Chief, council of Caldwell First Nation suspended
The Chief of Caldwell First Nation and her entire band council have been suspended pending a forensic audit of a powwow held last year.
A news release Tuesday by the band said it voted earlier this month to suspend the activities of the chief and council.
The suspension will stand while a forensic audit is done of the band’s 2016 powwow, which was held in Leamington last summer and celebrated the repatriation of the band’s land.
The audit is expected to take no longer than 60 days to complete.
The release said the council will return to active duty once the audit report is given to the Caldwell membership by mid- to late-August.
Chief Louise Hillier was unavailable for comment on Tuesday.
The federal Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs said last week it had not commissioned a forensic audit and directed inquiries to the band.
The Caldwell band made headlines earlier this decade as it moved to acquire a land base.
In 2010, a 200-year-old claim was finally negotiated, as the federal government approved a $105-million land claim settlement with the First Nation.
Using the money, the Caldwells acquired about 200 acres of farmland in Leamington, a part of their traditional territory.
While the band’s traditional territory included a broad area of Ontario, the heart of its ancestral territory was in areas of Essex County, in particular Point Pelee, and the former Kent County.
Last summer’s powwow, its first such modern gathering, drew people from across Canada and the United States.