Cold Lake chooses white woman chief

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COLD LAKE - Anger, shock, and cries of "foul" are the aftermath of a recent by-election at cold Lake First Nations Reserve which resulted in a white woman gaining the position of chief of the reserve.

Elaine Janvier won the hotly-consented seat by one vote. The by-election was called following the surprise resignation of the chief, Maynard Metchewais, and four of six council members.

Mrs. Janvier, a Caucasian married to a Treaty Band member, has been the reserve office manager for several years prior to being voted in an chief March 11. According to reserve laws, only Treaty Indians on the band list and residing on the reserve are eligible to nominate, vote and run for office in an election. Under the federal Indian Act, Mrs. Janvier, a non-Indian, is considered to have Treaty status because of her marriage to Jack Janvier, a full-blooded Chipewyan. This controversial issue, coupled with allegations of election irregularities, is the reason behind the public outcry against Janvier's win.

The by-election has left a feeling of disbelief among the people and, while many spoke of Mrs. Janvier as a well-liked and respected person, all were adamant that a non-Indian person running the reserve was an impossible and intolerable situation.

Mrs. Janvier was unavailable for comment having left the reserve to Edmonton on family business. In her absence, the newly-elected council appointed Alex Charland as acting chief.

Speaking about events that led up to the by-election, Mr. Charland explained

the resignations came as a result of internal matters and conflict between the former council members and the chief. He would not elaborate on the matter, further stating it was private reserve business. Several years ago Metchawais had been elected as chief and had resigned half-way through the term of health reasons. He ran for chief in the latest election held in 1985 and was returned to office for the second time.

At the nomination meeting March 4th, Mrs. Janvier was nominated and seconded by a reserve resident. According to Mr. Charland, she had never stated any intention to run for chief and no dispute arose regarding her gaining office until allegations were made that ineligible voters had cast ballots. In the weeks between the nominations and the elections, no formal protest was made in regards to the ethical questions of Mrs. Janvier running for chief.

The question of voting legality is almost a side issue, Charland went on to say, as the ramifications of having Janvier as chief were realized. "Our biggest issue at this point is Bill C-31 and here we have a white woman as chief," he said. "Elaine is a well-respected person on this reserve. She's a top office manager and has done a very good job all the years she's worked here. But we're on the spot. We have pride as an Indian nation. we'll have no credibility among our people if we have a white woman as chief. It's not her personally, she's a good person. But this is an Indian reserve. She is from white society."

Because of the repercussions that would follow, the council asked Janvier to reconsider her decision to stand as chief.

Acting Chief Charland explained that "we asked her to take some time to consider the band's position and credibility and realize this was an unworkable situation she was in. But we also assured her this was her decision. If she decided to remain as chief we would stand behind her and respect that decision and work with her."

When Janvier failed to attend a council business meeting the following day, on the eve of an important three-day, joint Alberta/Saskatchewan Treaty Six conference, the council telephoned her at home.

"She told us she felt we were ganging up on her although at no time did we raise our voices to her or threaten her or intimidate her in any way. We still don't know what her decision is at this point," Charland said. He added though, that "the very thing we've been fighting against all these years is white people runningour affairs and now we have a white chief. It can't work."

Following the election results, Jim Ruler, Department of Indian Affairs district manager in St. Paul was contacted regarding the nomination and voting legalities. As usual, the electoral list containing the names of voters and their treaty numbers is sub-mitted to the department following an election. Department officials hold the list for 30 days in the event of an appeal. If there is no appeal, the list and ballots are destroyed. This time, officials are being asked to go over the voters list and Treaty numbers to ensure all those appearing on the list were actual residents of the reserve at the time of the election. If some were not, the election will be invalidated.

Francis Scanie, long-time councillor and former chief, echoed Alex Charland in commenting on the situation. "As Chipewyan people, we're proud of being Treaty Indian on our reserve. This has put our pride in the dust." He said he'd receive telephone calls from Treaty women who'd married off the reserve and thereby lost their status. "They're asking how is it that we won't let them back on the reserve since the government gave them their treaty status back but yet we'll let a white woman be our chief. They have a valid point."

Speaking on the election results, he said "Out of 252 votes, she got 51. That means that 201 of our people did not vote for her. "Sam Minoose came second highest

in the vote count with 50 ballots case in his favor. In all, nine people ran for the position as chief. Mrs. Janvier was the only woman nominated.

Former chief Marcel Piche had an interesting viewpoint. "She (Janvier) was used as a means to humble the general population. The people that orchestrated this voted en masse." Although he wouldn't elaborate on who this group might be, he did state there was strong feeling on the reserve about the issue of disenfranchised Treaty women having lost and recently gaining back their status after a long and bitter fightwith the federal government and their own reserves, while those women who's gained Treaty status through marriage had not been affected and that particular issue had not been addressed fairly.

The women's lobby group, Indian Rights for Indian Women, an organization formed on disenfranchised Treaty women seeking a fair and equitable solution to the aforementioned question, does have members on the Cold Lake First Nations reserve. There are actually three groups that make up the reserve: Chipewyan, Crees and Metis.

"This (election issue) just adds fuel to their fire," Piche stated. The reserve has been cautious about moving in any direction in relation to women's Treaty status either gained or lost through marriage. The amendment to the Indian act, Bill C-31, has created a furor on reserves across Canada since it gave back Treaty entitlement to disenfranchised women but did not remove Treaty status from non-Indians who'd married status Indians.

The ramifications of this bill now have been brought right to the reserve doorstep and the implications are enormous.

Piche said "nobody noticed (possible ineligible voters) until after the election was over. It will probably all have to be done over. Asked about his feelings on Janvier's elections, he said he felt "common sense would prevail and she most likely will step down."

Two women members who attended the election voiced their opinion. One said "she should have declined when nominated. I don't think its a good idea for her to be chief." The other stated "our leader should be a Treaty Indian by blood. This is not a personal feeling against Elaine, it's just a fact. Marriage doesn't make white people treaty Indians." Both women asked for anonymity before speaking to Windspeaker because of the highly sensitive mood of the people on the issue.

Windspeaker attempted to contact former chief Metchewais at his home. His wife, Joyce, also a councillor who had resigned with her husband, stated "Maynard isn't here and I kno he wouldn't make a comment and I also don't have anything to say at this time."

If an election appeal is launched, the issue will be decided in Ottawa.

An emergency band meeting has been slated for Monday, March 17 to give all reserve members a chance to voice their opinions on the controversy. It is expected Mrs. Janvier will be back on the reserve by that time.