Photo: Oliver Daily News

A First Nations man caught at the Osoyoos border crossing with two undeclared handguns last year will spend 477 more days in jail for his crime. 

Alex Louie, 50, — also known as Senk’lip  — represented himself in court, and verbally sparred with Judge Arne Silverman the whole time, declaring at the beginning of the trial that the court had "no jurisdiction" over him, due to his First Nation not having a treaty with the Crown. 

"You failed to consider that we hold the title here to this land," Louie said.

He spoke for 40 minutes Monday on the topic, despite Silverman explaining he had already decided the argument was invalid. 

"He's wasted a lot of court time," Silverman said. 

Silverman said the crime was clearly premeditated. His sentencing of three years for each of three counts and one each for two counts is to be served concurrently. Time and a half credit was given for the 412 days he has already served.

"If Senk'lip were a non-Indigenous person and all the other circumstances were the same, he would be serving a four year sentence in prison," Silverman said.

Louie, from Oliver, will be in jail for just shy of 17 more months, at which time he will be released with a lifelong ban of possessing a restricted firearm, and a 10-year ban on possession of non-restricted weapons.

Court heard that Louie is deeply involved in his native community, cares for a close-in-age brother with a head injury, and plans to use his skills as a log-stripper to make log cabins when he leaves prison.