OKIB 'deeply concerned' Splatsin building houses in Vernon warehouse
A housing initiative from the Splatsin First Nation that will see pre-fabricated houses built in a warehouse in Vernon has been met with ire by the Okanagan Indian Band, which takes issue that the warehouse is located on the unceded territory of the Syilx Nation.
In a written statement, the Okanagan Indian Band called out the Splatsin First Nation, saying it was reaffirming that the land where the Splatsin was constructing the pre-fab housing is its ancestral territory.
"These boundaries are not ambiguous — Okanagan territory is clearly defined," Okanagan Indian Band Chief Dan Wilson says in a media release.
The Okanagan Indian Band released the statement a week after the Splatsin First Nation held a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Vernon warehouse where the homes are going to be built.
Splatsin Homes, which is part of the Band-run Splatsin Development Corporation, announced its new Vernon facility in front of politicians and the media, pitching the affordable pre-fab housing as an excellent solution to the current housing crisis.
Local media reported that it planned to build six homes at the Vernon warehouse over the next year or so, which would then be placed on the Splatsin reserve.
The move for the Splatsin First Nation to build the housing on Anderson Way in North Vernon.
"We are deeply concerned that this initiative was undertaken within Syilx territory without any prior discussion, engagement, or notification to the Syilx People or our governing bodies," the Okanagan Indian band press release reads.
The Okanagan Indian band says that public events and announcements in its territory must accurately represent its history and the Nation that holds title to it, although there's nothing indicating that the Splatsin First Nation claimed the warehouse is within the Shuswap Nation.
Splatsin First Nation responded to the Okanagan Indian Band's statement by releasing a statement highlighting how the project is "tackling the housing crisis head-on" for "all communities."
The Splatsin First Nation went to say that its facility in Vernon is a hub for innovation, training and production.
"The facility employs both Indigenous and non-Indigenous workers, with a priority on hiring locally, and has already provided employment opportunities for Okanagan Indian Band members," the release reads.
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