By Lyonel Doherty
Times-Chronicle staff
The Osoyoos Indian Band is carrying a heavy heart today after someone destroyed a First Nations pictograph over the weekend.
Band Councillor Nathan McGinnis reported the vandalism to the Times-Chronicle Monday morning, showing a photograph of racist profanity written across a pictograph on a large rock at Rattlesnake Point in a remote area east of Osoyoos Lake.
McGinnis said racism is alive and kicking in this small community.
In black spray paint, someone wrote “F-ckin chug shit. F-ck this dirty rez.”
A disheartened and angry Chief Clarence Louie said no one knows how old the pictograph was (it was not dated).
“Most of those rock paintings are hundreds of years old and from pre- settler times,” Louie pointed out.
The chief said this “racist crime” reflects the ongoing problem with low-life, disrespectful trespassers.
Louie stated the damage done to this pictograph is one of the main reasons why the OIB, like most private property owners, put up “No trespassing” signs.
Louie said the public must realize that the OIB reservation is private property.
“We also put up ‘No trespassing’ private property, private road signs all over our 32,000-acre Indian reserve, yet idiots ignore signs and drive on our private roads and pull their boats up all along the Osoyoos Indian Band private lands on the east side of Osoyoos Lake.”
Like most investigations when there are no witnesses, there is not much you can do, the chief said.
As for salvaging the pictograph with cleaning solutions, Louie isn’t holding out much hope.
The chief said this isn’t the first time that First Nations pictographs or cultural sites have been damaged by “racist criminals.”
McGinnis said he is very angry about the situation and sad at the same time.
“It makes my heart sad to think that someone has enough hate in them to deface a part of our heritage that has been there for possibly hundreds of years.”
He said with all of the racism going on worldwide, this is a real eye opener for the local community to know that racism exists in small towns.
“Racism has no place in our society,” McGinnis said.
Tribal member my bet, sadly.
Probably. It usually is their own people tearing each other down
Not necessarily racist… This looks very similar to work done in town some time ago and it was just totally despicable, disrespectful, thugs. When they are caught they should have their names disclosed and made to go around town, after attending to the rock, and clean any graffiti and other mess all up and down the main street.
Too many non natives that aren’t even excepted in their own community take refuge on reserve land, all the “campgrounds” and rentable living spaces give reason for non natives to be allowed on reserve, we give people free access like its public property, of course something like this happening becomes inevitable