Paul Bickford
Northern News Services

Hay River (Nov 25/02) - A new chief and council have been elected for the West Point First Nation.

Leon Thomas topped a field of four candidates for chief in the Nov. 18 vote.

Thomas had been acting chief of the Hay River band since the resignation of former chief Karen Thomas in late August.

Leon Thomas says his top priority as chief will be to heal the family divisions in the band. "I'm going to work on it."

The chief says the dispute has got to stop, noting all band members are related.

Thomas previously served as chief for four years up to 1995.

Karen Thomas was a late entry among the candidates for chief, and managed to get just one vote.

Leon Thomas is Karen Thomas' uncle.

Karen Thomas says she was not even aware she was on the ballot until after the election, explaining she had been told her late nomination had been rejected.

And she notes many members of the Thomas family boycotted the election, which was dominated by candidates from the Cayen family.

The four council members are Bobby Cayen Jr., James Cayen, Lucille Cayen and Rosaline Cayen.

Chief Thomas, 63, says he is pleased with the new council, noting they are well-educated. "They know what's going on."

They are all newcomers to politics, he notes. "But they'll learn."

Karen Thomas's resignation highlighted the ongoing family divisions in the 70-member band. In particular, she claimed financial mismanagement and nepotism by the former council.

She says she wishes the new chief and council well. "I hope for the best for them, because it's a tough road that they're going to be on."

However, the former chief says she worries the new council may not provide fair and equal representation for all band members.

She is also not sure what role she can play in the band, but may try to organize a meeting between the council and elders to discuss ways to stop the internal dispute.

"It has to come to an end somewhere," she says.