The Soda Creek Indian Band will no longer be known by that name. From now on, the band will be known as the Xatsull First Nation.
“The people of Xatsull have occupied this territory since time immemorial,” Xatsull Chief Sheri Sellars says, “The name Xatsull has meaningful, personal, and spiritual significance to our community. The people of Xatsull are determined to restore traditional place names and revitalize languages after colonial policies and laws have endeavoured to eliminate them. Through this process, we are one step closer to doing that.”
Chief Sellars says this change was set in motion a few years ago, but the file was just picked up again.
She says the word Xatsull means “on the edge” in Secwepemc.
“We’re proud to have reverted to our roots, and be known by our traditional name henceforth”, Sellars says “by including Secwepemctsin in our name, we’re also adding back a bit of history and culture.”