AFN MUST VALUE RIGHTS: FSIN

Eight candidates in running to lead AFN

The next leader of the Assembly of First Nations must be a strong advocate for treaty rights, the interim head of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations said.

“It’s really got to be treaty implementation,” interim FSIN chief Morley Watson said.

There are no Saskatchewan candidates running in the July 18 election, to be held in Toronto.

The current chief, British Columbia’s Shawn Atleo, comes from outside the territory of the numbered treaties. This has led to rifts between the AFN and Saskatchewan chiefs on many fronts in the past few years, such as the Saskatchewan boycott of a national education panel.

When asked how the issue of treaty implementation has progressed under Atleo’s leadership, Watson replied, “I don’t know if it’s been any harder, but it hasn’t been any easier.”

One other issue in the elections is the distribution of votes. Watson notes that all 633 First Nations in Canada get one vote regardless of size. That means Saskatchewan First Nations with populations exceeding 10,000 such as Lac la Ronge and Peter Ballantyne have the same power as tiny B.C. bands with only 100 or 200 members.

“There’s something wrong with that system,” Watson said.

A record eight candidates, including four women, are running. None are from Saskatchewan, but several are from numbered treaty territories. Watson said five of those candidates appeared at a recent forum during the FSIN assembly in Nipawin.

In the last election three years ago, Atleo edged former FSIN chief Perry Bellegarde in an all-night voting marathon. Watson said the chief electoral officer now has the power to halt voting if it runs too late, and to continue the following day.