Grand Chief Jerry Daniels of the Southern Chiefs Organization (SCO) was sent to hospital after an incident in Ottawa earlier this week.
Multiple sources who spoke with Global News, said Daniels was involved in an altercation Tuesday against three councilors from Lake St. Martin First Nation, a community three hours north of Winnipeg.
When asked about being called to an Ottawa bar involving the grand chief, Ottawa Police Service spokesperson Julie Kavanagh confirmed officers were called to the 100 block of York Street in the nation’s capital at 2:30 a.m. for a “disturbance” and transported a man — who they will not identify — to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Kavanagh says the investigation continues and no charges have been laid.
A woman at the Lake St. Martin band office said they have no comment about the matter.
Interlake Reserves Tribal Council, of which Lake St. Martin is a member, would not comment on what transpired in Ottawa.
Leaders were gathered in Ottawa for a three-day Assembly of First Nations special chiefs assembly that wrapped up Thursday.
The AFN deferred questions about the incident to the Southern Chiefs Organization, which did not respond to requests for comment or provide details about Daniels’ condition.
Global News has also reached out to Daniels directly, but he has not responded to interview requests.
The grand chief’s page on the Southern Chiefs Organization website had been pulled down as of Friday.
APTN News reports Chief Cornell McLean of Lake Manitoba First Nation confirmed he is acting chief of SCO for a “very short term” but would not discuss what transpired with Daniels or others on Tuesday.
In June, Daniels, a member of the Long Plain First Nation, was elected to a historic third term leading SCO and is at the center of a massive downtown development in Winnipeg that aims to address housing, mental health and addictions in partnership with True North Real Estate Development (TNRE).
Daniels was instrumental in getting the former Hudson’s Bay Company building transferred to SCO and is collaborating with TNRE on redeveloping Portage Place.
“We want to create a vibrant, dynamic downtown that leads to economic growth, improves quality of life for our people, and attracts visitors from near and far,” said Daniels at a news conference about the projects in December 2023.