SADDLE LAKE – Saddle Lake Cree Nation held the inauguration of its newly elected chief and council on June 20.
John E. Large, James R. Steinhauer, former chief Glen J. Whiskeyjack, Eddy Makokis, Charles A. Cardinal, Kevin A. Delver, Kenton F. Cardinal, and Arthur C. Steinhauer will form the new council, with Dale E. Steinhauer selected as chief.
Dale, who has been an educator for over 30 years, was selected as chief. Speaking to Lakeland This Week, she is positive about the future and says the council has similar interests. "We all echo each the same thing, which is great," she says.
These focuses include healthcare, housing, safety, and education. "Now, it's about making it happen."
Improving unity within Saddle Lake is also a primary focus, she says, which is among the reasons she chose to run for leadership. "Wîcihitotak. Let's help one another. Let's bring this camp together."
Dale says Saddle Lake has many talents and leaders to draw from with different areas of expertise, from doctors and lawyers, to skilled tradespeople. "We have them all here," and it's only a matter of bringing everyone together to push Saddle Lake forward, she says.
"We've been separated, divided, and oppressed by a system that's been pushed onto us," she adds. A system that is not the First Nation system of governance. "That's what I want to remind people. We need to embrace our own way of doing things. Our way of being."
"We have our own epistemology, our way of knowing," says Dale.
Former chief Whiskeyjack agrees, expressing confidence in the new chief. "I feel confident enough because at the end of the day, I think we all have to sit down and remember that we're working for the people."
That's why, he says, when "the young ones asked me how can I have a big smile and didn't make chief again," he replies that he does not see it as a loss for himself. "I still got a lot of work ahead of me," he says, explaining council's goal is ultimately for the betterment of the people.
That includes improving unity among the members of the Nation, and unity with other First Nations too, he says. When he was chief, Whiskeyjack says unity was a primary focus of his, which included helping bringing Saddle Lake together to fight for its treaty rights.
"I hope the Nation continues to go down that path, because people all over Turtle Island are depending on us to make a trail for everybody," says Whiskeyjack.
The new chief is the second female chief to be elected in Saddle Lake, with Chief Cherillene Steinhauer serving in the role from 1995-98, according to information from the Saddle Lake Cree Nation website.
