Stephen Fuhr, Liberal Member of Parlia-

ment (MP) for Kelowna—Lake Country.

Mr. Fuhr is the Chair for the Standing

Committee on National Defence.

Chief Byron Louis and Councillor Lyle

Brewer directed the discussions on

DND UXO clean up, Land Use Planning

(Round Lake Treatment Centre Refer-

endum), the Rail Trail Corridor, Colonial

and Commonage Claims and Addition

to Reserve Lands—CN Rail/Beau Park.

When asked if he will advocate for the

OKIB in Ottawa, Stephen Fuhr stated,

“You have my full support...and I am ac-

tively involved.”

Fuhr related that being able to say, “I’ve

been there; I saw it” helps him as he ad-

vocates on the identified issues.

The visit concluded with a tour of the

Round Lake Treatment Centre and an in

depth excursion to the Madeline Lake

UXO Range.

Community Page 2

Okanagan Indian Band Important Numbers CUT AND PLACE ON YOUR FRIDGE!

EMERGENCY NUMBERS: Emergency OKIB Volunteer Fire Dept. Water Buildings Main Band Office Toll Free Administration Education/Training Human Resources Membership Finance Health Social Development and Training Head of the Lake Hall New Horizons Snc’c’amalta?tn Daycare and School Cultural Immersion School Public Works and Housing/Lands Territorial Stewardship/Research

911 250-545-4111 250-308-8075 250-306-1363 250-542-4328 1-866-542-4328 250-542-5094 250-558-3706 250-558-1414 250-545-2402 250-545-3800 250-260-3616 250-542-3444 250-542-7132

Council Meetings Schedule

Regular Scheduled Meetings

First Tuesday of the Month: 9:00am to 4:00pm

Second Tuesday of the Month: 5:30pm to 9:30pm

Third Tuesday of the Month: 9:00am to 4:00pm

Changes to the schedule and community meetings/emergency

meetings will be communicated to the membership in the fol-

lowing ways:

www.okib.ca

www.facebook.com/OkanaganBand

www.twitter.com/OkanaganBand

Process

All requests to be added to the Chief and Council’s agenda must be sub-

mitted to the Executive Director by Wednesday at 4:30pm the week be-

fore the next meeting. Agenda items are reviewed and approved by the

Executive Director and Chief on Thursday afternoon. Contact Stacy Yow,

Executive Assistant to Council: 250-542-4328 ext. 210, or by email at

stacy.yow@okanagan.org

MAY 2016

Culture & Language Page 3

E hee-a-thinaugh checkwook “tl” ap il skwook “tl” eelt I’ll “tl”

ghugh “tl” hap.

The sun rising over the hill on the fawn and the older people.

OKIB Language Nest

Way ya ya t swit (Hello everyone)

The Langauge Nest Program has been granted funding for the next

two years. The program will be re-opening this May and it will be

open longer hours. This is awesome for our little xixutems (little

girls) and ttwits (little boys), this is more language our children can

absorb and become more fluent in our language.

Our program will also be offering Traditional Parenting and Tupa’s

Kitchen, please stay tuned. If there is something you would like to

suggest or learn for

Traditional Parenting

and Tupa’s Kitchen

please, contact us at

the Langauge Nest

contact listed below.

Just a reminder to

what our Language

Nest program is

about…

The Language Nest

Program, E hee-a-

thinaugh che-

kwook"tl"ap il skwook"tl"eelt I'll "tl" ghugh "tl"a hap. Is a program that

has fluent speaking elders leading Language Revitalization by con-

necting and directing the staff

and children in the program,

which makes us so unique. The

house in which the program is

situated is meant to feel like

“gramma’s house”. Where the

teachers are the elders, and the

workers are there to be learners

and take direction and help

bridge the children’s needs.

Our Language teachers are Vir-

ginia Gregoire, Pauline

Archachan, Cecelia Gottfried-

son, and Adam Gregoire. The

elders continue to work very closely with the children, and are in-

volved in performing activities with them.

The children know a lot of the animals, numbers, days, colors and

foods. The table is the best place to learn. Since the program start-

ed we have encouraged the children to ask for food in Okanagan.

They are able to ask for more food items, such as bread, water, fruit,

veggies, and milk.

Honour your Health Challenge winners!

Congratulations to our winners!

Mary Marchand

Bernie Brown

Devon Cohen

Zoe Marchand

If you have any questions, suggestions, or are interested in enrolling

your child/ren please contact Danielle Saddleman or Marnie

Gregoire at 250-503-5593 or email okibnest@okanagan.org

NOTICE

After School Care Program

Snc’c’amala?tn is licensed to provide an After School

Program for up to 12 children from 6 to 12 years old.

The intention is to have 10 children in the program for it to

be cost effective. At this point we have 3 students coming

on a regular basis.

In order to continue the After School Program in Septem-

ber 2016, we will need to have 10 students enrolled.

The OKIB bus from our school and buses from SD#22 and

St. James School transport children to Westside Road.

