Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation Chief Gerald R. Antoine has put his name forward to become the next Dene National Chief. He’ll be running against incumbent Norman Yakeleya. Nominations closed on Aug. 11. To be eligible, each candidate needed at least five Dene people to support their nominations, two of them…
Following three oaths, a prayer song, and singing pledges, what is there left to do but celebrate with drum dance? Tłı̨chǫ drummers had Jane Weyallon Armstrong’s friends and family dancing Thursday afternoon after seeing her sworn in as their new voice in the Legislative Assembly. “I feel relieved now that…
Jane Weyallon Armstrong has been elected to represent the Tłı̨chǫ people in the Legislative Assembly as the member-elect for the Monfwi riding. According to unofficial results, Weyallon Armstrong received 503 votes — about double the number of votes for runner-up Kelvin Kotchilea. John Gon and James Wah-Shee received 98 and…
Frederick Blake Jr., Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, has appointed Justice Ronald Barclay to be the adjudicator in the conduct complaint against MLA Steve Norn. Barclay is a retired judged from Saskatchewan who also served as the province’s conflict of interest commissioner for a decade. He’s now in charge of…
The nomination period has opened for an election to replace former Monfwi MLA Jackson Lafferty. Nominations are open until Friday, July 2; residents can submit their papers to Returning Officer Harriet Koyina at the friendship centre in Behchokǫ̀. Residents in the smaller Tłı̨chǫ communities can find nomination papers on the…
An inquiry into MLA Steve Norn’s breaking of public health orders is in the public’s best interest, according to the NWT’s integrity commissioner. The integrity commissioner decides whether a complaint should be thrown out or refers it to an independent adjudicator. In early May, Rylund Johnson filed a complaint against…
When Norman Yakeleya first became Dene National Chief he was struck by how the Dene Nation “as a whole was not working.” Soon after being elected to the position, he was at a gathering where he says a Tłı̨chǫ youth asked “Who is the Dene Nation? What do they stand…
The passing of a federal bill commemorating the legacy of the residential school system and creation of a statutory holiday is bitter-sweet for Dene National Chief Norman Yakeleya. In late May, Parliament fast-tracked Bill C-5 to the Senate; then earlier this month, Senators unanimously passed the bill to recognize Sept….
Frame Lake MLA Kevin O’Reilly introduced a private member’s bill which passed second reading in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday. But it did so without the support of cabinet. The bill would amend legislation to allow for the disclosure of information on resource royalties to an MLA or Indigenous government…
Many MLAs, ministers and Premier Caroline Cochrane expressed their disappointment and sadness in the recent discovery of Indigenous children’s remains at a former residential school site in Kamloops, B.C. Monday. Lisa Semmler, MLA for Inuvik Twin Lakes, said it was insulting that using the term genocide was ever debated. “Genocide…