RoseAnne Archibald has been elected as the new leader of the Chiefs of Ontario, representing Indigenous interests across the province.

Archibald, chief of the Taykwa Tagamou Nation near Cochrane, was elected during the 44th annual All Ontario Chiefs Conference held June 26-28 in Nipissing First Nation, near North Bay.

Among the other candidates was incumbent Isadore Day, of the Sagamok Anishnawbek, who had served as Ontario regional chief for the last three years.

Archibald is the first woman to hold the role of Ontario regional chief, and was also the first woman to serve as chief of Taykwa Tagamou. Her other roles have included grand chief of the Mushkegowuk Council and deputy grand chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation, in addition to having close to 30 years of experience working with First Nations in various capacities.

Since 2009, Archibald has run a successful consulting business, providing consulting services to First Nations and their organizations, specializing in negotiations, co-chairing/facilitating meetings, and providing guidance and advice to First Nation leaders.

Archibald’s election elicited congratulations from several Indigenous organizations.

“RoseAnne’s heart has always been with our people,” said Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler in a news release. “I am confident she will be a strong advocate for the North in this challenging new role.”

Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Glen Hare also offered his best wishes.

“I’m looking forward to working with the provincial territorial organizations and new leaders such as RoseAnne. We have our work cut out, but everyone is smiling and we need to work together as one to get it done,” Hare said in a release.

“I would also like to say miigwech (thank you) to Isadore Day for his commitment and leadership over the past few years.”

The Chiefs of Ontario is an advocacy organization and secretariat for collective decision-making, action, and advocacy for the 133 First Nation communities located within the boundaries of the province.

The theme of this year’s conference is Securing a Future for our Children: Advancing Our Nations. Some of the topics on the agenda include health, education, and reflections from Elders and youth.

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from 2014

http://www.netnewsledger.com/2014/08/20/mushkegowuk-council-sets-ring-of-fire-business-case/

Mushkegowuk Council Sets Ring of Fire Business Case

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MUSHKEGOWUK HOMELANDS – The Mushkegowuk Council has announced they will coordinate the development of their business case in support of a Ring of Fire rail, sea port, fibre-optic, and energy transportation corridor through an Aboriginal-led-alliance. “We now have the experience, people, credibility and knowledge to take an active role in leading the development of infrastructure corridors. We have learned from our mistakes and we have the confidence from our successes” said Deputy Grand Chief Leo Friday.

Deputy Grand Chief Leo Friday, on behalf of Mushkegowuk Council, announced to the Matawa Council of Chiefs at their annual general meeting on July 31st, 2014 that Mushkegowuk is fully supportive of Matawa’s interests in the Ring of Fire.

Mushkegowuk Seeks Matawa Agreement

In the spirit of our joint declaration between Matawa and Mushkegowuk Chiefs, Mushkegowuk Council offered the Matawa Council of Chiefs to jointly develop sustainable infrastructure opportunities to unlock the economic potential of the Ring of Fire while safeguarding ing the historic rivers of the Matawa and Mushkegowuk homelands.

For example; Mushkegowuk’s Moose Cree First Nation and Taykwa Tagamou Nation have negotiated equity partnerships in power generation stations.

Mushkegowuk’s member communities of Attawapiskat , Fort Albany and Kashechewan own Five Nations Energy which in turn, owns an established transmission corridor, roughly 100 kilometres from the easterly limits of the Ring of Fire.

Mushkegowuk homelands are ideally located across the Bay from one of the world’s most inexpensive sources of electric power.

Furthermore, Mushkegowuk owns Western James Bay Telecom that has an existing fibre-optic line to Attawapiskat from Moosonee.

Past studies have shown that James Bay could be considered a prospect for a seasonal seaport. If a rail option were to be developed from the eastern corridor of the Ring of Fire to a seasonal seaport, this could bring investment certainty and positive economic benefits to many resource related projects in northern Ontario.

The Deputy Grand Chief, Council of Chiefs with the support of the technical staff, professionals of the Mushkegowuk Council and professional public infrastructure advisers now have the task of developing and implementing action and work plans in support of the business case and a possible alliance with Matawa Council of Chiefs.