Stoney tribal administrator ousted

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The furor over the exit of the Stoney Nation's tribal administrator Rick Butler last month seems destined to die down and only a few will know why he went. Sweetgrass didn't hear one voice raised to condemn Butler. In fact there were indications from a couple of sources that he was doing a good job. But he's gone, and will get $65,000 in severance pay, according to one Stoney councillor, Greg Twoyoungmen.

Twoyoungmen alleges Butler is merely the latest in a string of wrongful dismissals that, not counting Butler's, has cost the Stoney tribe $328,000 plus legal fees since December 1996.

Butler's departure was announced one day after the Sept.16 release of provincial court Judge John Reilly's report to the minister of justice and attorney general on the suicide of a 17-year-old on the Stoney reserve at Morley last year. The 18-page report hits the Stoney Nation's tribal government for "abuses of power," gross mismanagement that includes misappropriation of tribal funds, and blocking of education and economic development initiatives. The judge blames Indian Affairs as much as the band council. According to Twoyoungmen, the judge has got it right and the reason Butler was let go was because he would not support the corruption.

The Stoney Nation has more than 3,000 members and consists of three bands, each with its own chief and four councillors. The Bearspaw band's chief is Darcy Dixon, who according to Twoyoungmen had no part in getting rid of Butler. Long-time Chief John Snow Sr., whom Twoyoungmen blames for most of the nation's problems since the late 1960s, was re-elected in 1996 as leader of the Wesley band. Chief Paul Chiniquay heads the Chiniki band.

None of the chiefs, the band managers or the other 11 councillors would talk to Sweetgrass. Likewise the man replacing Butler. A former chief also did not return our telephone call.

It's widely known that the Stoney Nation has been under third-party management, imposed by Indian Affairs in September 1997, and that a subsequent forensic audit resulted in 43 matters being turned over to the RCMP for investigation. Whether that investigation is complete or not, like the Butler matter, is a matter of dispute. The RCMP report the investigation remains ongoing. Twoyoungmen said that's not true.

On Sept. 27, Butler was tight-lipped about his own situation, but said "What you read in the paper is true," referring to his ousting by two of the three Stoney chiefs, Snow and Chiniquay.

Indian Affairs would not address the judge's remarks about the department, nor would it say whether the infamous Stoney saga is connected to Butler's departure.

After a week of prodding Indian Affairs' communications department to be allowed to talk to their staffer working with the Stoney administration, we got no indication what sparked the controversy around Butler.

Finally, on Sept. 28, Indian Affairs' senior manager Fred Jobin responded to our request for information:

"Mr. Butler has a contract. . . . Mr. Butler has been advised in writing he has not been terminated, so Mr. Butler knows that, " said Jobin. "In fact, that's also the position of the Stoney tribe, notwithstanding what you hear." He then went on to say Butler was taking a holiday and Ian Getty was "acting tribal administrator."

By Oct. 1, Butler said the terms of his severance were being worked out and he was job hunting.

Jobin's not Indian Affairs' man in the field anymore - that's Norm Brennand. But Jobin, now director for Treaty 8, has had a long association with Stoney and is the senior man.

"I'm still responsible for the file," Jobin said. He adds he works closely with Brennand, provides direction to the third party manager, Price Waterhouse Cooper, and handles media inquiries that have been screened by Indian Affairs' communications department, "if they're significant." Sweetgrass was asked to provide our questions to the department in writing.

Brennand, who visited Morley Sept. 24, left a message at Sweetgrass that he dscussed our queries for two hours with Indian Affairs' communications director before calling us Sept. 27. His response: "My hands are a little bit tied up with our internal process. My apologies for not being able to say what I'd like to you over the phone - that's more my style, but I'm not able to do that."

Twoyoungmen's view on Butler's departure is he "didn't want to come back, because he had been embarrassed in public."

Why did the chiefs want Butler out? Twoyoungmen was asked.

"Because he wouldn't comply with one man's request in his quest for control of the reserve," Twoyoungmen said.

What did they want Butler to do?

"Things that were uncalled for. Things that were out of the ordinary, like fire people, find reasons to fire so-and-so . . ." Twoyoungmen asserted.