Mike W. Bryant
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (May 24/02) - Two key issues facing Deh Cho First Nations have been put on the back burner until the Dene National Assembly in July.

Liidlii Kue First Nation Chief Rita Cli addresses elders and chiefs at last week's spring leadership meeting. She vows the advisory funding issue will not go away. - Mike W. Bryant/NNSL photo

One was a Liidlii Kue First Nation band council resolution calling for federal advisory funds to go directly to the band.

The other is an ongoing dispute between the Hay River Reserve's K'atlodehchee First Nation and the Public Service Alliance of Canada, who want to unionize band employees.

Deh Cho Grand Chief Michael Nadli called on chiefs to defer the two contentious issues until the later date at the conclusion of last week's Deh Cho spring leadership meeting in Fort Simpson. "Even though we'll be bringing those issues to Trout Lake, maybe we should defer these two items to the assembly," said Nadli.

Some of the items, like the Dene National Assembly agenda, July 8-15, and small communities' taxation, will be picked up during this week's meeting in Trout Lake, but Nadli and co-chair Arnold Hope wanted some breathing room on the other two to avoid a potentially divisive resolution vote.

Nadli told chiefs on Tuesday that he was expecting Hay River Reserve Chief Pat Martel to appear on the last day of the meeting, Thursday, with news of developments in K'atlodehchee First Nation's legal challenge to the Public Service Alliance of Canada's attempt to unionize the band.

Martel, however, never appeared and, like several other items, the lawsuit never made it onto the meeting agenda.

The Liard River broke Thursday morning, and some chiefs were anxious to get home. Thursday afternoon talks, as a result, were cancelled.

The chiefs consented to Nadli's request, but not without Liidlii Kue First Nation Chief Rita Cli vowing the advisory services issue will not go away.

Liidlii Kue First Nation wants its $93,000 share of Department of Indian and Northern Affairs advisory services funding to go directly to the band instead of Deh Cho First Nations' coffers.

The matter sparked heated debate on the second day of the meeting when several other chiefs sided with Cli, wanting their own share of the $425,000 fund DCFN receives.

"I support Rita Cli's position, because we are also in the same position," said Acho Dene Koe Chief Judy Kotchea.

"The issue is not unity, it's funding needed at the community level. My first priority is the Acho Dene Koe First Nation."

Cli brushed aside warnings from Nadli and Hope that the issue could potentially lead to the break up of the DCFN, saying the requested funds were only a small part of their budget.

"We're not breaking away," said Cli on Wednesday.

"We just want the advisory money. We're part of the Deh Cho process. We have the biggest membership."

Regardless, it was a lack of unity at the table that left the DCFN's two co-chairs deeply troubled.

Only two chiefs, Kakisa's Lloyd Chicot, and Trout Lake's Dennis Deneron, rejected the resolution.

"What's being asked for now will break us apart," said Hope, noting the presence of television cameras taping the event. "The federal government will feel joy when they see this tape on TV tonight, seeing us fight."

After the meeting drew to a close, Nadli was equally dejected. "Quite frankly, I'm disappointed with our agenda," said Nadli, who felt some chiefs came to the meeting unprepared.

"There were some key issues we really didn't deal with, and this is frustrating. We need to be focused on our agenda and deal with the issues, and try to focus on those issues only.

"We need to develop our focus to ensure that the momentum that we gained, as far as our negotiations (with federal government), are back on track."