Okanagan Nation Alliance:

3255 C Shannon Lake

Road Westbank, BC

V4T 1T4

Phone: (250) 707-0095 Fax: (250) 707-0166

Website: www.syilx.org

Inside this Issue:

Okanagan Nation Youth Project Underway 2 Title and Rights 3 Aboriginal Tourism: A Promising Economic Opportunity 4 Salmon Stock Update 5 Upper Nicola Moves Forward in Forestry 6 Assembly on Anti-Drug Trafficking 7 Crystal Meth: The Ugly Truth 8 Okanagan Nation Pride 9 RCMP Drug Awareness Services 11 Upcoming Events 12

Spring Edition 2005

Okanagan Chief and Council-lor's attending their ONA quar-terly meeting at the Westbank First Nation unanimously elected Chief Stewart Phillip of the Penticton Indian Band to be heir Chairman and spokes-person on behalf of the Okanagan Nation Alliance. Chief Scotty Holmes of the Up-per Nicola Indian Band stated” I have full confidence in Chief Stewart Phillip being entrusted with representing our organi-zation’s mandate which in-cludes asserting our Aboriginal Title and Rights and Interests on behalf of the Okanagan peo-ple”

Chief Stewart Phillip has dedi-

cated the last 30 years of his life toward the service and advancement of the Penticton Indian Band, the Okanagan Nation and the Indian people of Turtle Island. In accept-ing his election Chief Phillip said “I appreciate the faith and the support that you have expressed for myself and I accept this in honor, all of you

know my commitment, I have never abandoned the notion of Sovereignty and Okanagan Na-tionhood, the Okanagan Nation has been something that I have held close to my heart ever since the beginning.

He closed by saying “In my life I have come to realize that we are here for such a short time, and we have a responsibility to carry the responsibility to do whatever we can to help rebuild our community and Nation.”

Chief Phillip will bring years of political and executive experi-ence with him and further po-litical and public profile to the Okanagan Nation.

Okanagan Nation Appoints a Chairman

Page 2 Okanagan Nation

The Okanagan Nation Alli-ance has received one year funding from the Victoria Foundation for a pilot project entitled, ‘R’ n8ive VOICE. This project is a series of eleven workshops focusing on cultural identity and tar-geted for Aboriginal youth within Okanagan Nation Ter-ritory.

Each workshop is approx. 2 hours long and includes Okanagan traditional story telling, a field trip, games, snacks, creative art and will wind up with a Summer Leadership Camp in July or August 2005.

The project itself had a mi-nor identity crisis and went through a few name changes from “Mental health and well being: The importance of cul-

tural identity to Aboriginal youth” to “ ‘R’ n8ive VOICE ”, which simply reads as, “Our Na-tive Voice” in the lingo of the youth and aptly named by those working directly with the youth in our Okanagan communities.

The adolescent stage from age 12 to 18 is perhaps one of the most critical stages of human development where one must answer the questions “Who am I and what is my role?”

If the adolescent can answer these questions successfully, she will come out of this stage with a strong identity and ready to plan for the future. If he doesn’t answer these questions, he may sink into confusion about his role in life, career and have diffi-culty making healthy decisions and choices.

So, with these basic ques-tions in mind, this project utilizes a holistic model that will engage the youth into exploring and further developing their answers to these critical questions for themselves.

At the end of the project, a

handbook containing the project curriculum will be made available to all Okanagan Nation communi-ties and Friendship Centers. It’s important to remember that this is a pilot project, a work-in-progress that will have room to expand and grow and integrate with other current and future Okanagan Nation health strategies.

If you are a youth aged 12 to 18 and want to participate, please contact the commu-nity closest to you.

For more info contact: Gerard Gregoire, Project Coord. at the ONA 707 -0095 ext. 129, or e-mail ggregoire@syilx.org .

Mission: “To help Aborigi-nal youth in the Okanagan Territory develop a healthy sense of pride and accep-tance as to who they are as an Aboriginal person with a unique cultural identity and heritage.”