After school care at Snc’c’amala?tn is available from the

time school ends until 5:30 pm.

If you have any questions about the program, please call

250-545-3800 and ask to speak to Nicole, Lorraine or Ra-

mona.

Community Engagement Page 4

Dear Member,

In the March edition of the Senk’lip News

members were advised that the OKIB was

entering the preliminary stages of the Land

Designation process. For the Okanagan

Indian Band to enter into leases for eco-

nomic development purposes, land must

be designated via a referendum process.

Previously scheduled referendums on De-

cember 15, 2015 and March 30, 2016

were cancelled out of respect for funerals

in the community. Whenever the referen-

dum is rescheduled we are required to re-

peat the information process so that we

can ensure fair and informed voting.

The Round Lake Treatment Centre is re-

questing an extension on their current

lease so that they may perform upgrades

to the grounds and facilities.

The referendum is performed by Indige-

nous and Northern Affairs Canada and you

may vote via mail in ballot (using this pack-

age,) or by voting in person on the referen-

dum date of Wednesday May 25, 2016.

The Chief and Council would like the

membership to know that they fully

support the land designation.

Land Designation Referendum

Round Lake Treatment Centre

WHAT benefits does OKIB get from the

Round Lake Treatment Centre?

Other than the lease revenue, the RLTC pro-

vides:

Employment – 24 of the 35 employees are

OKIB Band members;

Priority hiring of OKIB members;

Rehabilitation facility that is accessible to

membership;

OKIB is recognized by other Nations for hav-

ing the facility on the Reserve;

Maintaining and preserving the land; and

Responsible development.

What does a YES vote mean?

It means you are in favour of:

1. Extending the designation for 49 years for a

range of permitted uses;

2. The OKIB extending the lease to the RLTC for

35 years;

3. The OKIB increasing the rent from $28,000 to

$80,000 for the first 5-year period of the pro-

posed 35-year term

What does a NO vote mean?

1. It means that the RLTC will have to move in 2

years;

2. 24 Band Members would be laid off

OKIB will be responsible for:

1. Maintaining the buildings and roads at a cost

of $280,000 per year which the Band cannot

afford at this time;

2. finding a new tenant would require time, mon-

ey and resources we do not have.

R-L: Darcy Aubin, Director Lands and Ec Dev; Stephen Fuhr, MP Ke-

lowna-Lake Country; Byron Louis, Chief; and Marlene Isaac, Executive

Director RLTC.

Snc’c’amala?tn Page 5

Snc’c’amala?tn News From the Manager

Lorraine Ladan

Unplug and Play Week

April 30 to May 8 is Unplug and Play Week. The North Okanagan

Optimist Club in partnership with the Early Years Council and Health

Promoting Schools is promoting seven days of opportunities to bal-

ance technology use with family time and connecting to nature and

learning about science. Unplug and Play Week is an activity rich

event designed to bring attention to the effect of an inactive lifestyle

on children and show parents the abundance of opportunities for ac-

tive living that are available in our community. A list of activities will

be published in the Sunday edition of the Morning Star.

Closures

All programs at the Early Childhood Education Centre and School

will be closed:

Friday, May 20 Staff PD Day

Monday, May 23 Victoria Day

I will be on vacation from April 29 and returning to work on May 24,

following the Victoria Day weekend. Mary Marchand will be in

charge at Snc’c’amala?tn during my absence. Thank you, Mary.

Way from the Infant Toddler Room

Happy Birthday to Matthias!

We have been very busy in the infant toddler room! We have full

numbers everyday of the week!!

We have been enjoying the beautiful weather and going outside as

much as possible! It is still chilly in the morning so please ensure

you send your Child with a light jacket or sweater, and appropriate

foot wear we find shoes that due up to be best, as the little ones love

to explore. We have been busy spring cleaning our yard and the

children love to help!

Mona our cultural teacher brought in some lovely sunflowers for us

to explore and we now have them on display in our discovery box!!

Lim Limpt

Infant Toddler Staff

Way’ from the 3 - 5 Head Start Room!

We would like to wish Adrian, Camilla and Jordyn a Happy Birthday!

We would also like to welcome Rae we are very happy to have her.

It is getting warmer out, but some mornings are still chilly. Please

send your child with a sweater or a light jacket.

We would like to invite you to our parent activity night at the end of

the month. We well be having our annual plant swap on May 31st

@5:00 pm. Please sign up in advance so we know how many plants

everyone is to bring. A light snack will be provided.

Denise Alexis, Jordyn Alexis, Rae Cohen, Karen Herriot, Tupa

(Virginia)

Way! From the Speplina Preschool Room

Thank you to Pierre Wilson for letting the Preschool class look for

signs of spring on our property. We seen at?men (yellow bells)

smukʷa?xn (sunflowers) skʷnkʷinm (butter cups). Thank you Ruby

Alexis for taking us our and sharing your knowledge of all the plants.

