Youth vote decides election

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With a population of about 900, Driftpile First Nation in Treaty 8 held an election Nov. 27 and elected one of the country'?s youngest chiefs, Tom Bellerose, 33.

There are eight on council altogether, Bellerose said, only three from the previous administration. The new chief said he campaigned a year-and-a-half to persuade people a fresh approach was needed to move the community forward. He said his only promise was to make it an honest administration that favors none and works for all.

The new council's priority and biggest challenge, said Bellerose, "is helping our children. Our children seem to be stuck up in the air with nowhere to go and nothing to do. Alcohol and drug abuse is pretty high amongst them, so we are going to do something with them (to help)."

Bellerose and his wife Tanya have a blended family of six of their own, so the concerns of youth directly affect them.

Opportunities for education, recreation and jobs are all concerns the community has brought to the attention of council.

Bellerose said while they have a school for K-12 students, "it is not being run properly," and only 40 children attend. "That's our main topic right now."

The chief said he and the councillors got elected because they could talk to the younger generation. "So now they know they have a chance to come and talk to us for whatever thing they have problems for, we are here to help them. I am not just saying this . . . I mean it. This is coming straight from the heart."