Two First Nations groups — one in B.C. and one in the U.S. — are working together on June 21 to hold a cross-border vaccination clinic.
The Lower Kootenay Indian Band in B.C. and the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho have partnered with Canada Border Services Agency, Idaho state, the U.S. National Guard and the Ktunaxa Nation Council to hold a drive-through vaccination clinic on National Indigenous Peoples Day in Canada.
“The fact that this clinic is being held on June 21 is not a coincidence,” said Chief (Michael) “Jason” Louie of the Kootenay Indian Band in a release. “As more Canadians begin to truly understand the ordeals that Indigenous people have faced — and continue to face — in this country, Yaqan Nukiy wants to be an example of what can be accomplished when we all work together.”
The clinic is open to Indigenous people and any member of the general public wanting to get a COVID vaccination and people needed to pre-register to get an appointment.
A number of events are taking place around the province Monday to mark National Indigenous Peoples Day.
In B.C.’s Okanagan region, preparations are underway to mark the occasion in honour of the 215 children whose remains were recently found at a residential school in Kamloops.
In Vernon, the North Okanagan Friendship Center Society (NOFCS) is launching an “Orange Heart Memorial” for the Indigenous children called “Forever in our Hearts.”
The Orange Heart campaign will also serve as a fundraiser for a memorial bench and mural that will forever commemorate the Indigenous children.
In Vancouver, a vigil is to be held at 7 p.m. at the Art Gallery where a memorial has grown to remember the 215 children found in Kamloops.
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