New name is a 'long time coming,' says chief of Williams Lake First Nation in B.C.'s Cariboo region

The former Williams Lake Indian Band in B.C.'s central Interior is now officially the Williams Lake First Nation.

The announcement of the new name was made during the ground-breaking ceremony for a new cannabis cultivation project Monday.

"I think it was a long time coming," Chief Willie Sellars told Radio West host Sarah Penton.

Sellars said the community had been eager to change the name for a while, but had to go through aproper legal process.

The name was officially changed in January, but not immediately announced to the public to allow time forrebranding, including changing itswebsite, social media channels and printing new business cards.

Web design and digital advertising company Splash Media, based in Prince George, helped with the change, along with the nation's members and chief and counsel.

Stigma attached to 'Indian'

Growing up in the Williams Lake area, Sellars was aware of the stigma attached to the word 'Indian,' and other derogatory terms used to describe Indigenous peoples.

"We talk about reconciliation, we talk about the implementation of UNDRIP[United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples] and just the stigma around 'Indians.' We felt Williams Lake First Nation was the logical step in the rebrand and direction that we're going as a community," he said, noting that some government agencies, such the Department of Indigenous Services of Canada, are moving away from using the word 'Indian' and replacing it with Indigenous or First Nations.

Replacing the word 'Indian' with First Nation makes their name more politically correct, Sellars said.

"Being politically correct in this day and age is where you want to be."

Change part of move to become self-governing

Sellars said the change is part of a larger move for the Williams Lake First Nation to become self-governing.

The Williams Lake First Nation hassigned the First Nation Land Management Act, giving them control intheir territory. They developed their own land code in 2014, which gives them the ability to create their own laws.

Now, the First Nation wants to become self-governing, which would give them the power to oversee education, policing, language, healthcare, housing and child welfare.

"I think it was only practical that we could get this name change out of the way so that we can start looking at bigger and better things and what this year, what the future holds for the Williams Lake First Nation," Sellars said.