The Notre Dame family would like to express our sincere sympathy to the family, friends and community of Ethan Baptiste a member of Notre Dame's Class of 1995. Ethan was a true Notre Dame Man and his tragic death is not only a loss for his family but also for his First Nations Community and Canada.

Eternal Be His Memory.


Okanagan Nation Mourns Loss of Prominent Young Leader

Ethan Baptiste, a man described as being one of the Okanagan nation’s prominent young leaders and intellectuals, is being mourned today, both by the Sylix (People of the Okanagan Nation) and the wider community.

The father of three was born and raised in Oliver, on the Osoyoos Indian Band reserve; a Phd candidate at UBC’s Okanagan campus and a former contender for chief of the Osoyoos Indian Band, Baptiste combined his pursuit of academics with a passion for his people and culture.

Baptiste had recently celebrated his 31st birthday when he died suddenly on June 8 as the result of injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident in West Kelowna.

Flags have been lowered to half mast at the Penticton and Kelowna campus of Okanagan College where Ethan formerly worked as an aboriginal mentor and taught Aboriginal Studies. At UBC-O, in addition to pursuing and interdisciplinary studies degree, Baptiste taught courses and served on the the Aboriginal Strategic Plan Committee. His mother, Maxine Baptiste, is also a member of the Faculty of Education at UBC.

The collision occurred just before 6 p.m. on June 8th while Baptiste, who was driving a blue Toyota sedan, was waiting to merge into Hwy. 97 South when a pickup truck was struck by a southbound Semi. The impact caused the semi to careen right and hit the Toyota.

Both the semi and the Toyota went over the embankment into the ditch near the Kal Tire store where the semi started to burn. The driver and passenger of the semi were able to get out with the aid of bystanders who also helped extricate the driver and passenger of the Toyota that was pinned beneath the semi.

The occupants of the Toyota were taken to Kelowna General Hospital where Baptiste was pronounced dead a short time later. The female passenger was treated for serious, but non life-threatening injuries, and is still in hospital. The other occupants escaped with minor injuries, and were released after medical treatment.

A release from the Okanagan Nation Alliance describes Baptiste as being committed to sharing his cultural knowledge and spent time instructing his children in the practices and traditions of the Okanagan people. This commitment, they said, did not end with his own children.

Ethan was committed to empowering other young indigenous people to succeed and achieve their educational goals. Ethan was also conscious of his responsibility to share his gifts with his community. He was interested in the intellectual dialogue that contributed to the continued oppression of indigenous people. He was engaged it the deconstruction of those ideas in a way that empowered all First Nations.

While Baptiste’s list of academic credentials was impressive, he was also a man who had an enthusiasm for life and loved to hunt and fish. Baptiste was also co-organizer of the annual Traditional Okanagan Hunting Trek and he participated as lead runner in the Unity Run.

Baptiste was also and active volunteer with the ONA and a participant on numerous committees all aimed at improving the lives of Sylix people.

As demonstrated by his 2008 challenge for chieftainship of the Osoyoos Indian Band, taking on incumbent Chief Clarence Louie, Baptiste wasn’t afraid to stand up and challenge First Nations leaders or their political discourse, immersing himself in First Nations politics because he saw it as a vehicle for change.

www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similkameen/pentictonwesternnews/news/96183234.html