{"id":107607,"date":"2026-08-06T16:11:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T20:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?p=107607"},"modified":"2026-08-06T16:11:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T20:11:48","slug":"okanagan-indian-band-getting-stronger-everyday-amid-devastating-wildfire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/06\/okanagan-indian-band-getting-stronger-everyday-amid-devastating-wildfire\/","title":{"rendered":"Okanagan Indian Band \u2018getting stronger everyday\u2019 amid devastating wildfire"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Aaron Hemens, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews Although a devastating wildfire continues to leave hundreds without access to their homes, Okanagan Indian Band (OKIB)\u2019s chief says his community \u201cis getting stronger everyday.\u201d \u201cWe\u2019re holding up,\u201d nasp\u0259p\u0295\u00e1s\u0259s Dan Wilson told IndigiNews on Wednesday, almost a week since the Bradley Creek wildfire ignited on reserve lands at nk\u0313maplqs (the head of Okanagan Lake) on July 31. \u201cWe\u2019re very resilient. We have a long history \u2014 we\u2019ve been here for 10,000 years.\u201d The fire \u2014 which Wilson said sparked on range land above the community\u2019s powwow grounds \u2014 is currently listed as out of control and is measured at more than 2,800 hectares, according to BC Wildfire Services\u2019 Aug. 6 update. \u201cIt was really a shock how fast this happened,\u201d said Wilson&#8230;. <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription &#8211; Corporate, Print Subscription Only, Canada Print and Online, and USA Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2026%2F08%2F06%2Fokanagan-indian-band-getting-stronger-everyday-amid-devastating-wildfire%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Aaron Hemens, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews Although a devastating wildfire continues to leave hundreds without access to their homes, Okanagan Indian Band (OKIB)\u2019s chief says his community \u201cis getting stronger everyday.\u201d \u201cWe\u2019re holding up,\u201d nasp\u0259p\u0295\u00e1s\u0259s Dan Wilson told IndigiNews on Wednesday, almost a week since the Bradley Creek wildfire ignited on reserve lands at nk\u0313maplqs (the head of Okanagan Lake) on July 31. \u201cWe\u2019re very resilient. We have a long history \u2014 we\u2019ve been here for 10,000 years.\u201d The fire \u2014 which Wilson said sparked on range land above the community\u2019s powwow grounds \u2014 is currently listed as out of control and is measured at more than 2,800 hectares, according to BC Wildfire Services\u2019 Aug. 6 update. \u201cIt was really a shock how fast this happened,\u201d said Wilson.... <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\"><div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\"><div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription - Corporate, Print Subscription Only, Canada Print and Online, and USA Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div><div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2026%2F08%2F06%2Fokanagan-indian-band-getting-stronger-everyday-amid-devastating-wildfire%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":101363,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news","category-sports","pmpro-level-required","pmpro-level-3","pmpro-level-2","pmpro-level-5","pmpro-level-6","pmpro-level-7","pmpro-level-8","pmpro-no-access"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Okanagan Indian Band \u2018getting stronger everyday\u2019 amid devastating wildfire - The Turtle Island News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/06\/okanagan-indian-band-getting-stronger-everyday-amid-devastating-wildfire\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Okanagan Indian Band \u2018getting stronger everyday\u2019 amid devastating wildfire - The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Aaron Hemens, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, IndigiNews Although a devastating wildfire continues to leave hundreds without access to their homes, Okanagan Indian Band (OKIB)\u2019s chief says his community \u201cis getting stronger everyday.\u201d \u201cWe\u2019re holding up,\u201d nasp\u0259p\u0295\u00e1s\u0259s Dan Wilson told IndigiNews on Wednesday, almost a week since the Bradley Creek wildfire ignited on reserve lands at nk\u0313maplqs (the head of Okanagan Lake) on July 31. \u201cWe\u2019re very resilient. We have a long history \u2014 we\u2019ve been here for 10,000 years.\u201d The fire \u2014 which Wilson said sparked on range land above the community\u2019s powwow grounds \u2014 is currently listed as out of control and is measured at more than 2,800 hectares, according to BC Wildfire Services\u2019 Aug. 6 update. \u201cIt was really a shock how fast this happened,\u201d said Wilson.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/06\/okanagan-indian-band-getting-stronger-everyday-amid-devastating-wildfire\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TurtleIslandNews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-06T20:11:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/facebooklogo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"725\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"483\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/06\\\/okanagan-indian-band-getting-stronger-everyday-amid-devastating-wildfire\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/06\\\/okanagan-indian-band-getting-stronger-everyday-amid-devastating-wildfire\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lynda Powless\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458\"},\"headline\":\"Okanagan Indian Band \u2018getting stronger everyday\u2019 amid devastating wildfire\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-06T20:11:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/06\\\/okanagan-indian-band-getting-stronger-everyday-amid-devastating-wildfire\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1030,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Local News\",\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/06\\\/okanagan-indian-band-getting-stronger-everyday-amid-devastating-wildfire\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/06\\\/okanagan-indian-band-getting-stronger-everyday-amid-devastating-wildfire\\\/\",\"name\":\"Okanagan Indian Band \u2018getting stronger everyday\u2019 amid devastating wildfire - 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