> [...is it a roadblock or a blockade -- are some people/vehicles allowed
> to pass or is the road completely blocked off?...]
>
> NATIVE ROADBLOCK RESUMES, RANCH ROAD SHUT DOWN
> Story by Daily News staff (Kamloops)
June 6, 1995
The blockade of the Douglas Lake Ranch by the Upper Nicola Band came down
today. A young RCMP officer, who happens to be from the Okanagan Nation,
successfully negotiated with the Band to have the checkpoint removed. As
Susan O'Donnell says, the Kamloops Daily News has been misleading, as have
the media organizations in Vancouver. It must be stressed that the road
was not blockaded - local residents, including families living on the
ranch, were allowed to pass. The road was closed to traffic conducting
ranch business. However, the media insisted on calling it a
blockade/roadblock, ignoring many of the statements made by Chief Fred
Holmes, and other Band spokespersons, who referred to it as a
checkpoint. Now that the checkpoint has been removed, an information
booth will be erected at the same site so people can ask about the issues
that the Upper Nicola Band want to see addressed. Hopefully, people will
listen.
Shauna McRanor
Vancouver, B.C.