Decisive win in Lutsel K'e re-vote
Voters give strong mandate to Felix Lockhart, last chief in 2001
Laura Busch
Northern News Services
Published Monday, May 19, 2014
LUTSEL K'E/SNOWDRIFT
After more than a decade's hiatus, Felix Lockhart is back in leadership.
In a re-match election between himself and Archie Catholique, Lockhart came out with a decisive lead with 186 votes to Catholique's 69.
In the original election held March 14, Catholique - also a former chief - was thought to have won by three votes, but after a recount he and Lockhart were tied with 63 votes. As
the hamlet's new electoral guidelines do not have provisions for a tie, the results were thrown out and a new election was called.
The four other candidates for chief in the March election did not run again.
Lockhart is not new to the role, having originally been elected as chief of Lutsel K'e in 1982, and most recently left the office after being voted out in 2001.
"I guess I just couldn't stay away," he said on why he decided to run again.
After living away from the community for a number of years, Lockhart is back to help take on challenges such as inadequate housing, unemployment and few options for youth. But above all these issues is an underlying problem that Lockhart says needs to be dealt with before the community can move forward: alcohol abuse.
"We can talk about everything else. About housing, or jobs, training, but that's the only thing that's going to get in our way, is that alcohol," he said.
Lockhart is open about his own problems with alcohol, which he first sought treatment for in 1984 - two years after he was first elected as chief. Drinking helped him deal with the trauma he suffered after being sent away from home at four years old to attend residential school.
But after serving two years as "a drinking chief," Lockhart said he realized he needed to do more than stop drinking - he needed to heal the underlying causes of his addictions.
In 1989, Lockhart and the Lutsel K'e band council at the time began a healing journey , becoming the first chief and council to all seek treatment together.
When it comes to addictions treatment, there should be more support available to help people deal with the trauma of residential schools, said Lockhart.
"We've got generational trauma here," he said.
"Why are we destroying ourselves needlessly when we could be a strong people? And we are. That's where we want to go and that's why I came back to run for chief. It seems that a lot of people understand that."
Once the cause is addressed, the symptoms will heal more easily, he said.
"I think there is a strong concern for youth, for young people - what is in the future for them," said Lockhart.
"We're talking about economic development and what I've basically put forward is that economic development is good, but we need to feel good about it and understand what we can do as a community and what individuals can do and what businesses can do about what's going on around us."
While Lockhart is not against mining development, the agreements with the diamond mines in the 1990s were signed under duress, he said - and he was one of the chiefs who signed them.
For the future, people are interested in a more diverse economy with jobs in tourism, land and wildlife management.
"We need to be able to educate ourselves, figure out budgeting and figure out what resources are available and what we can do with what we've got here," said Lockhart.
"My concern is being able to rise up the lowest-income people in this community to a level of standards that is equal to everyone else.
