AFN elects interim national chief ahead of annual meeting

The Assembly of First Nations has appointed a new temporary leader as the advocacy group tries to find a way forward after the tumultuous tenure and the ousting of its national chief.

Joanna Bernard, regional chief for New Brunswick, has been elected as interim national chief until a new one is elected in December.

“It is critical that the Assembly of First Nations resume its important work to advance First Nations priorities,” Bernard said in a press release Monday.

The decision comes ahead of this week’s annual general meeting in Halifax, where hundreds of Indigenous leaders will gather for the first time since former national head RoseAnne Archibald was ousted from the organization’s helm.

Archibald has said she can attend the meeting, scheduled for Tuesday through Thursday, and is asking leaders to reinstate her.

Archibald was voted out at a special meeting of heads on June 28, which also dealt with a staff inquiry related to complaints AFN personnel filed a report against her. The resolution was passed with support from about 70 percent of those who participated in the virtual meeting.

“I think this is another opportunity to try to reset and get some work done,” said Scott McLeod, head of Nipissing First Nation in Ontario.

McLeod voted to impeach the former national chief after learning the summary of the personnel investigation. It reviewed five complaints against Archibald and found that some of her behavior amounted to harassment. It also found that Archibald failed to maintain confidentiality and violated AFN policies, including by retaliating against complainants.

However, McLeod said the investigation was the final straw after more than a year of chaos that he says has hindered any progress at the organization, which represents more than 600 First Nations across the country.

“It seemed more and more that our meetings always turned into internal bickering rather than trying to get things done as an organization,” McLeod said.

A collective voice for Indigenous advocacy remains important, he said, but it needs new leadership and stability.

Niigaan Sinclair, a professor at the University of Manitoba, said the removal of the national chief comes at a time of turmoil for the organization.

He said the successful vote to remove Archibald, which amounted to about a fifth of the leaders, seems questionable, as it comes after the national leader called for transparency, governance and accountability within the assembly.

He wondered why the vote wasn’t held at the annual meeting or if it would have been a better choice to let Archibald complete her three-year term.

“Removing hair is a very bad look,” Sinclair said.

Sinclair also noted that the AFN is a lobbying group for chiefs, not a government, and that the spokesman is supposed to follow the will of the chiefs.

Archibald became the first woman to lead the national role in 2021, but her term has been a tumultuous one. She was suspended as national head last June and reinstated at a general meeting the following month.

Archibald has claimed she was targeted for fighting corruption at the AFN and for insisting on a financial audit. She has also called for an independent investigation into possible government interference.

The Office of the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations said it would be inappropriate to comment.

“The investigation into the Assembly of First Nations workplace and the decision to fire RoseAnne Archibald as the AFN National Chief is an internal matter within the organization,” it said in a statement.

Joe Alphonse, Tl’etinqox First Nation Chief and Tribal Chairman of the Tsilhqot’in National Government in British Columbia, said “the problem with the AFN (is) too many leaders, not enough warriors.”

Alphonse, who voted to keep Archibald as national head, said the release of the staff investigation was a “gong show” and he found it lacking credibility. Voting out the chief was a demonstration of weak governance, Alphonse said.

“Personally, I think it has really weakened the AFN,” he said, adding that his focus will be on his First Nation and that he will only support the Indigenous organization if it moves to a better place.

The assembly has come under fire from opponents and supporters of Archibald, but many say this does not mean abandoning the organization itself. Sinclair said there will always be a need for a national voice or a national organization to bring leaders together, especially when it comes to issues of Indian law.

The upcoming AFN meeting will include updates on a national climate strategy, safe drinking water, indigenous policing and governance.

McLeod said he understands that many people feel that the AFN is becoming irrelevant because it has “messed around for the past few years”.

“We don’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater,” he said.

“There is a role for the AFN.”