Clarence Louie is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

leader and businessman. Louie has been the chief of the

Osoyoos Indian Band The Osoyoos Indian Band is a First Nations government in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located in the town of Oliver and Osoyoos in the Okanagan valley, approximately four kilometres (2½ miles) north of the Canada–United Sta ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Okanagan The Okanagan ( ), also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part ...

for ten terms, the first beginning in 1985. He has been credited with contributing to the economic success of the small community, and has received regional, national, and international recognition, including the

Order of British Columbia The Order of British Columbia (french: Ordre de la Colombie-Britannique) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier B ...

in 2004 and the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

in 2016.

Early life

Louie was born near Oliver in 1960 and raised on the Osoyoos

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

by a single mother. Due to high unemployment, many adults in the community had to work as transient labourers on fruit orchards in nearby

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

. Louie was forced to be self-sufficient during his childhood years. At age 19, he left British Columbia and enrolled in First Nations University in

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 C ...

. He then studied native studies at the

University of Lethbridge , mottoeng = ''Let there be light'' , type = Public , established = , academic_affiliations = Universities Canada , endowment = $73 million (2019) , chancellor = Charles Weasel ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. After receiving his degree, he returned to the Okanagan.

Tenure as Chief

At 24 years of age, Louie was elected as chief of the Osoyoos Indian Band. The band has 460 members, and controls of land. He started the Osoyoos Indian Band Development Corporation (OIBDC) in 1988. Through the corporation's efforts, the previously impoverished band started or acquired nine businesses, including tourism, construction, and recreation companies. The band now employs 700 people including non-First Nations. A high-profile business started by the OIBDC during Louie's tenure is Nk'Mip Cellars, the first aboriginal-owned winery in North America. Louie has served 10 terms as of 2012, winning every election but one since 1985. He consulted with federal finance minister

Jim Flaherty James Michael Flaherty (December 30, 1949 – April 10, 2014) was a Canadian politician who served as the federal minister of finance from 2006 to 2014 under Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper. First elected to the Legislative Assembly ...

in 2008 on matters of economic development. He is a two-term chair of the National Aboriginal Economic Development Board. In 2003, Louie was chosen by the

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

as one of six Canadian First Nations leaders to review economic development in American Indian communities. In 2004, he received the

. Louie has also been involved in

land claim A land claim is defined as "the pursuit of recognized territorial ownership by a group or individual". The phrase is usually only used with respect to disputed or unresolved land claims. Some types of land claims include aboriginal land claims, A ...

settlements with the provincial government. He was given the Freedom of the Town of Oliver

on 21 July 2017.

References

External links

CBC Doc Zone interview (2011)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Louie, Clarence Living people Indigenous leaders in British Columbia Members of the Order of British Columbia Indspire Awards 1960 births Members of the Order of Canada