AFN national chief election set for Winnipeg in December

July 16, 2014

Tim Fontaine
APTN National News
HALIFAX–The election for a new national chief of the Assembly of First Nations will take place in Winnipeg this coming December.

Chiefs and proxies made the decision on July 15 at the AFN’s annual general assembly in Halifax, after considerable debate. Some chiefs argued that more time was needed to work out organizational issues, including a rift a between the Confederacy of Nations and the AFN Executive.

Muskrat Dam Lake First Nation Chief Gordon Beardy felt that with so many divisions within the organization and the unprecedented resignation of the former national chief, more time was needed to heal and to look at the organization as a whole.

Dakota Tipi First Nation Chief David Pashe was one of the Chiefs calling for an early election.

“We need a national chief almost immediately.” he told the assembly.

Pashe said the next national chief needs to take a softer approach with Ottawa.

“We need a national chief that can work with the federal government. Not a ‘vigilante chief’ who is going to wield a hammer,” said Pashe.