Tammy Cook-Searson being congratulated at today’s LLRIB swearing-in ceremony. Courtesy of Facebook.
Tammy Cook-Searson has been sworn in as chief of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band. Cook-Searson won re-election on Friday with over 1700 votes, besting her nearest competition, Bruce Mackenzie, by over 840 votes. Seven new council members were elected, with five incumbent’s returning to office.
Cook-Searson says she is looking forward to working with the new members of Council.
“When you are in a leadership position, it’s a very challenging job, but there are so many exciting things on the horizon and lots of work to be done.”
She also thanked the seven council members, who were not re-elected for their time and commitment to the Lac La Ronge Indian Band. She says the immediate plans for the new council include plans for a mental health treatment centre for La Ronge and addressing the needs of mental health and wellness for the community.
“We went through a crisis last year with our youth and we are still concerned and want to reach out to our young people and work with them. We support our people no matter what,” she added.
Cook-Searson says in her campaign, she visited all the communities that are part of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band and said people told her that education is vital to the band. She also said that the LLRIB is working towards setting up its own education authority to address concerns on reducing funding for on-reserve students compared to those that attend schools off the reserve. She also says that protecting language and culture is important to members in the band.
Cook-Searson says that there are still areas that the band needs to improve on to meet the needs of all members, whether it is in Hall Lake or Grandmother’s Bay or in La Ronge.
Cook-Searson first won a spot on council in 1997 and has served as the band’s chief since 2005.
Voter turnout was higher for this election, which saw 500 more voters than the last election due to polling stations in Saskatoon and Prince Albert.