SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - James Ross believes he has what it takes to become the next Dene National chief/Assembly of First Nations NWT regional chief.

The former chief of Fort McPherson is vying for the job held by incumbent chief Bill Erasmus, and members of the Dene Nation will choose between them at the Dene National Assembly in Lutsel K'e on July 8.

James Ross, seen in this June 2004 photo with his granddaughter, Rhianna Firth, considers himself a family man. - Courtesy of James Ross

Ross, a proud Gwich'in who was vice president of the Dene Nation in 1982, says he has three decades of experience to bring to the position.

"The North is small so most people know who I am, and what my past is, and what I've accomplished," he said from his home in Fort McPherson.

"I did my own thing for 15 years and people have been asking me over the years to bring my leadership skills back to the table, and so I agreed."

From the late 1970s to early 1980s, Ross worked in a variety of positions with the Dene Nation. He served four terms as chief of Fort McPherson from 1985 to 1994, and more recently lost to Rebecca Blake in the hamlet's 2005 mayoral election.

Ross, who has four grown children, considers himself a family man. He volunteers for a local hockey team and thinks community involvement is important, inside and outside the political sphere.

"I'm born and raised in McPherson, raised my family here, and I've always worked with people and now it just means taking that skill set to another level that I've worked with before," Ross said.

"As someone that lives in the community, I live with the daily challenges and successes that all our communities have."

Though he remained tight-lipped about his work in the corporate sector, Ross did say he's proud of his past work with the Gwich'in Tribal Council, particularly the 1992 settlement of the Gwich'in Comprehensive Land Claim.

Gwich'in Council spokesperson Chief Herbert Blake said he had no comment on Ross' decision to enter the race for Dene National chief.

Ross said a number of leaders throughout the five regions have encouraged him to run for the position.

"People have approached me and said 'it's time for you to come back to a leadership position. We need you. We need change and you're the guy to do it.' So when people come to you like that, you're hard-pressed ... to respond favourably," he said.

Incumbent chief Erasmus believes he has the experience necessary to continue in the position.

He's served as Dene National chief since 1987, apart from a three-year gap from 2003 to 2006 when he didn't run. He's also been AFN regional chief for 15 years.

He said some of the work he's started isn't yet finished, such as replacing the "old, archaic" NWT Act with an inclusive territorial constitution.

"That will help our communities look forward and develop a future for them(selves) and it could include a discussion on resource revenue sharing and ownership of oil and gas and so on," he said.

"I'm quite comfortable taking the lead in that and to work with our communities to put that in place. If we don't, then the territorial government becomes more and more entrenched in the way it is."

Erasmus said that over the years, the structure of the Dene Nation has moved to focus more on the communities, and that the chief needs to be flexible to deal with changing realities.

"We no longer are at the negotiating tables as we used to (be) so the role of the organization has changed a lot and the leader has to also change as the communities do. We've been able to do that and that's partly why I feel comfortable in putting my name forward again to continue working at this level," he said, adding that he wants to keep working for recognition and implementation of Dene self-governance.

Getting an agreement and having aboriginal rights recognized is one thing, he said, but the next step is exercising that authority.

"That's part of what drives me," Erasmus said.

"In my lifetime, I want to see our people possess the authority that they've always claimed they had as landowners and original people from this land."