Our playground got a little bit of a facelift. Our rubber tiles were re-

placed with wood chips thanks to the maintenance crew for making

our playground safe for our children. The old tiles were uneven due

to the tree roots.

Just a reminder to parents we go outside every morning and it is still

chilly so please dress and send appropriate clothing.

Thank you,

Karla, Ramona, Marnie and Tupa

Wai from the P’qel qin Kindergarten room,

The weather has been great this spring and we have been able to

get out and observe signs of spring, like insects, birds and flowers.

Last month we went with Mona to dig for Indian Potatoes and pick

sunflowers. The children got to see what the flowers look like and

then learned how to dig under the ground to the end of the flowers

root to find the little potato.

Congratulations to Liam

for finishing his third

home reading sheet and

reading 90 books so far

this year, excellent job

and awesome reading!

Happy Birthday to Shi-

loh, Avery and Jalen who

celebrate their 6th birth-

days in May!

Mrs. Alexis and Trish

Luna Ray enjoying

the crisp leaves.

Aidan romping in

the leaves.

Education and Youth Page 6

YOUTH PROGRAM UPDATES

The Unity Run is on May 12-15, 2016

Ball Hockey 4:00-5:00 pm

Tuesdays (K-6) and Thursdays (JrH/HS)

Taekwondo 4:00-5:00 pm

Mondays and Wednesdays

MURAL Project We are looking for 6 youth to work on a mural project for the Health building. These youth artists will be paid. The project starts in July 2016. Applications can be picked up at the Health building, or contact Sheldon Louis by email at boundbyafeather@hotmail.com If you need more information on the Youth Programs, contact: Mario Richard, Youth Worker Office: 250-542-5094 Cell: 250-306-1300 Email: Mario.richard@okanagan.org

Class of 2016

Roll Call for Okanagan Indian Band

Members

If you are graduating Grade 12 Student

or Post-Secondary Graduate for the

school year of 2015-2016, we would

like to know about it.

Details to include in your response:

Full Legal Name

Parental Information

Secondary School/Academic Institute

Graduation Photo (jpeg)(optional)

Accomplishments/Awards/

Scholarships (optional)

Brief inspirational message-up to 50

words (optional)

Please contact the Education Depart-

ment either by telephone 250-558-

3706 or

email: lacey.gregoire@okanagan.org

The youth in the Taekwondo

program held weekly at Head

of the Lake Hall participated

in a tournament in Vernon on

March 19 2016. Of the 94 contestants that competed in the tourna-

ment, Liam Marchand was the youngest. OKIB students received

the following awards:

Emmarie Louis won silver for patterns and bronze for sparring.

Delaney Marchand got silver for sparring.

Mckayla Bonneau got bronze for sparring.

Congratulations to Seth & Flora Spotted Eagle for getting their yel-

low strips and to Exavier Roberts and Courtney Jack for getting their

yellow belts.

Silver &

Bronze for

Tournament

Contestants

Liam Marchand sparring during the tournament.

Community Notices Page 7

Thank you for your support

The family of David (Dave) Charles Parker would like to thank those who joined with us in remembering and mourning the loss of one dear to our hearts.

Dave’s life was not easy but he found ways to help others when not dealing with his own afflictions. The time he gave to New Horizons caused many of you to praise his good work and kindness. Many of you spoke of his happy-go-lucky ways and how much you’ll miss his smile.

There is a saying that we are the products of our environment and we think that the positive things peo-ple found in Dave are a reflection of the love and kindness they showed to him. We also felt this and we want to thank all of you for your caring and sharing with us in our time of need.

Wayne Bonneau, Mary Brooks, Lor-na Hine, Barry Parker and Sharon Parker

UBCO is still in need of come

more Housing Surveys to be com-

plete, they will give a $25 gift cer-

tificate to anyone willing to fill one

out.

Also, the winner of our draw from

the last round was Eric Wilson!

To get a survey emailed or faxed

to you contact Tetku at 250-542-

3444, or

Tetku.coutlee@okanagan.org.

You can also stop by Public

Works & Housing to get a copy.

The Marchand and Houle families would like to extend

our most sincere gratitude to all who came out to support

Brooklyn Marchand-Houles journey to health as she con-

tinues with her chemotherapy treatments.

Our families are forever indebted to all who came out to

take part in the fundraiser, those who graciously donated

items and funds, and to those who gave uplifting to our

family to have such support from the community, your ac-

tions and support go a long way in showing a very small

hero how loved she

truly is.

Thank you again for

your prayers, support

and kindness; it speaks

volumes of this great

community we call

home.

Health and Community Page 8

OKIB members, if you have moved, please up-

date your address with the Band Office.

Members who sign up for the Senk’lip will re-

ceive the other important mail outs including:

community engagement information and an-

nual/quarterly reports.

Call the band office, or email

okibadmin@okanagan.org to sign up.

Status Cards: Call Membership at

250-542-5094 to book an

appointment

Census Teams will be in

our community from

April 13 to the end of

July 2016