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(BEN BULMER / iNFOnews.ca)

The Okanagan Indian Band is making moves to buy the Historic O’Keefe Ranch property.

Band council passed a motion Feb. 10 to move forward and finalize the purchase agreement with the City of Vernon.

The historic ranch and museum, which is owned by the City of Vernon, has been beleaguered with financial issues for several years, but no mention of selling the site has been brought up publicly by Vernon council.

However, it appears that plans have been in the works for the Okanagan Indian band to purchase the site as the Band council memo says staff recommended that the Band council "accept the agreement to acquire O’Keefe Ranch and authorize the finalization of the purchase."

The Okanagan Indian Band Council briefing note isn't public information but a copy was obtained by iNFOnews.ca.

The note states that the land holds significant historical and cultural ties to the Okanagan Indian Band citizens and its existing infrastructure provides immediate opportunities for community and economic development.

Cornelius O’Keefe founded the ranch in 1867 on unceded Syilx territory and it became one of the most prominent cattle ranches in the Okanagan.

"While the ranch played a key role in early settler expansion, its history is deeply intertwined with the people of the Okanagan Indian Band. Cornelius O’Keefe had a common-law marriage with a Syilx woman, Alapetsa (Rosie), with whom he had children before abandoning the relationship to marry a European woman," the briefing says, noting that many Okanagan Indian Band members worked on the ranch as labourers, cowboys and guides.

"The expansion of ranching, coupled with colonial land policies, led to the displacement of OKIB members from their traditional lands, restricting access to vital hunting, fishing, and gathering areas. Additionally, St. Anne’s Church, built on the ranch, was part of the broader Catholic missionary efforts that aimed to assimilate Indigenous peoples and suppress traditional cultural practices," the note says.

READ MORE: How to inherit a $28M property: The story behind the O'Keefe Range

However, despite its history, it remains a significant site for the Okanagan Indian Band.

The Okanagan Indian Band says that the existing infrastructure could be used for cultural, community and economic development and the sale presents a "rare opportunity for the Band to reclaim and manage this historically significant land in alignment with Okanagan Indian Bands values, priorities, rights and title."

How much the O'Keefe ranch will be sold for isn't known, and the City of Vernon won't say. BC Assessment lists the site at about $2 million.

The site also needs a lot of work done to it.

A report published in January 2024 found it was in urgent need of major repairs and $500,000 had to be spent that year.

Another $950,000 would be needed in the next two to five years and another $1.4 million within the decade.

In the 1960s, the original homestead was turned into a museum and then sold to the City of Vernon for $1 in 1977.

No one at the City of Vernon was immediately available to comment.

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