Chief's wife granted bail

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The wife of deceased Shamattawa, Manitoba chief Noah Redhead has been granted bail and ordered to take alcohol counselling.

Jessie Redhead, 23, was charged with second-degree murder following the stabbing death of her husband last month. She has been ordered to stay away from the reserve.

Noah Redhead's death has focused attention on the troubled northern reserve, which has a long history of violence fuelled by alcoholism and solvent sniffing. His death followed a week of violence sparked by an illegal liquor shipment smuggled onto the supposedly dry reserve 750 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, RCMP said.

Redhead, 28,. was elected in February,. in part because he wasn't drinking. He was seen as a chief who wanted to see progress on the 800-member reserve, where poverty and unemployment are widespread.

Redhead and his wife started drinking again about a month before his death.

A group of chiefs from northern Manitoba wants an emergency meeting with Premier Gary Filmon, saying conditions must immediately improve on the troubled reserve, accessible only by air,. water or winter road.

Chief Pasal Bighetty, of the Council of Northern Chiefs, also wants to meet with several federal and provincial cabinet ministers responsible for areas such as child welfare and economic development.