New Daycare and New Outdoor Play Space Expansion

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Exciting news! As we shared in our write up for the USIB community newsletter, USIB has been selected by the Province of BC to build a new licensed child care centre for 16 full time spaces for children ages 30 months up to when children enter Kindergarten. We are in the planning phase and wanted to share the proposed location with the families for your feedback. We are still collecting quotes to see what size and type of building we are going to be able to afford with the funding the province has allotted the community. The current price of lumber is very high so we may be quite limited to what we can do, but the good news is that hopefully in the next year we will be able to provide full time daycare to children 30 months and up for working families needing child care.

sketch-new-daycare-and-new-outdoor-play-space-expansion

Note: USIB families will have first priority for spaces and then spaces will be available for families from surrounding communities. There will be a fee structure attached to this program, however, it is not yet developed and there are a lot of government subsidy programs we will be accessing to ensure it is as affordable as possible for families. We will be developing this over the next year and hope that families will engage with us and provide your feedback and suggestions. Thank you!

Upper Similkameen Indian Band notice to Community

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It is with heavy hearts that Chief & Council write this statement today, in reaction to the recent discovery of the 215 infants and children confirmed buried in an unmarked site at the Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc / Kamloops Indian Residential School (KIRS).

We want all of our members to know that we stand in solidarity with the Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc Nation and with any members that may have attended this residential school themselves or had a family member attend.

Your Council will continue to stay informed on the situation as it unfolds and provide updates, where appropriate.

We would like to take a moment to remind all of our members about the services that are available to provide support, Sara Cadeau (250) 777-3665, Jamie Holloway (250) 293-6784, as well as the National Indian Residential School Crisis Line (1-866-925-4419) and as more resources become known we will share them with all of you.

The process that lies ahead will be a difficult one to navigate for all parties involved and we want to thank all of those involved in this incredibly difficult effort.

One thing we can take some peace in is that these children can finally be honoured through the appropriate ceremonies, traditions, and language that colonialism and residential schools tried to erase, but we as a people will not be erased, as we stand strong together.

With much love & respect, Bonnie, Mike, and Charlie