Blood Tribe result marks comeback for longtime former chief

“We were looking at becoming more involved on the business side. At that time we did not own any of the business assets that were situated on the reserve,” he explained, describing arrangements that were simply leases that allowed the tribe to be paid royalties.

“So that’s why we became part of (a) pilot initiative that led to new federal legislation being enacted so that any tribe, any First Nations in Canada that wanted to manage their energy resources could do so, or if they just wanted to manage the monies derived from royalties, from bonuses, from leases and so on.”

Fox intends to govern based on the traditional principles he learned from older chiefs and councillors.

“You cannot make our children, you cannot make our people fight amongst each other,” he said. “I’d like as much as possible to have our decisions be made through consensus… to build a good team philosophy.”

To address issues like education, housing, and drug abuse he says it will be important to listen to advice from all their people — elders, youth, spiritual leaders, and professionals — and learn how to access public and private dollars and hold governments accountable for their promises.

“We have to respect the important position our people have put us in.”

The new chief and council will be inaugurated Friday afternoon.

by Geoff Smith (@smithco on Twitter)

Blood Tribe result marks comeback for longtime former chief

What's Happening