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Updated: May 8th, 2008 - 20:33:00 |
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STAND OFF — A group of Blood Tribe members has drafted a petition calling for the resignation of chief and council for what they claim is mismanagement.
“We’ve given them a deadline of May 24,” said Sheldon Day Chief, a group member. “In lieu of that, they could draft a band council resolution to allow the federal government to do a forensic audit and internal investigation.”
Day Chief manned a table outside the Chief Shot On Both Sides Building in Stand Off Tuesday, his second day of collecting signatures.
“We’re estimating (we have) over 300 signatures already just in a day and a half of being out here,” he said.
Posters taped to windows behind the table called for a stop to mismanagement and bullying, both personal and on-the-job. The group is also demanding a forensic audit on the tribe’s finances. He said chief and council were made aware of the petition through a letter.
The issues are similar to those that prompted a walkout by the tribe’s public works employees last summer. Employees said they felt they were being bullied by a boss who threatened their jobs if they voiced an opinion. They also claimed the reserve was rife with nepotism, with good jobs going to relatives of chief and council and those in the upper levels of administration.
Some of their concerns were ironed out and work resumed but Day Chief said many other concerns haven’t been touched.
“They haven’t done nothing to follow up, to even start looking into it,” he said. “(Group) members feel we’re left with no recourse but to further our measures of action to put them to task.”
Fuel to add to their fire comes from the tribe’s audited statements. Day Chief obtained a copy of the document and the accompanying management letter from the accounting firm. He points out the average salary, including travel and honoraria, for a councillor is about $100,000. The top six or seven administrative salaries total another nearly $600,000.
“This is way too much as far as I’m concerned,” Day Chief said.
Sherri Blackwater, another group member, also manned the petition table Tuesday.
“The only ones benefiting are council, board and committee members,” she said. “What they don’t understand is we, the people, put them there and we, the people, can get them out. In other words, it’s cleanup time.”
Day Chief has also been in touch with the complaints and allegations unit of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and expects to meet with two representatives of the department over the next few days.
At noon Friday, a meeting to air concerns with the federal officials will be held at the Community Lighthouse Gospel Church at the intersection of Hwys. 2 and 509 in Stand Off. Lunch will be available. Another open meeting has been scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. at one of the public arenas in Stand Off. Notices will be posted once the location has been determined.
Blood Tribe chief and council declined to comment at this time. |
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by Lethbridge Herald.com
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