A Penticton Indian Band councillor fined for trespassing speaks to larger unresolved issues of land claims, according to a response from the band Chief Tuesday.The PIB responded to three of its members, including one sitting councillor, being fined $500 eachfor trespassing Tuesday morning in provincial court in Penticton.Fred, Cole and Felix Kruger each pleaded guilty to one count of trespassing in a plea deal which struck down charges related to alleged poaching.PIB Chief Chad Eneas said in the letter of response he and his council stand in support of the three members “who were acting in accordance with Syilx law and protocol and under direction of Band Elders.”The Krugers were spotted by a resident of the Greyback Mountain Road area with an animal carcass after gunshots were heard nearby on Jan. 29, 2017.The plea deal was made after the band unsuccessfully tried to reach an agreement with the province to “address concerns related to hunting on privately-held lands, but within Sn’pintktn Ancestral Lands.”Eneas said in the letter of response that the guilty pleas entered by the Krugers for the 2017 trespassing are not an admission “that the province or private individuals are the rightful owners of the property.”“These lands have always been subject to the title and rights of the Syilx Okanagan Nation.”