SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Twenty-one people gathered in Dettah's Chief Drygeese Government Building and Conference Centre Sunday afternoon for an all candidate's forum with Chief Ed Sangris and challenger Nuni Sanspariel, both vying to represent Dettah as the community's chief for the next four years.

Moderator Hilary Bird, left, incumbent Dettah Chief Edward Sangris and challenger Nuni Sanspariel attended Dettah's all-candidates forum at the Chief Drygeese Government Building and Conference Centre, Sunday, June 5. Community members will elect a new Dettah chief Monday.

Sanspariel said he is challenging the incumbent because people in the community asked him to, and because he sees a need for change.

"Members of the council wanted me to run, and I want to give back to my community, so I said 'yes'," said Sanspariel. "I am also running for change. I think there is a need for change."

Sanspariel said he would like to see the Yellowknives Dene do more to develop and prosper from the minerals on their land.

"We should harness the mining industry that is in our backyard. It's a huge, billion-dollar industry. Can you imagine if you owned a part of that?" Sanspariel said to those in attendance. "If we had that, we could address a lot of issues."

"In the end, what we are trying to accomplish is to become a self-government," continued Sanspariel. "How can we become a self-government if we continue to think we need the federal government for handouts?"

For his part, Sangris said that under him Dettah has addressed issues of housing, created a new meeting place in the Chief Drygeese Government Building and have started on completing the roads - but admits that there is a lot left to do.

Mary Rose Sundberg had three issues on her mind for the candidates to address: education, language, and sobriety.

Ed Sangris spoke in his language about how important preserving and promoting traditional language is to him and said education is a top priority for the people of Dettah. He also said that in the past he had issues with alcohol, but left it behind him and has learned from his experience.

"As a leader I have to set an example for people. I remember when my father said '(alcohol) is not a food - so why bother with it," he recounted.

Sanspariel admitted he lost his language over the years, but that he is committed to learning it again over the next year. He also said education is a top priority for him, and that he too has faced down issues with alcohol, and believes he has learned from his experience, and thinks it will make him a better chief.

Members also questioned Sanspariel about his residency, as they were concerned over the time he spends out of the community while attending school. Sanspariel is currently in a 10-month paralegal program at Reeves College in Lethbridge, Alta, he said.

"I have lived here all my life and will continue to live here. You don't lose your residency when you go to school," said Sanspariel. He said his house is two kilometres down the road from the community's centre where he lives with his wife and son and has no plan of living anywhere but Dettah.

Concerns were also raised about whether Sanspariel, at 30-years-old, has enough experience to be chief.

"Traditionally the age to become chief is 24-years-old. By the time you have the knowledge and experience you become grand chief, that's at about 35," he said.

A number of elders at the forum commented that they are concerned about the loss of language, high levels of unemployment and with protecting the land.

Both Sangris and Sanspariel agreed that Dettah's water source should not be changed from the Yellowknife River to Yellowknife Bay, where there are concerns over arsenic leaking into the water from Giant Mine. Sangris said he supports the option of the Yellowknives taking over the Yellowknife River pumphouse.

Community members will decide who will be the next Dettah chief on Monday, June 13. Members can vote in Dettah at the Chief Drygeese Government Building and Conference Centre, at the Ndilo gym and in Yellowknife at the Tree of Peace Friendship Centre.

An election is also underway to select new band councils for Ndilo and Dettah. The June 27 vote will select five councillors for each community. Nominations close at 5:00 p.m. tonight and nominees have until 7:00 p.m. tonight to withdraw from the race.

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