A growing number of residents on the Stoney Nakoda First Nation Reserve are calling on the federal government to temporarily suspend the nation’s three-chief electoral system.
A petition addressed to Carolyn Bennett, minister of aboriginal affairs and northern development, is calling on the government to uphold the results of a referendum held nearly 45 years ago that should have united the Bearspaw, Chiniki and Wesley bands under one chief and council.
Documents obtained by the Outlook indicate on Dec. 13, 1973, 225 electors voted in favour of a one-chief system, however, those results were only briefly upheld.
Instead, through a series of political maneuvers four decades ago, the three-chief electoral system was reinstated and persists today as the Stoney Nakoda Tribal Council.
“The white man has the mafia, we have tribal council,” said Greg Two Young Men, a former Wesley band councillor who blames the current three-chief system for a lot of the challenges his community faces.
“In Ottawa we are recognized as the Stoney Band of Indians, not Bearspaw, not Chiniki, not Wesley.”
He is part of a group of six other Nakoda members called the Concerned Citizens Committee, which began circulating the petition earlier this year.
“This three-chief system isn’t working for us,” said Kirley Daniels, a member with the grassroots organization.
A major concern for the group is the soaring costs to pay for three chiefs and 12 councillors as well as the four administrations running the reserve.
According to its consolidated financial statements, last year the Stoney Nakoda First Nation spent approximately $2.9 million on salaries and expenses for its elected officials, and $13.9 million on band government.
The group hopes the petition will spur the minister to take action and temporarily suspend the three-chief electoral system followed by a new referendum.
Should it be successful, Two Young Men said he would like to see fresh elections held to elect one grand chief and six councillors (two from each band.)
If nothing is done, he said the group intends to take the issue to the Court of Queen’s Bench requesting a judicial review of the 1973 referendum.
As of press time more than 20 people had signed the petition, however Two Young Men said people have told him they are afraid to sign it.
“A lot of people, you have to remember, are afraid of chief and council,” said Two Young Men, pointing to Daniels, who allegedly lost his job last summer as a water truck driver for attending committee meetings held at the Nakoda public works department.
“They’re afraid of the repercussions.”
The two men weren’t alone in their criticism of the three-chief electoral system.
“I have said numerous times that in my view that three-chief system is the biggest impediment to social development on that reserve,” said John Reilly, a retired provincial court judge who ordered an investigation into political corruption and financial mismanagement on the reserve in 1996.
“The divisions amongst the people are totally artificial and the cost of it takes up a lot of money that could be much better spent on education and social welfare programs.”
It’s not the first time the band’s democratic processes have been challenged.
In 2011, a federal court removed Chief David Bearspaw Jr. and four Bearspaw councillors after they tried to amend the Bearspaw election regulations to extend their two-year terms to four year-terms.
The judge quashed the amendments and ordered fresh elections held within 60 days of his ruling.
Ken Christensen, the acting band administrator, opted to stay out of the debate and said he had no opinion on the petition.
“It’s a political matter and the people are entitled to decide what kind of government they have,” said Christensen.
Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) confirmed the government considers the Stoney Nakoda First Nation as one band, but clarified local election provisions are up to the Nation itself.
“It is true that, as a result of a community decision in 1973, the department amalgamated the membership lists for the Chiniki, Bearspaw and Wesley Bands under one list of the Stoney Indian,” wrote Stephanie Palma, a communications advisor for INAC.
“However, the custom election provisions is separate from the provisions relating to the membership code and it is within the Stoney Nation’s right to define their custom election code which is respected by the government of Canada.”
Reilly said he had little faith the minister would wade into the political debate, but said at the very least she should reassure the Nakoda people that, whether they have one chief or three chiefs, their treaty rights are protected by the constitution.
“I would like to see social improvement on the Stoney Indian reserve and I think the first step in the right direction would be to remove the three-chief system to reduce the cost of administration and to have a unified approach to dealing with the reserve,” said Reilly.
