And now:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (S.I.S.I.S.) writes:
VOTERS CLEAN HOUSE ON TROUBLED RESERVE
The Globe and Mail, Dec. 12, 1998, Page A7 by Alanna Mitchell
[S.I.S.I.S. note: The following mainstream news article may contain biased
or distorted information and may be missing pertinent facts and/or context.
It is provided for reference only.]
Voters on the troubled Stoney First Nation have swept two of their three
chiefs and several councillors out of office with a decisiveness many are
calling a repudiation of the old regime. In all, the reserve will be run by
seven new councillors and two new chiefs, in addition to the five
councillors and one chief who were reelected. Many of the winners in the
election ran on a platform of cleaning up financial mismanagement on the
reserve, which is made up of three Indian bands. The reserve's leaders have
been heavily criticized after the band's statements revealed that three
chiefs and a dozen councillors collected more than $1.4 million in tax-free
salary and perks this year while many band members live in abject poverty.
Two of the former chiefs - PHILOMENA STEPHENS of the Bearspaw band and
HENRY HOLLOWAY of the Chiniki band - suffered humiliating defeats. Ms.
Stephens captured just 26 votes against 157 for the winner, Darcy Dixon.
Mr. Holloway garnered 59 votes, against 233 for the victor, Paul Chiniquay.
The only chief to survive the voters' wrath was John Snow of the Wesley
band, who hung on by his fingernails with 191 votes. His two competitors
for the job captured 181 and 163 each. "The people wanted change," said
Greg Twoyoungmen, a vocal critic of the old power structure, who was
elected to represent the Wesley band as one of its four councillors. The
Stoney reserve just west of Calgary has become a lightning rod in Canada
for concerns over the way elected native leaders handle finances on
reserves. In recent months, leaders there have been accused of mismanaging
money.
Last week a rare forensic audit ordered by the federal government found
enough evidence of wrongdoing in financial matters to refer 43 complaints
from band members to the RCMP. In all, the auditors received 364
allegations of criminal wrongdoing related to the reserve's finances.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
SOVEREIGNTY IS THE ANSWER - CANADA IS THE PROBLEM
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is
distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed
a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit
research and educational purposes only.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty
P.O. Box 8673, Victoria, "B.C." "Canada" V8X 3S2
EMAIL: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
WWW: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/SISmain.html
SOVERNET-L is a news-only listserv concerned with indigenous
sovereigntist struggles around the world. To subscribe, send
"subscribe sovernet-l" in the body of an email message to
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
For more information on sovernet-l, contact S.I.S.I.S.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
