A small community in B.C.’s South Okanagan may have to undergo a name change.
The possible change comes after Okanagan Falls voted to incorporate to become B.C.’s newest municipality.
The incorporation process was exciting to Mike and Kyle Belich. The father-son duo moved to Okanagan Falls three years ago, and quickly noticed a shift in the small beach-side community.
“We came to look at this place in the summertime and the mountain was on fire, and everything was boarded up, the gas station didn’t have gas, the bank was closed, and there was hardly a place to have a cup of coffee, but now the difference is incredible,” said Kyle Belich.
The Belich family now owns and operates Okanagan Falls’s only grocery store.
The community is around 15 kilometres south of Penticton, B.C., at the foot of Skaha Lake. It has a population of just under 2,300 people, but that hasn’t stopped businesses like the Belich’s from succeeding.
“It’s a growing little community and once we set up here, the hotel opened up, the Avery [Farms] group opened up for their lettuce plant and there are other developments coming in,” said Mike Belich.
The recent rise in economic development spawned a movement to become an official municipality. Residents who voted in support wanted to see more local decision making, and more money to go towards infrastructure projects to boost the community’s growth. Residents voted 53 per cent in favour of incorporation last March.
However, becoming the first B.C. community to incorporate since the province adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) in 2019 means the process is taking place within a changed political landscape.
The legislation specifically states that Indigenous people have the right to “designate and retain their own names for communities, places and persons.”
B.C.’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs told CBC News it is working in partnership with the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen and the Osoyoos Indian Band to explore how the community’s name can better reflect the original language, culture and heritage of the area.
Okanagan Falls to become B.C.’s newest municipality
It’s a process that has taken some by surprise.
“We are being asked by the province to consider a name change. If that had been the case, our feeling is that should have been made known prior to the referendum,” said Matt Taylor, chief electoral area director for the regional district.
He said many people who voted in support of incorporation did so because they wanted to see more local decision making.
“If the province would like us to consider a name change, that’s the responsibility at this point of a mayor and council,” he said.
Chief Clarence Louie of the Osoyoos Indian Band said name changes are an important step and are long overdue.
“Okanagan Falls is an important site for our people, we had a reserve there, no one can deny that, and name changes are happening in this country,” he said.
The chief also disagreed that renaming Okanagan Falls should be a decision for the new mayor and council.
“When it comes to reconciliation and land claims and Indigenous people having rights, those aren’t up for a vote,” he said.
Discussions on a possible name change for Okanagan Falls are still in the early stages, according to Louie.
As for the Belich family, while they are concerned about the delays that may come with naming the community, they are excited for what lies ahead, now that the community is moving towards incorporation.
“We are creating a really amazing place here, and we have no where to go but forward and up,” said Kyle Belich.
