Mike W. Bryant
Northern News Services

Kakisa (May 13/02) - With an approving nod from elders, the tiny community of Kakisa has scrapped plans for band elections set for next month.

An election was scheduled for June 3, but at a public meeting held April 24 community members gathered to tell Chief Lloyd Chicot and the community's four councillors they were doing just fine and no election is needed this year.

The band council will now likely pass a resolution next week striking the election off the agenda.

"That threw us off guard, because we were expecting an election," said Ka'a'gee Tu First Nation manager Ruby Landry.

"They (the elders) said things were going good the way they were."

There are approximately 40 people living in Kakisa, with 29 of them eligible to vote. Landry said there were 15 band members in attendance at the meeting, seven of them elders.

One by one, the elders rose before Chicot and council and offered their approval, some suggesting that a change in leadership could "mess up the band operation," said Landry.

Landry was uncertain whether the band had the authority to call off the election, so she contacted the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs' director of Indian and Inuit services, George Cleary, to find out.

She said Cleary told her as long as a majority of band members were at the meeting, the decision was theirs.

"All bands in the NWT are custom election," said Cleary. "It's up to them what to do. Obviously, a majority of the community was there."

He added that Ka'a'gee Tu First Nation's move to cancel the election is not unprecedented, referring to his tenure as chief of Deline.

"In the past, when I was chief of Deline, we had a choice of secret ballot or a show of hands at a general assembly," said Cleary.

One community member who attended the meeting, Margaret Leishman, said she will continue supporting the chief and council as long as the lines of communication remain open.

She said she feels it is important to keep the present chief and council in power while the Deh Cho process goes unresolved.

"I think if people are happy with the way things are here, there should be no interruption," said Leishman, noting that her father, Phillip Simba, was widely respected as chief of Fort Providence and Kakisa during his 30-year reign.

"If you continue changing leaders nothing will get done."

Elections are typically held every four years in Kakisa. Chicot has been chief for 12 years.

Chicot said he plans to stay on for at least another year, and will decide whether or not to continue then.

Before the last election four years ago, the elders were also opposed to holding a vote, said Chicot.

He ran unopposed, and was eventually acclaimed.

While acknowledging that support for him in the community was not 100 per cent, Chicot said it appears the elders' wishes will be respected.

"I guess the way things are going with the Deh Cho process, they didn't want to have an election," said Chicot. "They didn't want to have one before (either)."