Northern Chief Likes AFN Universal Vote Proposal

Northern Chief Likes AFN Universal Vote Proposal

Thursday, December 08, 2005 at 15:51

The chief of the Red Earth First Nation says he approves of a proposal that would see First Nations residents electing a national chief.

This week, the Assembly of First Nations Renewal Commission submitted the recommendation to an AFN special chiefs assembly, proposing an electoral system where eligible First Nations people would partake in a popular ballot.

Currently, voting for the AFN chief is handled by the more than 600 First Nations chiefs across Canada.

However, Miller Nawakayas says the process would be a tough one to implement — noting the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations pitched the same idea a few years ago without much success.

The chief says the notion of “one member, one vote” sounds good on paper, but a lot of work would have to be done before it could happen.

He adds cost is another factor that would have to be taken into consideration.