Members of Okanagan Indian Band mourn loss of forests and irreplaceable artifacts in wildfire

Members of Okanagan Indian Band mourn loss of forests and irreplaceable artifacts in wildfire

Hundreds of homes and historic structures are now gone, and the community is prepared to rebuild

Hundreds of homes were destroyed in the Bradley Creek wildfire, but members of the Okanagan Indian Band say the most important things that were lost do not carry monetary value.

“I'm not worried for myself. I'm worried for the people who are going to be here long term,” said 91-year-old Okanagan Indian Band Elder Frederick Louis.

Louis lost his home, and every photograph and artifact he and his late wife had collected over their lifetimes, in the fire.

He said the land that members of the Okanagan Indian Band have foraged for generations is now ash.

He said his community will rebuild, but he worries about the environment his grandchildren will inherit.

Louis, who worked in forestry and as a firefighter, said he has watched over the last decade as climate change impacted his homeland.

“Our watershed is all burned off," he said.

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He said it will take decades to repair the landscape.

Louis said in all his years living at the head of Okanagan Lake and working in the woods, he has never seen a fire burn as quickly, or as intensely, as the Bradley Creek fire, but he had been expecting it.

“It's been just getting drier and drier,” he said.

“We kept holding our breath for this.”

He said when the fire ignited on Aug. 1, it exploded through the forest.

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“It came so fast that all of the residents on the west side there, they came out with nothing."

Louis said he lost treasured berry-picking baskets gifted to his late wife by her great-grandmother. They were more than 100 years old, and so tightly woven they could still have carried water.

“I can't really think of how valuable they were," said Louis.

He has been staying in a hotel in Vernon along with his family while next steps are being figured out.

The home and garden belonging to his sister, Dora Louis Alexis, also an elder with the Okanagan Indian Band, was untouched by the fire. She remains on evacuation order, and has been receiving updates on her property from her grandson, who is a firefighter.

He told her that animals – coming from the community and the forest – have been finding refuge in her garden.

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“Right now we're not there, and it's OK for the chickens and the other animals — the wolves, the deer and everything — to come and eat because their habitat is being burnt out also,” said Alexis.

Two of her sons lost their homes in the fire, but Alexis said she knows they will rebuild.

She said things are replaceable, lives are not.

Louis’ niece, Machell Louis, said that even though many people from her community have lost their homes, Indigenous people can never be homeless. They always have their land to return to, she said.

“My uncle may be houseless, but he is not homeless. He will always have a home. We will always have a home,” she said.

This week, members of the Okanagan Indian Band joined the Okanagan Nation Alliance at Kin Beach in Vernon to pray for water.

Sharmelle Paul, her husband and children returned to their property on Okanagan Indian Band land Tuesday. Almost immediately, they left again to join others in prayer at Kin Beach.

"We came to pray for the water and the rain and everyone, not just ourselves," said Paul.

"I've been thinking about the berries and the animals and how dry it's been."

Okanagan Indian Band Chief Dan Wilson asks that people remain patient and continue to support one another.

“Everything's still surreal. We're still kind of numb.”

He said many homes and historic structures are gone, but the community’s new school and powwow grounds were saved.

“Our community is totally unrecognizable,” said Wilson.

He said more information for residents will be available in the coming days, and thanked the communities and bands across Canada that have supported the Okanagan Indian Band by sending food and resources.