Dear Editor:
The Okanagan Indians are canoeing across the border from the Nk’Mip Campgrounds in Osoyoos, B.C. to the Osoyoos Lake Veterans Memorial Park in Oroville, WA. On July 4.
This celebration has been going on for many years and has found an audience in B.C. and the U.S.A.
The group’s leader, Herman Edward, wants us to know that we have been crossing the line ever since its establishment, 172 years ago. And we have been crossing that same line for 10,000 years.
It is a celebration that should be acknowledged by everyone. It is not a protest, moreover it is an acknowledgement of the traditional history of the Okanagan People.
We consider this short journey a celebration of our rights, custom, culture, and tradition. Come and join the celebration at either the beginning at the Nk’Mip Campground in mid-morning or the Osoyoos Lake Veterans Memorial Park in the late afternoon on the July 4! You are all welcome to join us in the celebration.
I am Arnie Marchand, an Okanagan Indian wishing you a safe and happy 4th of July.
Arnie Marchand
Oroville, WA
