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Miles Morrisseau
ICT
It took a marathon of voting but at the end Cindy Woodhouse, former Manitoba regional chief, was elected the new national chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN).
Following a tumultuous year in which the first female National Chief Roseanne Archibald was voted out of office before her mandate was up, the assembly met in the first week of December to elect her replacement. There were six candidates nominated for the job at the AFN’s special assembly in Ottawa, Ontario, which began with an evening of speeches from candidates, supporters and nominators on Tuesday.
The voting began Wednesday but it would not suffice. When the final ballots were counted at the end of a long day of voting there was still no clear winner and the delegates were sent back to their hotel rooms with the knowledge they would have to start voting Thursday morning.
The election had 461 delegates and the eventual winner must get 60 percent of that total amount so a minimum of 277 votes no matter how many people vote in each round. On the sixth and final vote of the first day, Woodhouse had over 56 percent of the remaining voters but only 50 percent of the entire delegation. Some delegates needed to be reminded of that fact.
The voting began in the morning of day two and the first results came in at 4 p.m. ET and saw the two candidates with the lowest votes forced to drop out.
Related:
– Canada’s ousted national chief loses second chance at reinstatement– Investigation finds ‘predatory culture’ in Assembly of First Nations
That first round saw Reginal Bellerose, former chief of Muskowekwan First Nation, Saskatchewan, and Craig Makinaw, Ermineskin Cree Nation, Alberta, drop out with the lowest number of votes.
Cindy Woodhouse, Pinaymootang First Nation in Manitoba, and AFN’s regional chief for the province, finished on top with 162 votes, or over 35 percent, of the 444 votes cast and never relinquished the lead. In second place was David Pratt, Muscowpetung First Nation in Saskatchewan, with 118 votes, Sheila North (Wikahsko Iskwew), Bunibonibee Cree Nation in Manitoba, garnered 64 votes for third and finishing fourth was Dean Sayers, former chief of Batchewana First Nation, Ontario, with 58 votes.
The second round saw Sayers drop out and in the third round North dropped out of the running.
Former Chief Roseanne Archibald had been booted out of the national office when an human resources report found evidence of harassment and violation of the organization’s whistleblower policy. Woodhouse, as regional chief of Manitoba, was part of the executive committee that made the decision to remove Archibald from office.
Archibald stated that the decision to remove her was based on her call to have a “forensic audit” and deal with the “toxicity” at the national office.
In addition to Archibald’s removal the previous special assembly in July also saw the release of a devastating report called The AFN Resolution 13 Final Report which detailed a “predatory culture” at the national office.
“Unacceptable behavior at these events appears to be an open secret,” the report stated. “Women have been warned by various individuals inside and outside the AFN to be careful of what they wear while attending events, and have been warned specifically about particular individuals whose inappropriate behaviour is well known.”
At this event, attendees were asked to sign a code of conduct that made them promise to behave. No news if any of the individuals whose actions were detailed in the report have faced any rebuke for their actions or whether they were in attendance at the special assembly. In her concession speech following the third round of voting North gave her support to Pratt but also criticized the AFN for their treatment of Archibald.
“Somebody just told me behind the scenes here, women can be violent too. And we saw what happened with Roseanne was just six months left in her mandate, and she was disrespected at the highest level. She did not deserve that,” North told the assembly. “That doesn’t mean I agreed with everything she did or how she did it. But she should have been given that respect to finish her term. And that’s what made me choose this because I stand up for our people, I stand up for our women.”
At the end of the first day of voting the polls were closed near midnight with the promise that voting would begin in the morning. The voting was delayed and as the new deadline emerged Pratt made the decision to concede and Woodhouse emerged as the winner.
“I want to thank each and every one of you for being here. And first and foremost, I want to thank the candidates. You know, when you’re in an election like this, you spend days with each other, and you become family,” Woodhouse told the assembly. “But I’m happy that today, David and I had a long discussion last night, we had a long discussion this morning. And of course, interim National Chief, Joanna Barnard. And we came together in a good way, because we have to work for you.”
Following the seventh vote Woodhouse finally achieved the necessary support to take hold of the title.
“I extend my heartfelt congratulations to National Chief Woodhouse,” said Assembly of Manitoba Chief Grand Chief Cathy Merrick. “There have been significant milestones for Canada in the past year, including the election of the first Anishinaabe premier in Manitoba, the election of the first female grand chief for the AMC, and now the election of a new national chief for the AFN who comes from Manitoba, and I am confident in the decision made today. National Chief Woodhouse’s vast knowledge and experience will undoubtedly impact the policies and legislation affecting First Nations, and she has already proven her commitment to advancing the rights of First Nations Peoples across Turtle Island.”
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