Indigenous healer appeals assault sentence in Kelowna courts

Members of the Okanagan Indian Band filled a small courtroom in Kelowna the morning of Nov. 13 to listen to the appeal for a man no longer allowed in their community. Donald Ashley, a First Nations healer, appeared at the Kelowna Law Courts to appeal his 2025 sentence for simple assault of a client in 2022. Ashley was originally charged with six counts of sexual assault for allegations of inappropriate touching of six complainants during one-on-one healing sessions in October 2022. One of the charges was stayed at the start of the trial, and two more charges were dropped according to the direction of the presiding judge. Ashley was found guilty by a jury in 2024 of one count of simple assault. Sentenced later that year, as reported by IndigiNews, Ashley did not receive any jail time, but a two-year probation order with a one-year ban on offering healing sessions and the second-year order requiring healing sessions to be conducted with supervision and client-signed waivers.

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