y̓ilmixʷm Robert Louie honoured with Order of B.C. for lifetime of ‘bold leadership’

y̓ilmixʷm (Chief) simo Robert Louie has been recognized with the province’s highest honour for his decades of work in Indigenous governance and business.

Louie, who has served multiple terms as chief of the Westbank First Nation (WFN) across a 27-year-span, was awarded with the insignia for the Order of British Columbia on Tuesday. 

He was one of 17 leaders, artists and researchers to receive the honour at a ceremony at the Government House in “Victoria.”

“His lifetime of service has inspired a national movement towards Indigenous equity and reconciliation,”  said Jerymy Brownridge, the private secretary to B.C.’s Lieutenant Governor.

“Chief Louie has demonstrated bold leadership, and created lasting, transformative change.”

Louie was first named as a recipient in August. The province said that the Order “represents the highest form of recognition bestowed upon the province’s most outstanding citizens.”

“What an honour,” Louie said at the event.

“To be recognized alongside such extraordinary people is both humbling and inspiring. Today’s ceremony is not only about our accomplishments — but about possibilities.”

‘Economic self-sufficiency and sustainable growth’ under his leadership

After receiving a diploma in business administration, management and operations from Okanagan College in 1975, he earned a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Victoria in 1982.

Louie’s first term as chief of WFN lasted 10 years, beginning in 1986 and ending in 1996. He returned as chief in 2002, with his second term spanning 14 years. He was re-elected as chief in 2022, and is a member of the syilx Okanagan Nation’s chief executive council.

He continues to engage in matters pertaining to syilx title and rights, and represents WFN in the Okanagan Similkameen Collaborative Leadership Table, which is an organization dedicated to protecting regional watersheds.

It was during his second-stint as chief where he helped WFN achieve independence and self-governance in 2005 through the Westbank First Nation Self-Government Act, which set “a national precedent,” the ceremony heard.

The bi-lateral agreement between WFN and “Canada” gave the First Nation jurisdiction over “important matters such as building and construction, community protection, family property, land use and residential premises,” the First Nation said.

In 2003, WFN members ratified the Westbank First Nation Self-Government Agreement, with “Canada” following suit two years later. 

“Under his leadership, Westbank First Nation achieved economic self-sufficiency and sustainable growth,” said Brownridge.

As a result, Louie was awarded the Order of Canada in 2006, for his “perseverance and determination” during lengthy negotiations with the federal government that ultimately led to WFN’s “jurisdiction over land management, language and culture.”

The ceremony heard that Louie has served in over 30 corporate boards outside of his community. He represented “Canada” in the 2025 World Indigenous Business Forum, and is the chair of Peace Hills Trust, which is “Canada’s largest and oldest First Nations owned federally regulated financial institution.”

Louie is chair of the First Nations Lands Advisory Board, a national body that “is dedicated to supporting First Nations communities in their efforts to re-establish control over their lands” and is also the proprietor of Indigenous World Winery.

Other recipients of the Order of British Columbia included Spuzzum Band artist Brenda (Xyolholemo:t) Crabtree and longtime Musqueam leader Howard Grant (qiyəplenəxʷ VII).