Kukpi7 Barb Cote was born and raised in the Columbia Valley and has spent her life time enjoying Lake Windermere and the Columbia River. She is very excited about the work that is ongoing in returning the salmon home.
She is the mother of two children whom she is immensely proud of. Her Daughter Jenna is the new District 6 Vice- Principal of Indigenous Learning and Equity and her son Smokii Sumac is presently finishing his Ph.D with Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario.
Barb completed a master’s degree in Distributed Learning with Royal Roads University in 2006 and continued to work full time as an Aboriginal Education Support Worker for 37 years until she retired in November 2013. She was elected councillor for Shuswap Indian Band in November of 2012. In November 2014 she was voted in as Chief of the Shuswap Indian Band and continues in this role to the present.
In her spare time, she enjoys motorcycle trips with her husband Franz, bicycle rides, and spending time with her two grandchildren, Kye and Kayli.