Okanagan Nation Youth Project Is Underway

The workshops will be in your communities on the following dates in 2005: Community Dates Contact Phone Okanagan Indian Band Tues. Jan 11 – Mar 1 Diane Louis 542-4328 First Nations Friendship Centre Weds. Jan 12 – Mar 2 Vanessa Mitchell 546-8664/542-1247 Upper Nicola Indian Band Thurs. Jan 13 – Mar 3 Spike Manuel 350-3379/350-3342 Ki Low Na Friendship Society Fri. Jan 14 – Mar 4 Kyle Allen 718-3884/763-4905 Westbank First Nation TBA Apr - May Wes Z./Jordan C. 768-7337 Penticton Indian Band TBA Apr – May Monty Joseph 486-0930/493-0048 Ooknakane Friendship Centre TBA Apr – May Ira McArthur 490-3504 Osoyoos Indian Band TBA Apr – May Rita Gallagher 498-6935 Lower Similkameen Band TBA Apr – May Les Louis 499-2700 Upper Similkameen Band TBA Apr – May Carmelletta Holmes 292-8549

Spring Edition 05 Page 3

As you are no doubt aware, the Supreme Court of Canada handed down two significant decisions concerning the Pro-vincial government’s obliga-tion to consult with Aboriginal peoples and accommodate their interests.

The Supreme Court of Canada held that the government owes a legal obligation to consult in good faith with Aboriginal peoples on how their lands and resources will be ex-ploited, and that good faith consultation in turn require Aboriginal interests be accom-modated before government proceeds.

The governments duty to con-sult and accommodate is grounded in the honor of the Crown. The rights of Aborigi-nal peoples are protected by s. 35 of the Constitution. The honour of the Crown requires that these rights be deter-mined, recognized and re-spected, prior to treaty or proof in court.

The duty arises when the Crown knows, or ought to know, of the potential exis-tence of Aboriginal title or rights, and contemplates a de-cision that might adversely affect those interests.

The scope of the duty is pro-portionate to a preliminary assessment of the case sup-porting the existence of the title or rights, and the serious-ness of the potentially adverse effect. This duty may require the

Crown to amend its course of conduct. Where there is a strong prima facie case, and the decision may adversely affect aboriginal interests in a significant way, the Crown must take steps to avoid ir-reparable harm or to mini-mize the effects of infringe-ment, although this does not amount to a veto pending final resolution of the under-lying claim.

The Crown can not delegate this duty to industry. The Crown can however, impose terms and conditions on in-dustry that accommodate Aboriginal interests. The Crown can also accommo-date aboriginal interests through legislation

There is no independent duty on industry to consult or ac-commodate , although pri-vate parties may become li-able for obligations they as-sume with respect to Aborigi-nal peoples, such as duties of care while on Aboriginal lands or agreements with First Nations.

In our view, this decision is a significant victory for Abo-riginal peoples in BC. First, the Supreme Court made it clear that judicial review of government deci-sions is available as an alter-native to litigating title and rights. The Province’s argu-ment that judicial review should only be available fol-lowing proof of aboriginal

title or rights was soundly rejected by a unanimous Court.

Second, the Crown’s obliga-tion is substantive as well as procedural. Government may be required to take positive steps to protect title and rights pending treaty or the outcome of litigation. The Province’s argument that the obligation is limited to a duty of fairness was rejected by the Court.

Third, the Court has now said clearly that the honor of the Crown and s. 35 require the Provincial government to participate in the process of negotiation, and to “determine, recognize and respect” Aboriginal title and rights.

Finally, it is now clear that Aboriginal peoples are free to peruse judicial review of the Crown’s actions for compli-ance with the Crown’s obliga-tion to consult and accom-modate. Aboriginal peoples are not confined to the in-junction remedy prior to proof of title, although that remedy remains available to them.

Printed with the Permission of Mandel Pinder

Aboriginal Title and Rights

Page 4 Okanagan Nation

Honouring The Okanagan Nation Graduates Aboriginal Tourism: A Promising Economic Opportunity

In the continuing spirit of ‘Nation Building Through Eco-nomic Development’, and in direct response to the priori-ties established by attendees to the introductory Unity Princi-ple Event July 8, 2004, the Economic Development Unit of the ONA delivered their sec-ond conference in the ongoing awareness, relationship and capacity building series, on January 24 & 25, 2005 at the Rotary Centre for the Arts in Kelowna. The event drew par-ticipants from across the Na-tion, across BC, across cul-tures, and across borders in-cluding Alberta to the east and Washington state to the south. 77 Okanagan Nation members and 100 non ONA members plus speakers, media represen-tatives and staff combined for an attendance in excess of 200.

