Restructuring is underway

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So, what's going on with the Confederacy of Treaty 6 First Nations? One senior staffer has been chopped - will there be more? A call to their office on an unrelated matter brought the response, "Come back in three months when the restructuring is complete."

The restructuring of the confederacy apparently begins with Ron Lameman, the former executive director who got the boot Aug. 27.

Lameman did not want to talk to the press and would only say, on Sept. 7, that he'd received no letter of termination yet and that such a letter should spell out the reason for dismissal and the compensation being offered.

That something is amiss seems likely, judging from the content of the letter Lameman wrote to "All Chiefs and Council Members on Aug. 26.

Either Lameman was unjustly or improperly terminated and the chiefs are covering their actions in a blanket of silence, or there were some serious problems with Lameman's job performance that have led to his dismissal for cause. No one is saying which it is.

Why does it matter and who does it affect?

Well, the level of position and responsibility attached is one reason. The decisions that Lameman could reasonably have been expected to make on behalf of the confederacy on a daily basis would likely have a substantial effect on the stability, prosperity and progress of Treaty 6 First Nations.

On March 10, Lameman sent the chiefs a short letter "Re David Albert Scott." Scott, a disbarred Ontario lawyer, is executive director of the Tribal Chiefs Association, or he was on Sept. 8 when Windspeaker talked to him. The letter and attached documentation seemed designed to bring Scott's character into question. Lameman's letter referred to Scott as "the individual that is questioning my honesty and integrity."

Another letter from Lameman to the "Chiefs and Council Members" again says unflattering things about Scott, while mentioning that Scott "is one of the key proponents of this so-called restructuring of our organization."

Lameman did not provide, or cause to be provided, these documents to the press, and would not discuss their contents. His final comment was "I've never stolen any money (or) misappropriated any funds."

The people who could clear this up aren't talking.

Elmer Gladu, who said he's a councillor at Beaver Lake, expressed some opinions, being acquainted with Lameman. He was asked what the restructuring is about and why Lameman was out of a job.

"One explanation the chiefs came up with is they don't need an executive director. They're restructuring and they're going to have one representative from [the tribal association], [one from] YTC (Yellowhead Tribal Council) and one from Paul band and one from Saddle Lake . . . and one representative from the four bands at Hobbema.

"Mr. Lameman has been involved with the confederacy from the start, and I don't know, I think that's a poor excuse, this restructuring, and one of their own bylaws, terms and conditions or whatever you want to call them that govern the confederacy is that any of the restructuring, hiring, firing, whatever, needs 70 per cent of the chiefs, which is 11.4," Gladu continued. "He was accused of acting on his own and he wasn't taking direction from the chiefs . . . and I don't think that's true."

Asked if Scott had something to do with Lameman losing his job, Gladu revealed a study was done "on which way they wanted to go with the confederacy and Mr. Scott was one of the technicians who did the report, and the original report really made it look bad for Mr. Lameman [with respect to the way the office was run]." Gladu suggested the report amounted to an attack on Lameman's character.

Gladu said he didn't have any knowledge of specific allegations against Lameman regarding dishonesty.

The disgust was apparent in Gladu's voice when he said that Lameman was not even allowed to meet with the chiefs prior to termination. He said the decision was made and then "they sent Wilson Bearhead to go and tell him what was don. They talked to him when they hired him - why has the situation changed so much in two years that they can't talk to him when they're going to relieve him of his duties?" Gladu concluded.

David Scott also was asked to explain why Lameman was terminated.

"The chiefs had a few caucus meetings on it and that's what came out and I guess that's the result of it," Scott said.

He was asked if Lameman was dismissed for dishonesty.

"As far as I understood, they're doing a restructuring of it and that was it," Scott said. He would not comment on Lameman's letters to the chiefs, wherein he, Scott, was alleged to have brought Lameman's character into disrepute.

Regarding the preparation of the report on restructuring, Scott said, "Well, I was appointed to the committee with several other people from the Treaty 6 region, here, you know, and we were asked to do a job and we did it."

Scott was asked if the report indicated that Mr. Lameman had some serious flaws in the way he was doing his job.

"Well, again, I can't really answer that, because that report was to be prepared for the chiefs and we've given it to the chiefs and that's all we've given it to - like as a committee - we haven't shared it with anyone else, because we haven't been instructed to, " Scott replied. He said he didn't recall when the chiefs received the report "Probably June - I'm not certain."

Finally, Scott was asked if he was unwilling to comment on the situation.

"Well, I can't, you know. I'm under my own marching orders here. It's been a chiefs' thing, you know," was his response. Scott said he had no knowledge of whether other positions were being terminated.

Scott had volunteered that the association chairman, Chief Eric Gadwa of Kehewin, is a key decision-maker whom Windspeaker should talk to. Gadwa, Bearhead and several other chiefs and band administrators did not return our telephone calls made prior to Sept. 10.

Chief Harvey Bulldog at Beaver Lake said, "I didn't even know they had a vote. First tme I heard about it today. I'm just out in the cold for everything. I never got no notice of a meeting."

Chief Morris Monias at Heart Lake said, "I have a lot of respect for Mr. Lameman . . . but I guess I'd have to support my fellow chiefs." He said he'd withhold further comment until the next day (Sept. 9), the day after a chiefs' meeting. He said to contact him then. Windspeaker did, but he did not return our telephone call.

Chief Francis Alexis at Alexis First Nation said, "I wouldn't know too much about it." He said he's not been chief long and couldn't comment unless someone "updated" him.