Community mourns Joan Phillip, Amshen, who fought for justice and ‘loved very hard’

By Aaron Hemens, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews Fearless. Fierce. Wise. Courageous. Cherished. Those were just a few of the words that colleagues and loved ones used to describe the late Joan Phillip, Amshen, at her funeral service in snpink’tn (Penticton, B.C.) on Wednesday. Before Amshen was laid to rest in the community cemetery in syilx Okanagan homelands, leaders, dignitaries, and people from near and far packed the Outma Sqilx’W Cultural School’s gym — with hundreds more watching a livestream online — to remember the beloved leader. “It was one of the dreams and hopes of our people for years to have our own school in our community to teach our children. Joan helped get this here,” said caxasket Joseph Pierre of the Penticton Indian Band (PIB), who moderated the…

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