The audience was over-whelmed by the wealth of in-formation provided through over 25 inspiring presenta-tions. A high point of the con-ference was the ‘Spirit of the Okanagan’ reception and cul-tural celebration, which was extremely well received and much enjoyed by everyone in attendance. Presented in part-nership with the En’owkin Centre, this exceptional event provided a very memorable display of the talent we have to draw on in telling the story of the Syilx people, and the au-thentic cultural heritage of the Okanagan.

It is also anticipated that an Aboriginal Business Develop-ment Liaison will be in place by the end of April. This in-dividual will assist the Eco-nomic Development Officer in providing access to busi-ness development informa-tion, delivering business de-velopment workshops, help-ing entrepreneurs build their own capacity, business plans and funding proposals, as well as coordinating commu-nity economic development services in each of our mem-ber communities.

To find out more about any of these initiatives, or to get involved with the Aboriginal Youth Business Network, an Okanagan Nation Tourism Association, or the Okanagan Nation Economic Develop-ment Working Group, please contact Christina Rowland at : 470-2139 or 707-0095.

Over the course of the con-ference, several valuable connections were made with tourism agency repre-sentatives and potential project partners who were genuinely enlightened and interested in continuing to work with us in developing further opportunities to support entrepreneurial, Band and Nation level pro-jects in Aboriginal Tourism and Cultural Product Devel-opment.

The results of the Strategic Planning sessions on Day Two of the conference are presently being compiled into a report that will dem-onstrate the linkages be-tween the current ongoing activities of the Economic Development Unit, and new actions that will be inte-grated into the wider com-prehensive business plan for the function. The forth-coming report is antici-pated to include recom-mendations for the devel-opment of an Aboriginal Youth Business Network and an analysis of next steps to be taken in devel-oping an Okanagan Nation Tourism Association. A tourism targeted co-op marketing publication of-fering International, Na-tional and regional/local exposure featuring Aborigi-nal Tourism and Cultural Product businesses and events is also being contem-plated.

Sage Werstuik of Westbank First Nation Fancy Dancing.

Spring Edition 05 Page 5

Salmon Stock Updates

Historically, salmon was once prominent in our diet, because the Syilx people had fishing access in many river systems. In the past 100--years there have been signifi-cant alterations to the rivers, loss of habitat, increased wa-ter use and commercial fish-eries that have contributed to a decline or an elimination of our salmon. The greatest loss resulted from the construc-tion of Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River in Wash-ington in the 1930s, because the dam was built with no fish ladders, so salmon were not able to migrate past the dam into the upper Colum-bia, Kettle and Arrow Lakes systems. In the Similkameen River, Coyote Falls formed a natural barrier to salmon mi-gration, so salmon were never found in the river up-stream of Coyote Falls (now the site of Enloe Dam), out-side of Oroville, Washington. Today, the remaining salmon populations in our territory are in parts of the Shuswap and Okanagan River systems.

Middle Shuswap Coho The Interior Fraser River Coho population, which in-cludes the Shuswap River Coho (or Thompson Coho) are now considered endan-gered, and efforts are under-way throughout the broader Fraser Watershed to assess the individual populations and to implement stock re-covery plans. In November the Okanagan

Nation Alliance and Okanagan Indian Band conducted surveys to count the spawning coho in Harris, Bessette, and Creighton Creeks near Lumby. These creeks are quite small, with a width in some areas of the creek about the same as the length of the fish - around one meter! High water and cold weather made the surveys difficult; wa-ter visibility was poor due to increased sediments and icing conditions and high wa-ter threatened to spill over the tops of the technicians’ waders. This year, a total 560 coho were counted, and although these numbers are low, we were encouraged to see these endangered salmon spawning after seeing as few as seven fish in some spots last year.

Middle Shuswap Chinook There is an active chinook fishery in the Middle Shuswap River area near Lumby that an increasing number of Okanagan Nation members using to exercise their fishing rights. The ONA works with the Okanagan Indian Band to develop the chinook harvest plans on an annual basis, and this infor-mation is then distributed to all of the Okanagan Nation Bands near the end of June. Members of the Okanagan Nation have the opportunity to harvest chinook during the

fishing seasons, which typi-cally extends from mid-August to mid-September. The target for 2004 was set at 200 fish and the final numbers have not yet been reported, but the high water in the Shuswap River during the fishing season skunked many of our fishers this year!

