The gathering space (far left) is being built to resemble the traditional plateau-style hat of the Interior tribes. The Osoyoos Indian Band hopes the building will be completed by November, at a cost of approximately $6.4 million. Photo by Trevor Nichols
If you’ve driven down McKinney Road lately, you’ve probably noticed the striking log structure taking form on the site of the soon-to-be-completed Osoyoos Indian Band offices.
Snuggled just behind the main office building, the “gathering space,” as Chief Clarence Louie called it, resembles an overturned drinking cup sitting on a slant. Massive logs jut from the ground, connected in a cylinder shape approximately three stories high.
Louie said that rather than have the usual cement pad with a roof over it he wanted the gathering space to make more of a statement and have a stronger connection to his people’s past.
So the OIB gathering space is being built to resemble the traditional plateau-style hat of the interior tribes, which Louie says he saw in an old picture of a former chief’s wife.Louie said that once it’s completed the gathering space will be able to hold 200 people.
The connection to his people’s past continues with the rest of the new building, which Louie explained draws inspiration from other structures traditional to the Osoyoos Indian Band.
“Most office buildings are rectangle, especially those only a few stories high. We wanted some of the building to have logs incorporated, as our traditional pit houses used logs as well as rails,” he said, explaining that the traditional “tule tepees” used rails as well.
The traditional pit houses were usually shelters built mostly below ground with an entrance ladder at the top.
The frame was built with logs and sealed with dirt and grasses, and the domed roof frame was made of wooden poles, and then covered with layers of timber, bark and earth.
“Tule tepees” were tepees covered with tule grass—a strong and durable reed that was abundant in the area.
The features harkening back to those structures can also be seen on the outside of the building (the entrance, with its single large circular window, is quite striking in its own right) and will be a feature of the interior once it is completed.
“We did not want the usual contemporary looking office building,” Louie said.
“We have outgrown the original band office that was built in the early 70s. In fact, we outgrew the existing band office three times. We need more business and operational space.”
The OIB began building the new office in October last year, and Louie said he hopes it will be finished by November this year. The building is a big and much needed upgrade, which Louie said will cost $6.4 million.
By Trevor Nichols
