Mayoral candidate says frustration over Indigenous issues prompted online comments

Numerous people reached out to LNN, questioning if it was indeed Day Chief who had made what they saw as inappropriate comments for somebody who is running for mayor to be using this type of language in public settings.

We spoke with Day Chief to see what was behind these comments and whether or not he actually made them.

He says those comments stemmed from deep-seated frustration.

Day Chief told us that, as a survivor of the residential school system, a lot of old trauma resurfaced when the 215 unmarked child graves were recently discovered near Kamloops, B.C.

“Yes, those comments, I’ve read them, but they were made out of frustration, and the frustration stems because people that are non-Native, that don’t understand, that have never worked on a First Nation’s reserve, or have never been on a First Nation’s reserve, or have never taken the time to try and understand or learn about First Nation’s issues are making ignorant comments towards First Nations people. So with those kinds of comments, they are made out of frustration.”

Later in our conversation, Day Chief mentioned that several of his online accounts had been hacked in the past and he knows that others have accessed his LinkedIn.

He claims that he was not the one writing those comments on the LinkedIn post.

“Those were made by somebody else, I don’t respond like that, especially on social media.”

As a candidate for mayor, he says he has been formulating plans to address First Nations issues in the community and wants to bring people together.

Day Chief believes that what he wants to accomplish as the municipal leader is bigger than a matter of online comments.

Following our interview with Day Chief, he has deleted his LinkedIn account and will be closing his other social media profiles that he no longer uses.

by LNN Staff

Mayoral candidate says frustration over Indigenous issues prompted online comments

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