We encourage all Okanagans within our communities to exercise your fishing rights and to participate in the Shuswap River Chinook Fishery. It is a great oppor-tunity to get out on the land to spend time with your families while trying to catch some of these chinook, which can weigh as much as 35-40lbs each!

Salmon River The Salmon River once sup-ported healthy returns of sockeye, coho, pink, chinook salmon, but presently, only chinook and coho return to the system, and are mainly

¢ Article continued on page 10

Osoyoos Lake Sockeye Harvest. L to R Howie Right, Chief Clarence Louie and Elliot Tonasket.

Page 6 Okanagan Nation

Upper Nicola Moves Forward in Forestry

On Febru-ary 10, 2005 Yale L i l l o o e t MLA Dave C h u t t e r and For-ests Minis-ter Michael de Jong

signed a forest and range agreement with the Upper Nicola Band. The agreement is worth over $2 million and involves more than 200,000 cubic metres of timber.

""Today is a landmark day for the region and the Upper Nicola as well as for govern-ment as we continue to work together, negotiating in good faith with the goal of provid-ing new opportunities for First Nations in forestry," said de Jong.

The agreement provides the Upper Nicola with $2 million in revenue sharing and ac-cess to 222,760 cubic metres of timber over five years in the Merritt, Kamloops and Okanagan timber supply ar-eas. Some of the volume in today's agreement will be available immediately to as-sist the Province in control-ling the Mountain Pine Bee-tle. Other volume will be available once the Province wide timber reallocation process is complete. Under the Forestry Revitalization Plan, government has com-mitted to reallocate timber to communities, woodlot opera-tors and First Nations to di-versify the forest economy.

"I thank the provincial gov-ernment for coming to the table to negotiate at our request and understand-ing our concerns in the forest

sector," said Chief Fred Holmes. "This agree-ment provides a window of opportunity not just in the economic sense, but one that, just as importantly, al-lows us to include our tradi-tional values in both admin-istrative and operational processes."

With this agreement, the Province receives acknowl-edgement from Upper Nicola that the economic benefits are a workable interim ac-commodation with respect to the economic component of potential infringements of their aboriginal interests re-garding forestry decisions and operations. The agree-ment also sets out a stream-lined consultation process and provides certainty to for-est operations within the band's asserted traditional territories.

Public Reading

Al Hunter

Keeper of the Protect the Earth Staff

Public Reading at the En'owkin Centre on March 21 @ 3:00 pm

Al Hunter is Anishnabe from Manitou Rapids, ON. He is the spiritual advisor to the First Na-tion Environment Alliance and a published poet. His book of poetry "Spirit Horses" is infused

with his Anishnabe culture and rings with spiritual reverence for all creation.

Free Admission Refreshments Call Karen Olson at the En'owkin Centre 493-7181 for more information.

Spring Edition 05 Page 7

The Okanagan Nation Alli-ance Chief’s Executive Coun-cil held a special meeting on November 10, 2004 At this meeting the Chiefs commit-ted to holding a general as-sembly before Christmas.

On December 21, 2004, the General Assembly was called at the Sensisyusten Gymna-sium in Westbank , over 300 people were in attendance including Okanagan Nation Leaders, Elders, youth , com-munity members and friends of the Okanagan Nation. They joined together to focus on the need to take action and to find solutions to the growing problem of drug trafficking, drug addiction and violence on Okanagan Nation reserves. In the afternoon, the forum

broke into four groups to brainstorm about solutions to the growing problem of Drug Use and Drug traffick-ing in the Okanagan Nation Territory. These solutions primarily focused on the need to strengthen o u r c o m m u n i t i e s through interconnect-

edness. The youth wanted to spend more time with the Elders and Elders wanted more op-portunities to interact with Youth. It seems that whatever strategy is adopted Okanagan cul-ture must remain at the core of all activities. A successful cam-paign that will lead to a reduc-

tion of drug and alcohol use and misuse must examine our beliefs, attitudes and values. What are our cultural teach-ings and how can they guide us through this challenging time.

The follow up report are defi-nitions of Harm reduction, Prevention, Treatment and Enforcement. These four fo-cuses seek to a balance be-tween liberty and limitations, compassion and constraint, action and reaction, aware-

a strategy that is balanced, stable, comprehensive and better able to respond to ex-isting and emerging needs. Finally, what is our responsi-bility? What can and will we

do? We must define for our-selves: an Okanagan Warrior is?

