OSOYOOS TIMES-October 7, 2009
By Paul Everest – Osoyoos Times
The Osoyoos Indian Band council has agreed in principal to a proposed boundary exchange agreement with the Town of Osoyoos.
The agreement, if approved by both the Town and the band, would transfer roughly 16 hectares of land near 45th Street to the band.
Chris Scott, the band’s chief operating officer, said band council gave the preliminary OK to the proposed exchange at a meeting on Sept. 11.
He added that band council is aware that many details of the agreement are still being worked out on both sides.
Osoyoos town council has yet to look at the proposed agreement, which stems from a settlement made between the band and the Canadian government in the late 1990s regarding the John Carmichael Haynes land claim in the area 150 years ago.
As compensation for the loss of more than 1,600 hectares of land in the 19th century due to European settlement in the area, the band was given the ability to purchase properties in the South Okanagan and convert it back to reserve land.
The band purchased seven lots in Osoyoos and Oliver, with four of the lots located in the 45th Street area.
The 16 hectares in question currently fall within the boundaries of the Town and the Regional District Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS).
Three of the lots are Town land and one is RDOS land.
The band and the Town are working together to address road alignment needs in the area where the exchange is slated to take place as the band is considering the possibility of building a new roadway connecting Hwy. 3 and 45th Street for access to the Nk’Mip Resort.
Once the local agreement is finalized, the band will have to go back to the federal Indian Affairs and Justice departments so an “addition to reserves” process at the federal level can be finished.
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