City of Vernon Transfers Copyright to Legendary Ogopogo to B.C. Indigenous Nations

The legal rights to the legendary creature residing in Okanagan Lake have been transferred to the Okanagan Nation Alliance, who say Ogopogo has always been part of their spiritual teachings. Council members in the Okanagan city of Vernon voted unanimously to transfer the Ogopogo copyright it has held for 65 years.

For $1, council voted to assign and transfer to the Okanagan Nation Alliance all copyright, title, interest and property including trademark rights arising from the commercial and non-commercial use of the Ogopogo name.

Ogopogo means ‘spirit of the lake’ in the alliance’s Syilx language. Tourism Kelowna says on its website that stories about a lake creature date back thousands of years to area Indigenous Peoples who spoke of N’ha-a-itk, the spirit of the lake.