FSIN elects Crowe, Ahenakew runs third

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SASKATOON - Roland Crowe is the new chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN). The former chief of the Piapot Reserve near Regina defeated his nearest rival, Alex Kennedy of Little Pine, after two lengthy rounds of voting that ended late the evening of October 7 at the Saskatoon Inn.

Of the 303 votes cast on that second ballot, Crowe collected 198 to Kennedy's 105. He will be replacing Sol Sanderson, who quit the chief's job earlier this summer and did not seek another term.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Crowe's election victory witnessed the undoing of another former FSI Chief. Dave Ahenakew was dropped from the ballot after the first round of voting, going down to his second major political defeat in just over a year. Last year in Vancouver he lost a bitter fight for re-election as national chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN). Today in Saskatoon, he could convince only 83 voting delegates out of a possible 317 to support him. Crowe won the first ballot as well, with 148 votes. This was 65 more than Kennedy, but not the 159 needed to clinch a first ballot victory.

The stage for this week's election was set after the summer sitting of the Chief's Legislative Assembly of the FSIN held in Regina last May. It was at this conference that Sanderson officially announced his intention to step down from the chief's position after holding off all comers for six years. His exit came on the heels of several run-ins with the FSIN Senate and some traditional Elders over his conduct as a prominent member of the Liberal Party of Canada. Sanderson was also criticized in public for failing to address the needs of Indian people at the grassroots level, including their exclusion from most FSIN functions.

Financial difficulty also plagued the last days of the Sanderson regime. The Saskatchewan Indian Nations Corporation (SINCO), once touted by Sanderson and

his supporters as a brilliant success story, began experiencing bad times earlier this year. Some SINCO ventures failed and were reported bankrupt earlier this month. This included SINCO, which once had a contract to haul yellowcake from northern Saskatchewan uranium mines.

In a post-election press conference, the newly elected Crowe told reporters

he would start working immediately on band level problems. He refused to comment when asked if FSIN offices would be moved south to Regina from Prince Albert. Crowe told Windspeaker he would take the issue of sovereignty for Indian reserves to constitutional discussions with the federal and provincial governments.

"We will be reaffirming that the treaties have always been a priority," Crowe said. He also said the FSIN wasn't necessarily outside the AFN, contrary to Ahenakew's position. Ahenakew and Sanderson walked out on the AFN after Ahenakew lost their election in Vancouver. Since then, they've been trying to drum up national support for the Prairie Treaty Nations Alliance (PTNA), an organization whose future is now in doubt.

Sanderson's stepping down, Ahenakew's defeat and Crowe's win happened just two weeks away from the October 20th provincial election, an issue which crept into the FSIN assembly to liven up an otherwise unusual Indian government event. Both Premier Grant Divine and Opposition Leader Allen Blakeney made pitches to the delegates.

On Monday, Divine announced his government would give four south Saskatchewan bands $350,000 to develop an ethanol plant. He claimed this development had nothing to do with his campaign for a second term as premier. NDP Leader Allen Blakeney outlined a policy similar to that of Manitoba Premier Howard Pawley. He said Tuesday that an NDP government would honour outstanding treaty land entitlements and work to speed up the entrenchment of Aboriginal rights in the constitution.

FSIN ELECTION RESULTS

FIRST BALLOT:

Total ballots cast 317

50 percent plus one 159

FOR TREASURER

Alvin Head 190 votes

George Peace 124 "

HEAD is elected

FOR 4TH VICE-PESIDENT

Sterling Brass 125 votes

Henry Daniels 105 "

Fred Starblanket 84 "

(Dropped from ballot after one round)

Brass and Daniels have run-off vote.

FOR 2ND VICE-PRESIDENT

Wayne Ahenakew 212 votes

(Elected)

Gerald Wuttunee 105 votes

FOR CHIEF

Roland Crowe 148 votes

(Not a clear majority)

Alex Kennedy 85 votes

Dave Ahenakew 83 "

(Dropped from ballot)

SECOND BALLOT

4TH VICE-PRESIDENT

Henry Daniels 162 votes

Sterling Brass 140 "

FSIN CHIEF

Roland Crowe 198 votes

Alex Kennedy 105 "

Total votes cast: 303

50 percent plus one 153 votes