Looking south from Middleton Mountain above Long Lake Reserve #5 circa 1950. It comes as a surprise to many that one of Vernon’s most popular summer destinations, Cal Beach, is located on what used to be a First Nations reservation. Needless to say, the ancestral territory of the Syilx people of the Okanagan nation included much of Kalamalka Lake. The lake, which bore the name Long Lake until 1953, was named after Chief Kalamalka. In addition, OKIB members still inhabit the land around the lake where historic villages once stood. However, little evidence remains to mark the boundaries of Long Lake Reserve #5, which once stretched from about Cal Beach to what is now Calavista Subdivision. The reserve was granted in 1877 by the Joint Indian Reserve Commission, established two years earlier by the federal and provincial governments to determine the boundaries of reserve land in B.C. In 1909, Hlakay (also known as Pierre Nequalla), Chief of the Nk’maplqs (Lake Chief), objected to the sale of the land, suggesting that serious irregularities had occurred in obtaining the proper surrender permits. This was later confirmed by the federal government and the sale was set aside. However, in 1913, the land was severed under the McKenna McBride Royal Commission. The stated goal of the commission (named after the two men who signed it, federal commissioner Joseph McKenna and BC Premier Richard McBride) was to adjust the extent of reserves in B.C., based on data that gathered from both indigenous and non-indigenous populations. as to their adequacy. As a result of the procurement, an additional 87,000 acres of reserve land was added to most zones, while 47,000 acres of much more valuable land was removed from 54 zones. This included the 128 acres of Long Lake Reserve #5. This “cut-out” land was later sold to a Mr. John Kennedy, who then released portions of it to the town of Vernon for beach access and the Canadian National Railway Company. The beach is now part of Coldstream. – Gwyneth Evans is research and communications coordinator for the Vernon Museum and Archives