The solutions and strategie prestned demonstrated the community’s commitment to change.

The presentations were fol-lowed by closing ceremo-nies and a pledge to follow through on the develop-ment and implementation of a plan that will reduce

the impact of drug trafficking within the Okanagan Nation territory.

For more information on the general assembly that took place or for a copy of the full follow up report to this event, please contact your local band office or the office of the Okanagan Nation Alli-ance. Photos submitted by Frank Falkus

Assembly on Anti-Drug Trafficking a Success

Page 8 Okanagan Nation

Crystal Meth: the ugly truth

The Aboriginal Peoples Family Accord (APFA) has released its poster warning of the dangers of using Crystal Meth. It’s enti-tled ‘Crystal Meth: the ugly truth.’

After attending a symposium on Synthetic Drugs at the Round Lake Treatment Centre, APFA Communications Coor-dinator Dan Odenbach de-signed the rather graphic poster.

“Like a lot of the people at-tending the symposium, I was shocked by some of the statis-tics about Crystal Meth use by our young people,” said Oden-bach. “I’ll be sending the poster out to Aboriginal school advocates within the Interior. They currently forward about 1,150 of our newsletters onto their Aboriginal students. “It’s a timely topic as the

Okanagan Nation is taking a stand against the drug trade.” To punctuate the effects Crystal Meth has on the body, before and after photos are used to show how the drug ravaged the bodies of two women over four and five year periods.

Before sending it out, teen focus groups in Lake Country and the Lower Similkameen were asked what they thought of the poster. “They didn’t think it was too graphic. They thought it was a good poster,” said Selina Edwards, a liaison with foster parents in the Lower Simil-kameen. “It shows the reality of what Crystal Meth does. They thought it was really interesting.”

First Nation teens in Lake Country used words like

‘gross’ and ‘ugly’ to describe the photos used on the poster. The photos seemed to be the eye-catcher which draw the teen’s attention to the message.

The APFA is working to-wards securing more input for Aboriginal People, within the Interior, about the health and safety of their children and youth. Aboriginal People have an inherent right for jurisdiction over their chil-dren and families.

“Strong, healthy Aboriginal children, families, communi-ties and Nations,” reads the APFA Vision Statement. For more information look online at: www.apfaBC.org

Submitted by APFA

The Message On the Poster Includes:

• Crystal Meth will take away your health, looks and then your life

• Addicts will not experience any kind of pleasure, or feelings of success, up to five months after their last fix

• There are no Crystal Meth treatment centres anywhere in Canada

• Crystal Meth is one of the most ad-dictive drugs on Earth

• Meth addicts can expect their with-drawls to last at least 15 times longer than those on heroin

• Users often have large self-inflicted scabs as the drug makes them feel like bugs crawling under their skin

Spring Edition 05 Page 9

Okanagan Nation Authors/Illustrators

Okanagan Nation Pride

Jason Waardenburg, mem-ber of the Lower Simil-kameen Indian Band , son of Sharon Waardenburg and the late Pete Waarden-burg and grandson of Sarah Peterson, graduated in November from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver BC.

Jason graduated with a Bache-lor of Applied Science special-izing in Mechanical Engineer-ing and is currently complet-ing his engineering in training. Congratulations Jason on your achievement! Photo: Jason Waardenburg with his daughter Jade.

“Kou-Skelowh/We Are The People: A Trilogy of

Okanagan Legends”, illustrated by Barbara

Marchand

This edition is a collection of

original legends, How Food Was Given, How Names Were Given and How Turtle Set the Animals Free, with time honored lessons for children of the values of sharing and respect, are pre-sented in a beautiful full col-our format. Told in a strong rhythmic language, the sto-ries read aloud well and can be used to help children think about the values of sharing, self-sacrifice and reverence for life in all forms.

Children¹s/Oral Traditions PB 8 x 10 88 pp Full colour illustrations ISBN 0-919441-81-5 $14.95 2000

Book Reading: “Dancing with Cranes”

Jeannette Armstrong, Okanagan Nation Author will be reading at the Penticton International Children's Festival in May from her new book " Dancing with Cranes"

Both of these books along with several other titles are available at Theytus Books www.theytusbooks.ca

WWW.SYILX.ORG RE-LAUNCHED

The Okanagan Nation is pleased to re-launch its website www.syilx.org. Please visit us there!

