Former FSIN Chief Slams Ahenakew Vote Procedure

Former FSIN Chief Slams Ahenakew Vote Procedure

Wednesday, April 02, 2008 at 15:46

A former chief with the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations says the group has made a mistake with the reinstatement of David Ahenakew as a senator.

Alphonse Bird thinks chiefs were taken by surprise last week when the motion was introduced at a closed-door meeting.

Bird says he’s not surprised the motion passed so easily, due to its abrupt nature.

He says First Nations people are “humble”, and don’t want to offend anyone during an assembly.

Bird also says leaders at the FSIN must have known the motion was coming, and the chiefs should have been alerted.

Bird acknowledges Ahenakew did a lot of good work during his time in office.

However, he says life will go on without him, and new leaders with positive ideas need to emerge.