By Keith Lacey

Despite all the national and international recognition and praise he’s received for helping turn the Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB) into an economic juggernaut, Chief Clarence Louie said he’s never forgotten his roots growing up in Oliver and never will.

“Oliver is my hometown … this is where I was born” and he’s never forgotten the life lessons he learned growing up on a struggling First Nation in Oliver, said Louie, as he accepted the Freedom of the Municipality award handed to him by Oliver Mayor Ron Hovanes, at a special ceremony in the lobby of the Frank Venables Theatre at Southern Okanagan Secondary School (SOSS).

Louie became only the fourth local resident to be bestowed with the Freedom of the Municipality Award, following former Canadian poet laureate George Bowering, longtime MP Bill Barisoff and retired Canadian Senator Ross Fitzpatrick.

Louie recalled growing up poor at a young child on the OIB reserve. “We would get these lunch program cards handed out by Indian Affairs,” he said. “We would run across the field (from Osoyoos Elementary School) to the high school for lunch. “For most of the kids, that was the best meal they had to eat that day.”

He fondly remembered the bus driver who picked up all the kids on the OIB while attending elementary school and how he would bring them to the Dairy Queen on a regular basis and drive them to areas where they could hunt after school, said Louie.

When he finished elementary school and entered high school at SOSS, there was no such thing as teaching First Nations history to students, which thankfully is no longer the case, said Louie.

“When we were growing up, there was nothing taught about First Nations history,” he said

It’s rewarding to know most boards of education across Canada are not only teaching First Nations history as part of the curriculum, but they are also discussing the horrors inflicted on millions of First Nations people who were taken from their homes and brought to residential schools, he said.

“The truth has to be told,” he said. It was First Nations people who taught the earliest European settlers who arrived in Canada how to fish, hunt and live off the land, he said.

As he has talked about during almost every speech he’s made in the past two years, Louie said one of his primary goals is to be involved in negotiations to ensure the federal government give back land that was stolen from First Nations reserves.

The original Osoyoos Indian Band reserve covered more than 36,000 acres, but 4,200 acres was taken away and must be restored, he said.

“It might not happen in my lifetime, but it must happen,” he said. “Indian reserves must get back to their original size that our ancestors agreed on.”

When non-native people criticize him for his strong stance on certain issues, including restoration of reserve lands, it goes in one ear and out the other, said Louie.

“I’m way too proud an Indian to worry about what people say about me,” he said. “I know the truth about this region.

“Whenever I travel to any Indian reserve in this country … there is still Indian pride on every single reserve. Land theft and residential schools didn’t kill Indian pride on any reserve I’ve visited.”

Being the leader of the most economically diverse and successful First Nation in Canada has allowed the OIB to prosper financially and if they have to use financial assets to get back land, they will do it, said Louie.

“It’s only money,” he said. “Our Indian Reserve will be back to 36,000 sooner or later. I know it won’t be accomplished in my lifetime, but it will happen.”

To see non-native people purchasing “million dollar homes” on OIB land at housing developments like Osoyoos Cottages on the Lake and the Nk’Mip Canyon near Nk’Mip Golf Course brings great pride to himself and all of the more than 500 OIB members, said Louie.

The new Area 27 racetrack is located on OIB land and the fact one of China’s richest billionaires is going to be bringing a fleet of luxury sports cars to that facility some time in October is simply amazing, said Louie.

“How many billionaires come to Oliver?” he asked rhetorically with a wide smile on his face.

Louie modestly repeated on numerous occasions that all the economic success the OIB has enjoyed over the past 20 years is “not because of me”, but the hard working members of band council and support from the members.

The fact all of the businesses owned and operated by the OIB now employ more than 1,000 people is probably his proudest achievement, said Louie.

“We’ve created more than 1,000 jobs and we only have 520 members,” he said. “We have way more jobs than we have members.”

The fact so many non-natives work for the OIB revisits the “original relationship” First Nation people had with European settlers, which “was a business relationship.”

There are a number of bright, young members with the OIB who will provide the leadership to ensure the band continues to grow and enjoy economic success for generations to come, said Louie.

Barisoff praised Louie for providing outstanding leadership to the OIB and its members for more than three decades.

“Clarence was always making sure that things were getting done,” he said. “He’s not only made me proud, but all of the members of the provincial legislature for all he has accomplished.”

Fitzpatrick echoed the same thoughts. “I don’t think there’s another First Nation band that has achieved what you have done here in Oliver,” he said. “What you have done is truly amazing.

“I’m very proud of you and I’m happy to have been invited here to enjoy this honour for you. Thanks again for what you have done.”

Hovanes said honouring Louie with this municipal award pales in comparison to Louie receiving the Order of Canada, but it does show how much the residents of Oliver appreciate everything Louie and the OIB has accomplished.

He and Louie attended school together and it’s been amazing to see him become the vibrant and respected leader he has become, said Hovanes.

“You rode the economic horse to pull the social cart and the OIB has been a group of Clydesdales pulling that social cart.”

Louie said the OIB has enjoyed a long and successful relationship with the Town of Oliver and its various mayors and council members and he hopes that relationship will continue moving forward.

Hovanes again congratulated Louie on his exceptional career.