All Okanagan Nation editions of the newsletter and any upcoming events will be posted. So if you have an event or notice that you would like posted or if you have any comments questions

or feedback please contact us: (250) 707-0095 or email carmstrong@syilx.org

Page 10 Okanagan Nation

Salmon Stock Update continued pg 5

found only in the lower reaches of the river. In 1999 and 2000 the ONA conducted coho surveys in the upper part of the river, but since no salmon appeared to be reaching that area, focus shifted to the Middle Shuswap coho sur-veys and chinook fishery. The Salmon River has a very active Round Table that is working on river restoration to address habi-tat loss and water quantity and quality issues.

Okanagan Chinook Chinook salmon return to the Okanagan annually, but in very low numbers. Some of them are wild, and some are identified as being from a US hatchery by the clipped adipose fin on their backs. This past fall, only sixteen chinook were seen in the Okanagan between September and October, fewer fish than were observed last year. Four of these chinook were caught in sampling nets and fisheries tech-nicians were able to collect non-lethal biological information be-fore releasing the fish back into the river. Because these fish re-turn in such low numbers, we are asking that chinook not be tar-geted in any fishing efforts in the Okanagan River.

We need to find out much more information about this chinook stock if we hope to recover them. One of the things we are investi-gating is using DNA testing to determine how the wild Okanagan Chinook may be re-lated to other chinook popula-tions in the broader Columbia River system.

Okanagan Sockeye Because the annual re-turn of Okanagan sock-eye can be highly vari-able, we closely monitor the sockeye stocks as they move through the Columbia River. An-nual harvest rates are calculated from the to-tal number of sockeye that pass Wells Dam on the Columbia as of July 1. This year, it was rec-ommended that the harvest not exceed 1000 fish. In August 2004, the ONA set some nets in Osoyoos Lake and 103 sockeye were caught and were served at the Salmon Feast at Okanagan Falls in September.

Environmental factors such as high water temperatures or low water can often restrict sockeye to remain in Osoyoos Lake over the summer and early fall. This decreased the amount of time that sockeye are in the river and are able to be harvested by Okanagan Nation members. When the sockeye move into the river at the end of Septem-ber/early October, fishers con-sider them “too ripe” to eat. This means that in some years when we expect a lot of fish to return, not a lot are able to be caught as a food source b Okanagan Nation members. When the sockeye move into the river at the end of September/early October, fishers consider them “too ripe” to eat. This means that in some years when we expect a lot of fish to

return, not a lot are able to be caught as a food source.

In 2004, approximately 67,000 sockeye returned to the Okanagan River. Sockeye have not returned to the Okanagan River in these numbers since the 1960s! Of these, approximately 1300 sockeye were collected for the Skaha Lake Sockeye Re-introduction Program , and we estimate that we will be releasing over 1-million sockeye fry into Skaha Lake in May 2005.

For more information on any of the salmon stocks, please contact the ONA Fisheries Department at 250-707-0095. Submitted by Deana Machin

Photo: Elliot Tonasket with an Okanagan River Chinook October 2004

RCMP Drug Awareness Service

ONA Welcomes Community Forum

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Drug Awareness Ser-vice is committed to making communities safe and healthy by reducing substance abuse and its related problems.

Our Vision To be leaders in striving for a country free of substance abuse.

Our Beliefs We, the RCMP Drug Aware-ness Service are guided by all of the following beliefs: • Everyone has the right to a

life free from substance abuse and its effects.

• Children are vulnerable and are entitled to our pro-tection.

• Well-informed people will strive for a society free of substance abuse.

• Substance abuse negatively affects the safety and qual-ity of life of our communi-ties.

• Substance abuse preven-tion is crime prevention.

• A balanced approach to

prevention includes edu-cation, enforcement and treatment.

• Substance abuse is a bar-rier to social- and self-development.

• Substance abusers de-serve effective treatment.

• We can make a difference through innovative part-nerships.

Our Commitment to Our Communities • A balanced approach to prevention includes educa-tion, enforcement and treat-ment. • Providing factual infor-mation on substance abuse issues. • Supporting enforcement initiatives. Encouraging, mobilizing and supporting community -driven initiatives that reflect our Mission, Vision, Beliefs.

