OKIB chief says Indigenous hunting rights challenged by conservation officers

Photo: Kelsie Kilawna

Okanagan Indian Band Chief Byron Louis says it’s time for B.C. conservation officers to stop harassing his people over Indigenous hunting rights.

A group of five OKIB members went out on their territory to hunt for deer in 2019 and were confronted by a conservation officer as they approached the head of the lake. The officer asked to see their status cards, according to one of the hunters who asked to remain anonymous.

“I told him he was trespassing and out of his jurisdiction,” says one of the hunters. “He pulled his handgun out.”

He says the group knew their hunting rights, which are guaranteed through the federal Constitution Act, which is why he refused to show his status card.

The situation escalated, the hunter says, and the conservation officer called RCMP for backup.

The hunter says he took out his phone to record the altercation but the phone was taken by RCMP and the video was deleted. A representative from the RCMP was not available to comment.

The hunter says he was arrested and taken to the RCMP detachment in Armstrong, where he was held in a cell for hours.

“[The head officer] told the cops that arrested me that they messed up big time and that I was to be released immediately,” the hunter says.

Louis says his people’s rights continue to be stepped on by law enforcement.

He says last year’s incident, though an egregious example, is part of an ongoing problem with conservation officers who don’t have any jurisdiction on Okanagan Indian Band land.

Several videos and stories have been recently shared on social media of conservation officers asking OKIB members and other Syilx People to show their status cards, both on and off reserve.

Louis says he is concerned about the safety and well being of the community — particularly when guns are being drawn and RCMP backup called in.

“They are jeopardizing our lives,” Louis says. “We could’ve seriously had a member shot. And I will not accept that, that is totally unacceptable.”

B.C. Conservation Officer Services did not comment about the specific incident, but confirmed in a written statement that its representatives have met with Okanagan Indian Band leaders “to address concerns” about its work in their region.

The statement says conservation officers will ensure hunters are in compliance with both provincial and federal legislation involving firearms, as well as determining if wildlife is harvested legally.

“All hunters must provide this information to verify their compliance with the Wildlife Act,” the statement says.

The Wildlife Act is provincial legislation which Louis says does not apply on federal band land. He says he did meet with B.C. Conservation Officer Services, but the meeting did not go as planned, with inadequate representation from the province making it difficult to come to a resolution.

Louis says the OKIB has never ceded or surrendered any territory to Canada, so this means that Indigenous peoples in B.C., with no treaty, hold sovereignty.

“From one side of the country to the other…[is] unbroken access for our traditional use, and resources termed for food sustenance and ceremonial use,” he says.