Sweetgrass and CFWE news briefs - Nov. 2, 2015

FCPP says standard scale for Chiefs’ compensation needed

November 3, 2015. The Frontier Centre for Public Policy has published "Financial Compensation of First Nations Leaders," written by Dr. Tom Flanagan and Laura Johnson. The document is based on information available through the First Nations Fiscal Transparency Act, passed in 2013, and now brought into question by a recent Federal Court decision. In a legal challenge levied by six First Nations, including four in Alberta, a judge ruled that the federal government could not force the bands to file their financial statements in accordance to the FNFTA. However, working on the information available, Flanagan and Johnson say there is great variation in the amount of money paid to Chiefs and council and recommend that a standard scale for compensation be developed and distinction be made between payments for carrying out governmental functions and those for running business enterprises. The executive summary states, “Greater transparency should lead to more efficiency in First Nations government as well as more informed and less
acrimonious public debate about compensation.” Flanagan is chair of the Aboriginal Futures program for the Frontier Centre for Public Policy and Johnson has a master degree in public policy program.

Two sentenced in Yellowbird shooting death

November 2,
2015. The two men who admitted killing Chelsea Yellowbird on the Samson Cree Nation were sentenced on Friday. Darren Ty Wacey Applegarth, 22, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in May and will serve a life sentence with no chance of parole for 10 years. His accomplice, Randall Omeasoo, 21, pleaded to manslaughter and was given a nine-year sentence. Shelby Minde, 22, charged with first-degree murder in Yellowbird‘s death, is still before the courts. Yellowbird was shot dead at a backyard party on Sept. 5, 2011. Her death was the second in the Yellowbird family in a two-month time span, with her five-year-old nephew Ethan Yellowbird shot dead as he slept in his home during a drive-by shooting in July 2011. Three teenage gang members pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the case of Ethan and received the maximum youth sentence of three years each. The deaths of the Yellowbirds caused the band council to centre their efforts on gang violence in Maskwacis. The arrests in Chelsea Yellowbird’s case were attributed to “community engagement” as help came forward.

Arson charges laid in residential fire on Stoney Nakoda Nation

November 2,
2015. A residential fire on the Stoney Nakoda Nation on Oct. 30 has resulted in the arrest of Tyler Dixon, 19, of Stoney Nakoda Nation. Dixon was arrested at the scene and charged with arson. Cochrane RCMP responded at approximately 11:30 p.m. to the fire call and found the house fully engulfed in flames. No one was in the home at the time of the fire and there were no reports of injuries. The estimated damage to the home is approximately $100,000.  Dixon has been held in custody and makes his first court appearance in Cochrane Provincial court on Nov. 4. The investigation continues.

Adam re-elected for third term as
ACFN Chief

November 2, 2015. Members of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation have re-elected Chief Allan Adam for his third term. He will head a new slate of councilors: Raymond Cardinal, Michelle Voyageur, Jonathan Bruno, and Teri Lynn Villebrun. This year’s election included four candidates running for Chief and 16 candidates running for four council positions. The platforms of the candidates varied from concerns about the environment, economy, housing, education, employment and the Elders and youth. Adam continued to run on a platform of the protection and preservation of Treaty and Aboriginal rights, lands and resources. The ACFN holds an election every four years for all leadership positions.

First Nation casinos in Alberta see the most profit

November 2, 2015. A recent
online article on www.gamingpost.ca  about First Nations casinos says Alberta “sees the most profits from its First Nations casinos.” Five First Nations operate casinos in the province: Stoney Nakoda Casino, in Morley; Eagle River Casino and Travel Plaza, in Whitecourt (Alexis Sioux Nation); Grey Eagle Casino, in Calgary (Tsuu T’ina Nation); Casino Dene, in Cold Lake (Cold Lake first Nation); and, River Cree Resort and Casino, in Enoch (Enoch Cree Nation). Next on the most-profit list are First Nations casinos in Ontario, then Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, and Manitoba. British Columbia First Nations casinos are at the bottom of the list as B.C. has the largest number of corporation-operated casinos. A study conducted by University of Lethbridge associate professor Yale Belanger in 2012 indicated that First Nations casinos improve the employment and investment opportunities, provide stable funding and enhance community infrastructure for the operating First Nations. Belanger also noted that “significant revenues” are directed from First Nations casinos to the provinces and used for general revenue.