Atleo States First Nations Division Insignificant to Shared Objectives

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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The national chief of Assembly of First Nations, Shawn Atleo, has stated that all divisions within the aboriginal community are insignificant in regard to their shared objectives, which include end of “the status quo.” He also mentioned that majority of the community’s objective are also the objectives of the rest of Canadians.

Atleo, who recently returned from a 10-day leave of absence due to illness, did not seemed upset about the visible division among chiefs across the country. Talking to the press in Vancouver on Thursday, Mr. Atleo mentioned that “of course there is going to be wide-ranging opinions.” He admitted that it’s not his duty to actually negotiate treaty rights, but only to help in doing so. He alleged that “we are deeply diverse … Canadians are used to having regional differences.” Before going for the leave, Mr. Atleo was being highly criticized among several chiefs, who expressed deep resentment against him for not taking a stand on the verdict of meeting with Prime Minister on Jan. 11, along with the absence of Governor-General David Johnston at the meeting.

The resentful chiefs, who also boycotted the meeting, included chiefs of Manitoba, Ontario and the Northwest Territories. In fact last week, several AFN regional chiefs were rumored to have discussed the process of holding a no-confidence vote against Mr. Atleo. The AFN spokesperson denied the rumors, saying that the topic did not end up being raised during the meeting. On the contrary, the tribal chief of the Shuswap first nation, Shane Gottfriedson, stated “It makes me sick that some of our people, some of our chiefs, have gone after our national chief.”