(O’Bash’kaan’da’gaang) – Katherine Whitecloud, Knowledge keeper, mother, grandmother from Wipazoka Wakpa, Dakota Oyate in Southwestern Manitoba has been elected by her community Leadership in the upcoming election for National Chief at the Assembly of First Nations 2018 in Vancouver BC on July 25, 2018.
Chosen at a young age to represent her people, Katherine Whitecloud has been a spokesperson for over 30 years in many leadership roles such as the Chief of her community, Director of Education, CEO of Assembly of First Nations, Director of Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and many leadership roles in Sacred Gatherings such as Onjisay Aki – “The Changing of the Earth” Climate Change Initiatives Led by the First Peoples.
The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (“AMC”) rejects the notion that Indigenous Nations must fit within Western laws. The Great Binding Law originates from the worldviews and cultural contexts of Indigenous Nations. It is a way of life and encompasses many laws. It guides us in ways of achieving good relationships with all our relations. It teaches us that everything is related and one cannot think about the impacts of decisions on humans without considering the impacts and needs of all living beings.
Katherine Whitecloud stated passionately, “we have murdered and missing women, we have children that are dying from many illnesses, we have our people dying of so many health challenges and our people suffering from drug addictions, and all that stems from our elders telling us.. it is a spiritual deficit. It’s a deficit of knowing who we are. If we know who we are and we stand proud in that and gain our strength from that. We wouldn’t have to rely on drugs to medicate us because when we medicate ourselves, we are not addressing what it is that is hurting inside that we feel we have to use them. Our children are feeling the effects of the land. The people are feeling it because we are connected to the land. So we feel everything that’s going on with her and we have rampant illnesses in our communities and amongst our people. The rules and the laws from how we conduct our lives are all in our language and spirit.” She is about the people and the protocols and teachings of our ways as Anishinabek people of Turtle Island.
The Assembly of First Nations election year 2018 will be held in on July 25, 2018, in the Vancouver Convention Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia. Nominations commence eight (8) weeks prior to the Election. Nomination papers (2018) are available only through the AFN Election Office in Ottawa
Nominations are final on June 19, 2018 at 11:59 pm, five weeks prior to elections
Nomination papers will be made available at the Electoral Office in Ottawa, Ontario
Individuals interested in becoming a Candidate for National Chief are invited to contact the Chief Electoral Officer, Loretta Pete Lambert, AFN (613)241-6789 ext. 133, toll free 1-866-869-6789 or email her at lpetelambert@afn.ca.
