Stan Beardy says he will mobilize the people to fulfill a vision

Ontario chiefs are looking for a “more aggressive” style of leadership.

“Times are changing in Canada and Ontario and … I’ve been advocating to the chiefs we need to be a lot more aggressive, we need to be a lot more vocal to make sure that we are being counted,” said Stan Beardy, newly elected regional chief for the Assembly of First Nations.

In two rounds of voting on June 27, Beardy ousted incumbent Angus Toulouse by a vote of 59 to 53. A third candidate, Walpole Island First Nation Chief Joseph Gilbert, was eliminated after the initial round of voting. Toulouse held the position of regional chief for seven years.

More than 90 per cent of Ontario First Nations’ chiefs cast ballots, an indication, said Beardy, of how important the work ahead is for Ontario chiefs and how important it is to have the right leader.

“You don’t necessarily have to be mean. You don’t necessarily have to be obnoxious. I think you just need to be very firm, say this is our vision, this is our plan, and this is what we want to accomplish,” said Beardy.

He points to the last federal and provincial budgets as indications of how First Nations are being left out. He also notes cuts to social services and encroachment on traditional land.

“There’re a lot of fundamental outstanding issues that need to be dealt with,” said Beardy.

He comes to the position of regional chief after serving 12 years as grand chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation, which is comprised of 49 First Nation communities in the territories of James Bay Treaty 9 and the Ontario portion of Treaty 5. Before that he was Chief of Muskrat Dam First Nation for 10 years.

Along with experience “on the front line,” he said he brings direction.

“I have a definite vision and that vision is that I have a lot of confidence in my own people, especially the young people, that we are capable … we will achieve our goals,” he said.

That goal is self-sufficiency, which Beardy says can only be achieved through ensuring access to education for all young people and strengthening economic opportunities. Working with industry and the private sector is one way to increase economic advantage.

Beardy sees his role as regional chief to develop the framework that will lead Ontario First Nations in achieving self-sufficiency. Each region would personalize that framework, adapting it to fit the resources they have available.

“We need to develop strategies in terms of the economic blue print of where we need to go from here,” said Beardy. “The plan has to be very clear, whatever priorities the chiefs of Ontario agree to.”

He said Ontario First Nations need to be focused, limiting their energy to a handful of measurable objectives.
“You can’t try and do a hundred different things and hope to succeed,” he said.

Beardy said it is his responsibility to give direction.

“As a leader you have to have vision of what the dream is you have for the people that you work with,” he said. “You need to mobilize the people to start moving in that direction and you need to be clear in that direction.”

The vote to replace Beardy as NAN grand chief is scheduled for next month.