Banners being installed to honour relationship between city, band

Photo: Tim Petruk

Kamloops Mayor Ken Christian and Tk'emlups Chief Rosanne Casimir show off one of the new banners being installed in the Tournament Capital to honour the relationship between the city and the band.

New banners are starting to go up across the Tournament Capital celebrating the partnership between the City of Kamloops and Tk’emlups te Secwepemc.

The first of the yellow banners — which say “Kamloops” on one side and “Tk’emlups” on the other, in front of an image of Mount Paul and Mount Peter — were hung this week near city hall.

Within the next few weeks, a total of 200 will be flying along Lorne Street, West Victoria Street, near the north end of the Overlander Bridge, near the Tournament Capital Centre and on McArthur Island.

Mayor Ken Christian said the banners are the result of years of conversation between the two governments.

“We’ve been working on this for about four years,” he said.

“It’s something that I think is a very physical display of a very meaningful relationship.”

Tk’emlups Chief Rosanne Casimir said she’s proud of the relationship the banners represent.

“We definitely do have an excellent relationship,” she said.

“It’s something that I take a lot of pride in, because it’s collaborative. [The banners are] a reflection of our unity and our solidarity.”

The banners were backordered due to supply chain issues. A small amount have been installed in the area around city hall and the remainder are expected to arrive in the city next week.