The Assembly of First Nations is hosting its annual general assembly this week in Halifax just after the national chief was removed.
On June 28, a Special Chiefs Assembly was convened to “report on the findings of a human resources investigation” into now-former AFN national chief RoseAnne Archibald.
Archibald was accused of workplace harassment and creating a toxic work environment, which led to an investigation and report.
The report reviewed five complaints against the former chief and found her behaviour to be harassment in more than one instance.
Allegations against Archibald began less than a year after she was elected and simultaneous to her calling for a forensic audit into alleged corruption and “toxicity” in the organization — something she campaigned on.
Temporarily without a national chief, the AFN has appointed Joanna Bernard, New Brunswick regional chief, until an election is held in December.
In a Facebook video posted after her removal, Archibald told people to call their chief and council, ask that she be reinstated and make sure the forensic audit goes ahead.
“I know that this pushback I’m getting is because I have been fighting corruption at the AFN,” she said in a post.
She went live on Facebook to speak to how the AFN is “supposed” to function and how relationships play a big role in the organization.
“What’s unacceptable are the actions of the regional chiefs, they have run amok,” she said. “And I have been saying this for quite some time: the AFN has no oversight.
“There’s no confederacy of nations, there’s no way to oversee the executive committee. This kind of lack of oversight has resulted in this unjust situation.”
Many regional chiefs and chiefs across the country supported her removal. When the vote was called, 163 chiefs and proxies voted to get rid of Archibald and 62 voted against her removal.
The AFN represents over 600 First Nations across the country and many chiefs didn’t vote. During Archibald’s Facebook live, Chief Elizabeth Kataquapit of Fort Albany First Nation commented, “I never saw or read the full report and I’m the chief for my community.”
What can be expected during the AGA?
Dan David, Mohawk freelance journalist, consultant and commentator from Kanesatake, Que., said it’s likely the general assembly in Halifax this week will be explosive.
“You’re going to see chiefs going into camps, you see it already online where people are saying, let’s put all this behind us, let’s just go back to the way that things should be, which is let’s deal with the resolution and then go home nice and happy,” he said.
“And then there are others like, this was done wrong. It was absolutely wrong. It was a coup. And you guys did it illegally. And so we got to at least put her on the agenda.
“The chiefs have not been doing their jobs, they have not been keeping their own organization to account and you can’t (solve) that with once a year in meetings.”
Many First Nations people have said they don’t feel adequately represented by the AFN. David explains that this is nothing new and Archibald’s desire to address it likely led to her dismissal.
“She wanted to take a look where the money was coming from, where it was going, who was spending it and why. And that’s basic for any kind of an organization that’s using public monies,” said David.
“When she ran for national chief, that’s what she wanted to do. She wanted to open up not just the financial books, but open up everything. Because there were all kinds of rumours that had been going on for years and years about sexual harassment, about psychological abuse, about, well, all kinds of hanky panky.”
The agenda and draft resolutions
On the agenda this week: “protecting First Nations Rights and interests from unfounded Métis rights assertions,” a resolution that hopes to address a self-government agreement and implementation legislation signed by the Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) and the federal government that has led to disagreements between the MNO and various First Nations communities across northwestern Ontario.
As the Métis Nation of Alberta and Métis Nation of Saskatchewan have also signed self-government agreements with the federal government, this issue could have far-reaching impacts.
Also worth paying attention to is another resolution that calls on the federal government to redirect funding that currently goes to provinces for off-reserve members to First Nations governments so they can support their members wherever they are, and a resolution that calls on the federal government to formally recognize that the establishment and operation of Indian residential schools in Canada was genocide.
And despite not being on the agenda, Archibald’s removal will most likely be a major talking point.
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