There may soon be be no more deputy Grand Chiefs of the Gwich’in Tribal Council.
A July 15 press release states the GTC was directed to remove the position at their 2021 Annual General Assembly (AGA), held March 29 to 31 this year.
“Preliminary advice provided during the 2021 AGA suggested that a referendum may be required to remove the elected position of Deputy Grand Chief from the organizational structure of the GTC,” said GTC communications advisor Tony Devlin. “Given the significant financial cost and process required to undertake a referendum of the Participants to the Gwich’in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement (GCLCA), the GTC undertook a more in-depth review of the process to be followed.
“The results of this review are that the GTC AGA has the authority to remove the Deputy Grand Chief position through special resolutions to amend the GTC’s Articles of Continuance (under the Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act) and the GTC’s By-laws. Therefore, a Participant referendum is not required to make this change to the GTC’s organizational structure.”
With this in mind, the GTC board of directors proposed amendments of the GTC’s bylaws and articles of continuance to allow for a special resolution. This resolution will be discussed and reviewed during the next Annual General Assembly coming up August 16 to 18 in Teetl’it Zheh, more commonly known as Fort McPherson.
Other items on the August agenda include allocation of the Gwich’in Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement negotiations loan repayment and a progress update on negotiations towards a final agreement on Gwich’in governance for Aklavik, Inuvik, Tsiigehtchic and Fort McPherson.