Chiefs meet to plan strategy for meetings with Trudeau government

Tsuut’ina First Nation played host on Nov. 2 to about 50 Chiefs and their proxies from Treaties 1-11. Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde was also in attendance as the Chiefs gathered to plan strategy. “The message will be clear,” said AFN Alberta Regional Chief Craig Mackinaw. “We want the prime minister to follow up on his election promises.” The Liberal election platform made significant new commitments to First Nations around missing and murdered Aboriginal women, education funding, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Chiefs spent the day strategizing on how to move forward to turn promises into action. Mackinaw said a position paper will be drafted so it can be presented to the prime minister when various Chiefs meet with Justin Trudeau. “I’m cautiously optimistic that things will change but it’s just a wait and see how things will go as we move along here in the next few months and how we discuss these items with the federal government,” said Mackinaw.