A shake-up at the top of the Skwlax Nation — formerly known as the Little Shuswap.

James Tomma has been defeated in a vote for Kukpi7 [Chief] as part of a balloting process which took place Saturday.

Dianne Francois will take over as the head of Skwlax te Secwepemcúl̓ecw, defeating Tomma by a 54-39 margin

There were two other competitors in the voting process, one of whom garnered 30 votes.

The other got 2 votes, and which ultimately led to 125 of 299 eligible Band members getting out and casting a ballot.

Voting had been split into two separate locations for Band members.

One was on Skwlax territory, while the other was in Tappen, closer to Salmon Arm and on the south side of Shuswap Lake.

James Tomma, who was elected just the year before in 2022, found himself tasked with overseeing the band’s recovery following the massive Bush Creek East fire which tore through the region in 2023.

That fire destroyed dozens of homes on Skwlax territory and other parts of the North Shuswap — including Tomma’s.

Video shot while James and his brother Rocky were forced to duck under a local bridge after getting caught up trying to save homes would gain Tomma additional respect as a leader within the community.

Though not a lot of information is publicly available online, Dianne Francois is listed as the Skwlax Nation’s Protected and Conserved Areas Manager.

This is according to the Band’s website, which appears to be current from 2024.

Radio NL has reached out in an effort to speak the new Kukpi7 and find out more about her goals for Skwlax.