Yukon First Nation caught up in political turmoil

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It's been a rough ride for the chief and council of the Kwanlin Dun First Nation. The First Nation's leadership and organization has been in political turmoil since its election to a three-year term in April of 1996.

Shortly after that election, the council split into two camps. Problems arose when three of the six elected councillors refused to sign a document permitting the transfer of money from the Yukon government to the First Nation until a new election was called. Those councillors were soon prohibited from participating in the First Nation's business and forced out of office in January, 1998.

Deputy chief Pat Joe and councillors Jason Shorty and Helen Charlie responded by forming the Coalition for Democracy as political opposition to the Council. The First Nation has since been trapped in a bitter and divisive political dispute.

More recently, two of the three remaining councillors demanded the immediate resignation of Chief Joe Jack, accusing him of acting independently against the First Nation's interests and making arbitrary decisions without council's consent.

The call came on the heels of the federal government's withdrawal from land claim negotiations with the beleaguered First Nation due to its continued political uncertainty.

"Canada has serious reservations about the wisdom of proceeding with substantive discussions on land claim topics until there is a clear resolution of the current problems you are experiencing with the organization of Kwanlin Dun' s political leadership," wrote Tim Koepke, the chief federal negotiator in a letter to the First Nation dated Jan. 20, 1999. "I do not want to proceed without assurance that the fundamental building blocks of our developing agreements will not be torn down during the negotiations."

Aggravating the band's circumstances was Jack's decision to relieve Bobbi Smith of her duties as band administrator without a prior evaluation of her work nor council's approval, as stipulated in her contract. Councillors Colleen Williams and William Carlick immediately opposed the decision.

"Your actions could bring negative consequences to the First Nation by setting the stage for a lawsuit against the government of Kwanlin Dun," the two councillors wrote in a memo to Jack and remaining councillor Allan Taylor.

"This directly conflicts with the KDFN Public Trust Policy that states that the chief has the duty to ensure that 'all decisions on your part are lawful' and the obligation 'to act at all times in a way that will not damage the reputation of KDFN'," noted the memo.

The unexplained dismissal precipitated a chain of events leading to the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development's intervention to mediate the dispute.

After refusing to renew Smith's contract, Jack's approached the Bank of Nova Scotia to revoke her signing authority from KDFN's accounts. Unclear on who has signing authority, bank authorities indicated that they would freeze the accounts on Jan. 26 unless a new band council resolution was provided clearly stating the authorized signatories. The document requires the signature of three councillors and chief.

Tense meetings followed involving opposing parties, band office staff and DIAND officials. A last-minute compromise was reached forestalling both the bank's freezing of accounts and the federal government's intervention in administering essential services to band members. It was agreed that Smith would be removed from the signing authority list along with the names of Taylor and Carlick.

Having entered politics with intentions of doing good things for her community, a defiant Williams said she hoped community members will get involved in the governance of their First Nation.

"There are definitely issues still outstanding," she said. "What is important here is that the people out there in the community not lose hope in their leadership. They need to be open, ask questions and hear both sides."

The bitter disputes of the last three years hve hurt and divided the First Nation community. Following the crisis, it met to approve a final draft of new election regulations and set an election date.

Under the new electoral rules, a chief and six councillors will be elected but the position of deputy chief was eliminated. Employees of Kwanlin Dun will have to take a leave of absence before running for council and any appeals will go before an independent board comprised of people outside of the community.

Another change stipulates that the removal of an elected official from office requires a petition signed by one third of the voters. The matter would then go to an independent tribunal.

Following the general assembly, Jack announced that he would not be running for re-election and would be seeking employment outside the territory. He said priorities for the future council would centre on establishing a constitution and restarting land claim talks with the federal and territorial governments.

Kwanlin Dun voters go to the polls on March 22.