Band members want chief, council, out

Page 3

Recent efforts to remove the Saddle Lake Band council from office have, to this point in time, met with absolute failure. The attempt stems from a dissident group which purports to have gathered over 500 band member signatures to a petition that demands the resignation of the band's chief and eight councillors.

According to reports the Edmonton Journal newspaper, "the petition cites lack of consultation with the band on major decisions and high unemployment." Chief Eugene Houle questions the existence of such a petition and claims to have never seen such a document.

There is no evidence the petition, if it exists, has been formally presented to anyone and the dissenters failed to make an appearance at a band meeting last Monday. The reason for the absence of the dissenting group at the band meeting, says Howard Cardinal, one of the leading dissenter, is due to two alleged threatening phone calls that he received, according to the Journal.

The RCMP detachment at St. Paul was informed of the alleged calls and a spokesman says they are investigating them as well as a number of other threatening calls which are supposed to have been received by other band members supporting the petition.

Also being investigated is a mischief complaint from Chief Houle against certain band members for the part they played in a four-day sit-in that ended November 3. In

this incident band members are said to have occupied the council office and to have used chains and padlocks to secure themselves firmly within the building. The situation required mediation of two RCMP officers to disband the sit-in group which, it is said, obliged the officers in a peaceable manner.

A November 5 article in the Journal stated that the chief disclaims any credibility of the dissident body which occupied the offices and that he further dismisses any allegations or insinuations that threatening phone calls have been employed to discourage the dissident group from attending the Monday meeting.

Still another Journal article says that Chief Houle informed them that a good segment of the band members are satisfied with the job he and his council have done to reorder the band's finances.

The present band council has two more years left in its term of office. Howard Cardinal, however, is seeking a nominations meeting on November 10.

(Windspeaker has attempted to contact a spokesman from the chief

or council but all such attempts have failed to solicit any response. As

well, thee has not been a contact number at which Cardinal could be

reached.)