Kamloops Indian Band

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The Kamloops Indian Band is one of the largest of the 17 groups into which the Secwepemc (Shuswap) native nation was divided when the British government established an Indian reserve system in British Columbia in the 1860s. Even prior to European contact, the Secwepemc settlement Tk'emlups, meaning "river junction," was an economically important centre within the area that later came to be called the British Columbia Interior. The reason was its very favourable location at the confluence of two major navigable rivers, the South Thompson River and the North Thompson. Europeans who settled in the area brought the native name into the English language as Kamloops. The city of Kamloops is now a major regional urban centre with circa 82,000 residents. The Kamloops Indian Band's business district functions economically as a part of the city, though it is separately administered by the Band. The Band currently has circa 1,000 members living on and off its 33,000 acre reserve. It has active language and cultural programs and its Sk'elep School of Excellence is one of the largest First Nations elementary schools in British Columbia.