The federal Department of Indigenous Affairs is weighing in on the current power struggle on Montreal Lake Cree Nation for the position of chief.
In a statement provided to MBC, Indigenous Affairs was unwilling to say if they recognize any one person as chief of the reserve at the current time.
The statement says the department is aware of the recent Appeals Tribunal decision, which confirmed Frank Roberts as chief. However, the statement also referred to a general election held earlier this week.
Edward Henderson, had previously called for another election to be held at the end of January.
“We are… aware that the community governance matters remain uncertain and in dispute,” the statement read.
Indigenous Affairs also says that Montreal Lake has its own community election rules and the department has “no role to play” in compliance to these rules.
This email comes days after a decision from an Appeals Tribunal upheld the results of a November by-election for chief.
The following is a brief history of the power struggle on the reserve:
The position as chief has been contested for almost a year. The confusion first started shortly after the band’s general election in March 2017.
During that election, Edward Henderson was re-elected as chief. However, Roberts appealed the decision because he believed he was improperly disqualified from running.
An Appeals Tribunal ruled Roberts should have been able to run and a by-election for chief was called in September by Chief Electoral Officer, Clifford Bird. The by-election was eventually held in November and saw Frank Roberts declared as chief by acclamation after two other people removed their name from the ballot. Henderson’s name was not on the ballot.
“We have now reached the conclusion of this process and Montreal Lake Cree Nation can now move forward,” said Frank Roberts in a media release about the Appeals Tribunal upholding the legitimacy of this by-election.
This by-election saw opposition from both Henderson and MLCN Band Manager, Mark D’Amato. Both contested the legitimacy of the process.
Henderson said the election he called for the end of January would be used to end the political infighting and save money on legal battles.
Frank Roberts did issue an apology after, he says a letter was mistakenly sent to Montreal Lake Elder, Nellie Bird, in regard to this election. The letter informed Bird she would be evicted because she was planning to hold Henderson’s election in her home.
“I would like to formally apologize to Elder Bird for this unfortunate communication,” said Frank Roberts in a media release. “The letter had not been authorized by me, our band manager, or any members of council. It certainly should not have been sent out because we would not have authorized such a letter.”
Henderson and D’Amato have not yet been available for comment on the latest developments.
(PHOTO: Montreal Lake Band Office. Photo courtesy of Travis Radke.)