‘All it takes is an idea’: Indigenous-owned gas station opens in Splatsin

March 18, 2026

A local family opened an Indigenous-owned gas station franchise in Splatsin Tuesday morning, pumping fuel into a steady stream of vehicles, and hope into the community. The new pumps just south of Enderby are a sign of entrepreneurship and self-governance in the First Nation, and they can be expected to pull down gas prices in the nearby area at least a touch. Gen7 Fuel is a 100% Indigenous-owned fuel station chain that had its start in Ontario and has been expanding west in recent years. Splatsin is Gen7’s fourth location in the Okanagan, adding to fuel stations in Penticton, Osoyoos and Oliver.

Charlie’s Gen7 in Splatsin is owned by siblings Brennon, Owen and Nerissa Joseph and their mother, Frankie Charlie. Six years ago they started out as the Five and Dime, a cannabis retailer located at the same site that now boasts the brand-new gas station. After a traditional welcome song, smudging, an honour song and a prayer, the ribbon was cut on the gas station and the pumps were turned on for the first time. Inside the station is a convenience store complete with grocery items and a bistro. A drive-thru window makes quick-pickups easy. The convenience store also sells cannabis and “sovereign cigarettes,” a phrase Brennon used. Landon Miller, co-owner and chief vision officer for Gen7, explained that Indigenous business sovereignty is integral to Gen7’s operation. “It means that we’re operating under our own authority and our own laws,” said Miller, talking specifically about the tobacco products in the store. “We’re not standing on provincial lands, we’re standing on Splatsin Indigenous sovereign lands,” Miller added. “Our whole model is that we come and operate under (Splatsin’s) authority, and we make sure that it’s signed off by leadership, by the community, and supported all the way through. And that’s where the power is.”

Gen7 attempts to cut down on administrative and bureaucratic costs as possible and pass the savings on to the consumer. This has had the effect of lowering fuel prices at neighbouring gas stations in other places where Gen7 has opened doors. “We will always be the most aggressive and competitive price option out there in the market,” Miller said. When they first opened in Penticton they soon closed again for expansion. “The day we closed for expansion, the entire city went up eight cents,” he said. “The day we reopened, they all came back down to match us.” Miller said the Splatsin gas station would be opening at 160 cents per litre Tuesday. Gas prices have been climbing beyond that mark (as high as 179) in recent weeks in the Okanagan, since war broke out in the Middle East. For the Charlie-Joseph family, opening this Gen7 location is about far more than providing another fuel option in the community. “What it brings to this community is hope,” Nerissa said. “It brings a message to other community members that all it takes is an idea.” Anyone can come and enjoy the space, the family stressed.

Originally posted and written by Brendan Shykora for the Vernon Morning Star