The Okanagan Confederacy was a loose alliance of cities in the Okanagan region of British Columbia that banded together for mutual support and defense after contact was lost with coastal British Columbia during Doomsday in 1983.
History[]
Post Doomsday[]
In the aftermath of Doomsday, the Okanagan region's remote location, low population, and lack of military importance spared it from being the target of nuclear attack. While some were caught in the irradiated rain caused by water vaporised in the Vancouver blast, most of the fallout bypassed the region. With much of the Fraser Valley destroyed or irradiated, the closest link to the outside was cut off. Short range communications were able to be maintained through radio transmissions, but for the most part telephones were down along with television. When it became clear that Vancouver was gone, the mayor of Kelowna along with the district of West Kelowna got together to work out plans for long term survival. Messengers were sent out to the neighboring towns all the way to Kamloops. A meeting was held on June 23, 1984 to work out an agreement to pool efforts to supply food, medicine, and construction to re-establish communications in the area.
Member Cities:
- District of West Kelowna (West Bank, etc.)
- Kamloops
- Kelowna
- Peachland
- Penticton
- Salmon Arm
- Summerland
- Vernon
With most telecommunications satellites down, hardline communications were established between towns.
Agreements were made with the various farming communities to sell directly to supermarkets as major food distribution companies had been cut off from their main import/export center of Vancouver. While these deals were necessary, as supermarkets were the easiest method of mass food distribution, smaller independant grocery stores eventually went out of business, increasing unrest and unemployment across the Confederation. With many resources dwindling and hope fading for contact from the coast conditions continued to deteriorate until 1995 when a military plane from the Republic of Victoria landed in Kelowna. News spread fast that finally contact had been made. After leaders in Kelowna finished speaking with the Victorian scout mission they made a statement that due to the destruction and irradiation of the Fraser Valley, and limited fuel supplies for aircraft, Victoria would not be able to bring aid until the raidiation subsided and the Fraser Valley could be reclaimed.
Unrest and Infighting[]
With the revelation of Victoria's inability to send aid, spirits across the Confederation dropped to an all time low. Riots broke out in Kelowna and Kamloops, the resulting fires of which nearly destroyed the town of West Bank. With increased unrest came increased crime, and existing police were overwhelmed. Kelowna's Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) started recruiting, creating a de facto militia to keep order. Many of the towns blamed the Kelowna leadership for failing negotiations, claiming that there should have been a confederate council to meet with the scouting mission. This caused resentment across the Confederation, sparking raiding parties from the southern towns to attempt to kill Kelowna leaders or steal resources for their hometowns. Eventually the situation broke down entirely, leading to all out fighting between several factions. Kamloops/Salmon Arm, Kelowna/DWK/Vernon, and Penticton/Peachland/Summerland. While there was never full out war, skirmishes were fought on the outskirts of the towns regularly.
By 2002, the fighting had died down, resources were stretched thin, and the Kelowna leadership called a meeting. The council agreed the fighting must stop as it was disrupting resource production and resources were short as it was. A general peace was declared and the situation gradually improved. Relations between the Okanagan Lake communities have drastically improved up to 2009, while the cities of Salmon Arm and Kamloops have maintained more of an air of neutrality.
Current Status[]
Currently the Confederation is barely existant. It acts more as a forum to air grievances between cities than as any sort of real alliance. With regular contact being re-established with Victoria, and likely integration into the Republic's borders, the Confederation's future is dim. Plans for a referrendum on joining Victoria are set tentatively for March of 2010. With Prince George gaining more territory and influence in northern British Columbia, a debate has arisen on whether an option for joining Prince George should be included on the referrendum ballot.
In March of 2010 the referendum on sovereignty resulted in the territory of the confederacy being split amongst Prince George and Victoria. Sovereignty was officially handed over to the two nations midnight April 1.
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