Fort Simpson (Nov 22/04) - Chiefs in many of the Deh Cho's small communities generally earn less than their counterparts in larger centres and substantially less than what they could make as professionals working in the private sector. Ka'a'gee Tu Chief Lloyd Chicot, for example, takes home no salary at all for performing his duties and instead earns his income as community works coordinator.

"I started out just to work for the people," said Chicot, who has been Kakisa's chief for 11 years. "The elders appointed me to do the work, that's enough for me."

Eric Betsaka, named Nahanni Butte chief in October, accepted a drop in pay when he left his job as maintenance supervisor for Parks Canada. A husband and father of three young children, Betsaka acknowledges that he and his wife Barb had to seriously consider whether they could afford the transition.

Ultimately, for the sake of trying to improve community wellness, Betsaka said he allowed his name to stand in the election.

"Things weren't getting better. Somebody should take the initiative to make sure the decisions were made in favour of the membership," he said.

In Jean Marie River, Chief Fred Norwegian endured a deep pay cut to move from band manager to chief two years ago.

He has 28 years of management experience, much of it with the territorial government. He also has a university education, though he is one year short of a degree.

Despite his education and experience, he now earns $36,000 a year in base salary.

He and his wife, Mavis, have four grown daughters, whom he couldn't have supported on his current income, he admits.

He keeps regular office hours, takes work-related phone calls at home and describes his job as "very demanding." Yet he hasn't requested a raise because "I see how little money the community gets."

Chicot noted that Deh Cho leaders tabled a proposal for a minimum $40,000 salary for chiefs at a DFN assembly a few years ago but it has not been ratified.

Deh Cho Grand Chief Herb Norwegian has just had his salary raised to $85,000, retroactive to June 2003 when he was elected to the position. Upon being elected in June 2003, Norwegian continued to earn an assistant negotiator's salary from Dehcho First Nations (DFN).

At the fall leadership meeting in Fort Simpson late last month, members of the executive committee recommended that the grand chief's salary be adopted immediately upon election, without waiting for an evaluation.

It was noted that Norwegian did not ask for a review of his salary.