The work of a long-serving tribal chief from northern B.C. was highlighted in an evening ceremony attended First Nations leaders from throughout the province on Thursday night.
In an evening event, Teegee's election as regional chief of the B.C. Assembly of First Nations was celebrated by delegates of the Assembly. Teegee was elected regional chief last October. He is the first member of the Takla Lake First Nation to be elected to the position.
The event was hosted by the Carrier Sekani Family Services, Carrier Sekani Tribal Council and the Takla Lake First Nation.
Assembly of First Nations Chief Perry Bellegarde spoke at the event.
"To the Teegee family, to the tribal council, to Takla, to Chief [Edward] John, what you've done is you've lifted up one of your citizens and you've empowered him," Bellegarde said.
In an emotional address at the event, Teegee's sister, Sandra spoke about the considerable challenges Teegee had faced while campaigning for the elected position.
"It wasn't with ease. There were some victorious times for our family to see it all happen. At that same time, he had to endure much," Sandra said.
Teegee lost several family member over the course of the campaign. His brother passed away while Teegee was in the midst of the campaign. Meanwhile, his father was diagnosed with dementia.
Teegee expressed thanks to other First Nations' leaders present at the event.
"The work we're trying to do is to unravel 151 years of colonization. That's what you chiefs and all our people are trying to do. That's what this whole term reconciliation means. To me that's a daunting task, but at the same time we're at an opportune time in history where we can start reversing those many decades that were imposed upon us," he said.
