Aboriginal Affairs refusing to continue federal transfers to Yekooche Nation

Aboriginal Affairs Canada is refusing to continue federal transfer payments to the Yekooche Nation until the community resolves its leadership issues. But the federal government department is not getting involved in the situation, AANDC says. A group from within Yekooche held demonstrations in Fort St. James, Prince George and Vancouver at the offices of AANDC June 14. AANDC will not record the results of a recall election that ousted the previously elected chief and council, reports the Prince George Citizen. “We can’t get involved, and recognizing those results would be involving ourselves, so they have to work that out themselves,” said an AANDC spokesperson. The Yekooche government is very much in dispute at the moment, said AANDC. “We have asked them to provide clarity…They need to have a duly signed agreement over who their chief and council is.”