Saulteaux First Nation Joins BATC

Saulteaux First Nation Joins BATC

Tuesday, April 28, 2009 at 15:14

 

 

The Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs welcomed a new member First Nation into its organization.

 

The Saulteaux First Nation joined the council during a signing ceremony in the Battlefords yesterday.

 

That brings the number of First Nations in the BATC to six.

 

Until yesterday, Saulteaux was an independent band.

 

BATC chair Sheldon Wuttunee says by getting another member, the tribal council increases its credibility.

 

He says it also gets more money from Ottawa because it represents more band members.

 

Saulteaux Chief Sarah Gopher says by joining the tribal council, the band gets better access to educational services and health services.

 

She says she also likes the transparency of the BATC, because council members get frequent reports on where money is spent.

 

Gopher says Saulteaux looked at joining the Battlefords Tribal Council, but felt more comfortable with the BATC.

 

Meanwhile, an election is being held on the First Nation today and Gopher isn’t running.

 

But she says she doesn’t anticipate a new chief rescinding this agreement.

 

Officials from both sides say negotiations about a year.