Programs The Drug Awareness Service invites the input and feed-back of detachment/unit

members, regional police educators and coordinators. All of the DAS programs have been developed in coopera-tion with Provincial Educa-tion and Addictions Services. Many successful initiatives have been developed with the guidance of police officers in all regions of Canada, and the diversity of ideas has contrib-uted significantly to the Ser-vice's success. At present, the following programs compo-nents are available to assist members.

Programs Include: * Aboriginal Shield Pro gram * Drugs and Sport * Delivering Education and Awareness for Life (D.E.A.L.) * Go All the Way Without Drugs * Drug Abuse Resis-tance Education (D.A.R.E.) * Drugs in the Workplace

For More information Contact: Corporal S.W.E. (Sam) Fedyk (250) 491-2396 Or go to http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/das/

The ONA staff would wel-come an opportunity to pre-sent to your community an “ONA Operations” overview. This would include presenta-tions from Governance, Natural Resources, Economic Development and Admini-stration. What some of the ONA initiatives are and what

each department/unit does.

We would be available to re-ceive questions and feedback that you have regarding the ONA as an organization.

Please contact our office to coordinate a time and date that would be most suitable for your community.

We also are encouraged to hear from you, the members, anytime so feel free to con-tact our office at anytime. Phone: (250) 707-0095 Email: director@syilx.org

Page 11 Spring Edition 05

Spring Edition 05 Page 12

Okanagan Nation Chief’s Executive Council Regular Scheduled Meetings 3rd Thursday of the month at the Okanagan Nation Alliance Office.

Okanagan Nation Gathering

“Honoring Our Elders” In conjunction with AGA

Tentative Date: June 2005 Location: Vernon, BC

Host: Okanagan Indian Band

Keep Posted For Further Information.

It will be posted on the Okanagan Nation website

shortly at www.syilx.org Sockeye Salmon release in

Penticton, BC May 2005

Following up on last years suc-cess, everyone is invited to come and celebrate the release of sockeye fry into Skaha Lake. Details will be an-nounced closer to the date so keep watching for more infor-mation in April and May or contact the ONA. (250) 707-0095

CANCELLATION

World Leisure organization Conference “Indigenous

Peoples and Leisure Development” scheduled

for September 2005 in Penticton, BC has been

cancelled.

Upcoming Events/Notices

1St ANNUAL ALL-NATIVE NK’MAPLQS HOCKEY

CHALLENGE CUP

WHEN: April 1,2,3 2005 WHERE: Vernon Multiplex

This Inaugural Hockey Tourna-ment will be a 16-team non-contact (rec rules) format, guar-anteeing each team 3 games, with the finals being single elimina-tion. Entry fee $700.00 and team roster are required by March 21, 2005

Prize money and individual and Team trophies will be presented at the conclusion of the three-day tournament.

Arts & Craft table space avail.

For more info. contact: Keith Louis (250) 309-4674 Kevin Ned (250) 768-8125 Jay Louis (250) 308-6144 Shelly Mitchell (250) 542-5623 Ext.101 For tournament packages visit Rec-Ex Website at www.recreationexcellence.com

Free Okanagan Nation

Newsletter Subscription

Please call, email or mail your

name and address to the Okanagan Nation Alliance to be

put on our subscribers list.

The Family Unit Concert & Awareness

Event

Featuring the band UNIT 731

Guest Speakers Catherine

Williams-Jones & local voices of Exploitation

March 2, 2005

6pm-10pm Sensisyusten House of

Learning Westbank, BC

Tickets $5 pp, $10 per family

For more information Contact Buffy Mills at the Okanagan Aboriginal Aids

Society (250) 862-2481

Clearwater Secondary School Traditional

Pow Wow

March 12 & 13, 2005 Grand Entry Saturday: 1:00 pm Retiring Colors: 11:00 pm Grand Entry Sunday: 1:00 pm Retiring Colors: 7:00 pm

Master of Ceremonies: Gord Manyclouds Cuthbert Arena Director: Derrick Sheena Host Drum: Sage Hills

Contact: Laverne Tremblay 674-3328 Jenny Fennell 674-0049 If you would like your events seen in the Okanagan Nation newsletter fax them to (250) 707-0166 or email carmstrong@syilx.org.