Glen Korstrom
Northern News Services

INUVIK (Sep 11/98) - Some Gwich'in planning to be out of town on Sept. 25 made it to an advance poll in Inuvik Sept. 4 to make sure their voices could be heard in the Gwich'in Tribal Council elections.

About one quarter, or 250, of all registered Gwich'in beneficiaries are registered in Inuvik. Another 90 beneficiaries call Tsiigehtchic home while 130 live in Aklavik. Almost half of all eligible voters, or about 450 Gwich'in, live in Fort McPherson.

Most will wait until Sept. 25 to mark their ballots.

Incumbent Richard Nerysoo and challenger James Ross are vying for GTC president, while Richard Wilson, Johnny Kaye, Barry Greenland, Louise Lennie, M. Winnie Blake and Ernest Firth are in the running for GTC vice-president.

And while the candidates are out campaigning, many Gwich'in beneficiaries say the choice is difficult because there are so many qualified candidates.

"I'm looking for someone who is responsible and listens to the people and I look for how they interact with people," said undecided elder Ellen Smith.

"There needs to be a major clean-up of the organization and restructuring. Right now it's dysfunctional."

Smith is pushing for a permanent GTC elders' council, something she says people have requested for years.

Elders on that council would be assured their views were regularly listened to and considered. Now, Smith says elders are phoned only when they are needed for different events but are not part of the decision-making structure.

For Mabel Brown, who also says she is undecided, her voting decision will be made on the basis of who she feels is best able to "get everyone involved."

She says education is important and winning candidates should have a vision of how to help develop the skills and potential of many Gwich'in while adding encouragement.

Meanwhile, for John Blake, who was waiting in a room just outside the advance poll, the key is jobs.

"There needs to be more job creation," he says.

"We need someone who has a better understanding of where we're going."