Nicholas Kruger is running for a seat on Penticton City Council in the 2022 municipal election.

(DAN WALTON / iNFOnews.ca)

A popular member of the Penticton Indian Band is vying for a seat on Penticton City Council.

Nicholas Kruger says there’s far less tension between the two communities in 2022, but while growing up, he can remember conflicts over land titles and the right to use certain areas.

“Still to this day they’re not totally resolved so there’s always that little bit of tension,” he said.

As a candidate, relationship-building between the city and PIB is his main focus. However he had nothing critical to say of the current city council.

“I’d have the opportunity to provide some perspective and diversity to city council, be able to see things a little bit differently and maybe that will help with understanding. Especially during times of truth and reconciliation it’s important we become one community instead of two.”

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Many Penticton voters are already familiar with Kruger because he likes to open up about his life on the Penticton Facebook page.

Sometimes he shares heavy stories like how it felt to be punished as an Indigenous boy who refused to sing O Canada with the rest of his class, and how PIB members were often told to go back to their side of the Penticton River Channel – the divide that separates the city from band land.

Other times Kruger is sharing funny thoughts by poking fun at himself, taking light-hearted jabs at people from Kelowna, and using local symbols like the Ogopogo and new bike lane for his punchlines.

He also reaches out about his advocacy – he rallied public support to have a sign built that says “Welcome to Penticton” in the traditional Syilx language. And he once managed to get the Okanagan Song played on a commercial radio station.

“It’s a way to help others understand Indigenous people, by sharing my life stories,” Kruger said.

“I’m just trying to show people things through my eyes so they can have empathy and a better understanding of us.”

He appreciates how far the two communities have come since he was a child.

“People keep pushing forward because we don’t want our kids to live through what we lived through,” Kruger said.

“The generation before us fought 10 times as much as we did so we didn’t have to fight. We fought a little bit so that our kids didn’t have to fight. Hopefully one day there will be no fighting.”

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For any Indigenous Canadians who may feel like outsiders trying to get elected to a municipal government, Kruger says it’s important to genuinely love the community you wish to serve. And even without meeting a person, you can gain their trust by sharing personal stories that make you feel vulnerable, he said.

“If people can feel that then they’re going to accept you in a very welcoming way.”

Kruger is the owner of a Connoisseur Wine Tours in Penticton. This is his first attempt at city council but he has run in PIB elections in the past.

In Penticton, he’s running in a crowded field against several incumbents and many other strong candidates.

Municipal elections take place take place across B.C. on Oct. 15.

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