Newly elected Tk'emlups Chief Fred Seymour recites his oath of office as former Chief Shane Gottfriedson looks on.

(DANA REYNOLDS / iNFOnews.ca)

KAMLOOPS - As the newly sworn in chief of Tk'emlups te Secwepemc, Fred Seymour plans to bring results and opportunities to the Indian Band.

Seymour ran a campaign with the slogan ‘no promises, just results’ and as the new Tk’emlups Chief, he says he will use that motto to bring new prospects to his community.

“Our next big step here, as I mentioned in my platform, is for economic development. My goal here is looking at creating new revenue. I will not stay status quo,” Seymour says.

He points to a particular plot of land near the CN junction slated for new development, with three or four stakeholders currently interested in potential projects.

The Kamloops Indian Band elected a new council Saturday, Nov. 14, and it was the first time in 12 years a new chief was elected. Outgoing Chief Shane Gottfriedson is moving on to his new role as B.C. Regional Chief.

Seymour says he and Gottfriedson are very different people, but he has learned from his predecessor that communication is key to success.

“I’ve got my own agenda, I’ve got my own leadership style. There will be more… information meetings to the community to get them to make informed decisions on what we’re doing here. Communication is so key on all levels,” he says.

Seymour and seven councillors – only three of which are returning – were sworn in yesterday, Nov. 16, during a ceremony at Moccasin Square Gardens. In addition to swearing an oath of office, Seymour and councillors were presented spiritual medicine in the form of young eagle feathers from a Tk’emlups elder and given congratulations by members of the community.

The ceremony also marked the exit of Gottfriedson, who took the opportunity to thank his community and say what an honour it was to serve them for the last 12 years. He also encouraged the roughly 1,350 members of Tk’emlups to activitely participate in band politics.

“We need to come out and support our chief and council, we need to start coming to our community events, we need to start coming to our band meetings," Gottfriedson said. "Probably about 50 people are dedicated to coming to band meetings. It’s the other 1,300 that we need to start packing this hall."

To contact a reporter for this story, email Dana Reynolds at dreynolds@infonews.ca or call 250-819-6089. To contact an editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

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