A battle over who should be chief of the Yekooche First Nation came to an end Thursday following a showdown at the band's Prince George finance office.
Armed with signs declaring 35-year-old Partner Schielke the legitimate leader, about 25 band members and employees gathered in front of the Third Avenue office to block the entrance to 59-year-old Henry Joseph, who was narrowly elected chief in September.
The band consists of about 215 members, only 90 of whom live on the Yekooche's main reserve located at the west end of Stuart Lake, about an hour's drive past Fort St. James and about 240 kilometres northwest of Prince George.
Among Joseph's first moves after winning a four candidate race was to fire many of the 30 employees on the band's payroll, alleging corruption and financial mismanagement.
Joseph's opponents had previously attempted to have the September outcome scrapped alleging he used unethical means to draw votes away from Schielke. But when no one stepped forward at a review hearing to support the complaints, the outcome in Joseph's favour was upheld.
But opponents were not done - they began a recall petition that drew enough names to force a
second band election last week.
Schielke, who had been the band's chief prior to Joseph's win, was re-elected. However the election's legitimacy was confused when Joseph received an Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AADNC) letter dated Feb. 17 stating the band's election code has no recall provision and therefore would continue to "record" Joseph as chief.
But after the letter was sent, officials changed their position thanks to lobbying by Schielke's supporters and the previous administration's lawyer. AADNC recognized the win when it changed the name of the band's chief on its website this week.
AADNC officials limited their comments on the tussle to an
e-mailed response:
"The First Nation selects its leadership in accordance with its own selection process, outside the election provisions of the Indian Act. As such, AANDC does not play a role in determining how the community's leadership is selected or how governance disputes are resolved."
The change comes just as AANDC is to send out its 2012-13 funding arrangement for chief and council signature.
By early afternoon Thursday, the locks were changed on the Prince George office, and Schielke was back in the office.
The mood was upbeat among the office's new occupants, many of whom had not received a cheque in six weeks.
Joseph was at the scene for a period but by late morning had left the scene.
Angelica Rose, Mathew Joseph and Mitchell Joseph, who were elected in September, remain band councillors.
No recall vote and second election was held for those positions.
