AFN chief defends against removal, says opponents ‘acting like Indian agents’

RoseAnne Archibald, the first female national leader of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), accuses her regional leaders of hypocrisy, misogyny and “acting like Indian agents” as they recommend her for the second time in a year, documents obtained by CBC News Reveal.

The Ontario Cree leader has launched her political offensive after a meeting of the AFN executive committee on June 14 erupted in bitter bickering, according to recordings also obtained by CBC News.

After the meeting, Archibald distributed a series of confidential communiqués to the heads of the assembly, saying she denounced “a pattern of dishonesty, refusal, obstruction and outright denial of justice” by regional leaders.

“Silencing, excluding and marginalizing the most prominent female First Nations leader sets a dangerous and frightening precedent for First Nations women everywhere,” she said in an email to leaders.

All documents and recordings leaked to CBC News have been independently verified by multiple sources.

The AFN, a federally funded First Nations advocacy group, has been embroiled in a leadership dispute and internal controversy since at least late 2020.

The executive committee – made up of the national chief and the regional chiefs – met on June 14 to propose the agenda this week’s meeting behind closed doors about an investigation into Archibald’s behavior.

The investigation found that Archibald harassed two staffers and retaliated against five, says a confidential summary report by law firm Emond Harnden. Afterwards, the executive voted 10-0 to denounce Archibald and recommend her removal. Archibald responded with a refutationwho called the investigation a distraction from her drive to stamp out alleged corruption.

The regional leaders did not respond to emailed interview requests or said they could not comment, citing the 2022 AFN resolution directing the executive branch “not to make public comments to the media” on the matter.

However, in a June 13 letter to Archibald, Nova Scotia regional chief Paul Prosper told her she “risks legal claims and significant legal fees” that “could spell financial ruin for the organization.”

National and Ontario leaders bicker

Archibald’s latest messages are addressed to the First Nations-in-assembly and include a personal complaint against Ontario Regional Chief Glen Hare, four chronologies of internal events from her perspective, and a summary memo.

The complaint against Hare, dated June 14, is addressed to Ontario leaders and suggests that the leaders, both decades-long political veterans, had been at odds for months.

In what the complaint said was the latest in a series of conflicts, Archibald said Hare “mocked and laughed at me as he interrupted and talked over me” at the June 14 meeting.

A spokesperson for Hare’s office said he was unable to give interviews or make a statement because a confidential internal process has been initiated in connection with the complaint. His allegations have not been proven.

A recording of the exchange, of which CBC News has obtained three versions, shows mutual bickering as both Hare and Archibald interrupt each other.

The video opens with Hare opposing the draft agenda, which contained items Archibald’s camp wanted, namely the unresolved complaints from her office’s staff and complaints against the regional chiefs.

“National Chief, you are in conflict. Please listen to us. This is why we are where we are,” Hare says in the video.

He warns that the draft agenda will “just cause another big shake-up,” referring to the July 2022 meeting that descended into chaos when Archibald easily defeated the first no-confidence vote.

“I don’t support this,” says Hare, before listing the agenda items he wants removed. At that moment Archibald jumps in.

“I’m going to speak out now because you have a conflict of interest, Hare regional head,” she shouts in the video. He tries to cut her off, but she continues.

“You’re in a conflict of interest by trying to remove items that actually illuminate the full picture. There are some complaints from staff against executives that you don’t have to deal with – and that’s a conflict of interest.”

Archibald continues by accusing Hare of being “blocked [her] of attending his meeting,” referring to the Chiefs of Ontario (COO) meeting the previous day in Thunder Bay.

Hare’s COO is the umbrella organization for 133 bands in Ontario. On the agenda for June 13 was an on-camera discussion about the status of the AFN.

In the next day’s video, Hare immediately dismisses the accusation that he blocked Archibald. “Chief, can I correct that? Can I correct that? Chief, can I correct that?” he says.

“No, you can’t, because I have the floor. I have the floor!” Archibald replies, with Hare interrupting, saying “You had my floor yesterday!”

But the national chief keeps repeating: “I have the floor! I have the floor! I have the floor! I have the floor!”

“You came into my meeting! You came into my meeting! Don’t lie to us!’ Haas counters. “You came into my meeting yesterday! You came in there!’

“I didn’t have the floor in your meeting,” Archibald replies again, as Hare continues, “You came in there! You came in there!” He finally gives in and she makes her point.

“I did not have the floor in your meeting and you banned me from attending your meeting, so this is a very unfair process. You are in a conflict of interest, Hare regional head,” says Archibald.

“You are in a conflict of interest and every member of this executive committee has a conflict of interest about this because you are trying to block items that reveal the truth about you.”

The quarrel continues

As the video ends there, CBC News also obtained a nearly four-hour audio recording of the meeting, which showed that the divisive bickering continued.

On the recording, Hare’s chief of staff, Charlotte Commanda, soon steps in to make it clear that Ontario’s leaders chose not to hear the national leader.

At one point, about two and a half hours later, Joanna Bernard, New Brunswick regional chief, accuses Archibald of spreading a strongly one-sided account in these communiqués.

“You’re giving your side of the story without the whole picture here, and that’s where the problem lies,” says Bernard.

Bernard goes on to explain her opposition to the draft agenda, which included points about the group’s failure to restore internal harmony—for which Archibald blames regional leaders—and Archibald’s efforts to seek legal advice.

In her June 14 memo, Archibald alleges that the AFN has refused to approve multiple lawyer contracts for her firm, accusing regional leaders of “acting like Indian agents,” referring to a colonial policy that prevented First Nations lawyers from to employ.

In the meeting, Bernard points the finger back at the national leader.

“I feel – this is just my opinion, National Head – that we are not healing. This bullshit healing path forward and this love and peace thing, I’ve had it up to my ears,” Bernard says on the recording.

“I’m tired of hearing it when things you do are on the other side of that and undermine us as a leader.”

The chiefs-in-assembly will meet on Wednesday to discuss the fate of their leader in a virtual, one-day meeting closed to the public and media. The items that Archibald supported are not on the final agenda.

The national chief declined to give interviews ahead of the meeting, and her office would not directly answer questions about it.