AFN leadership vote promises to be interesting

The field of candidates running for leader of the Assembly of First Nations has grown to five individuals and it makes an interesting mix of ideologies and styles.

The election will take place on July 25 at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

Here are thumbnail sketches of each candidate in alphabetical order:

Perry Bellegarde from Saskatchewan is the incumbent. He has been criticized for his close relationship with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the government; on the other hand, he is quick to point out that the lobby efforts of the AFN have caused the government to increase the Indigenous Affairs budget. Perry has a long political history being a chief of his reserve, a chief of the File Hills Qu’Appelle chiefs, chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations and the national chief.

Russell Diabo, a member of the Kahnawake Mohawk Nation, is arguably the candidate making the most waves. Russell is a former AFN policy analyst who disagrees strongly with the direction the AFN is going. Diabo maintains that the AFN has become too close to government, and under Bellegarde’s leadership the organization has been adopting a termination agenda.

Sheila North is an outspoken leader from northern Manitoba. She was formerly the head of the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, also known as MKO, which represents the northern chiefs in Manitoba. North came to the national stage after her strong condemnation of Marion Buller and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. Her resume includes an eight-year stint as a reporter for CBC television and later as a freelance reporter for CTV.

Miles Richardson is a member of the Haida Nation and is an environmentalist. He has an impressive resume that includes his role as a delegate of the First Nations Summit Task Group; in 1995, he was nominated by the summit and appointed a commissioner to the B.C. Treaty Commission, a position he held for two terms. Later, he was chosen as chief commissioner of the B.C. Treaty Commission. He is an officer of the Order of Canada and a founding director of the David Suzuki Foundation. He is a strong advocate of First Nations sovereignty and economic independence.

Katherine Whitecloud is a member of the Dakota Nation and leader from southern Manitoba. She has worked for the Indigenous community for more than 30 years in several roles, including chief of the Wipazoka Wakpa Dakota Nation, director of education, CEO for the Assembly of First Nations, director of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, and regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations. While she has an impressive resume, much of her work has been in the background and she remains little known outside Manitoba.

This election comes at an interesting time in First Nations history. The concern over the Trans Mountain pipeline is creating increased political activity and the fact that the election is taking place in British Columbia means that local First Nations who support an environmental agenda will cast their votes accordingly.

B.C. carries the most votes — 200. The meeting will be held in Vancouver, and pipelines and the environment might well be the elephant in the room. Each candidate must step up and give a clear statement of their policy toward pipeline construction. Action is heating up and the police have told the occupiers of the camp in Burnaby, B.C. to vacate.

So, what can we expect? If it was up to the average First Nations citizen, Miles Richardson or Russell Diabo would be the choice, but the chiefs tend to be more conservative and are compromised by the colonial office and the need for bigger and fair budgets. The chiefs are looking down the road at proposed legislation, increased budgets, economic development and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Loretta Pete, the election officer, a cousin and a member of my First Nation, has her work cut out for her.

The AFN has an unusual voting system that requires a 60 per cent majority to determine a winner. This has caused voting to go into multiple ballots far into the night in the past. There will be deal-making and alliances formed among the front-runners.

In the end, a winner will emerge, and the course of the AFN will be set for the next four years.