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MEET THE CANDIDATES: Why Richard Edjericon thinks he should be the Dene National Chief

Over the next two editions, News/North will interview each of the three candidates for National Chief of the Dene Nation – Eileen Marlowe, Richard Edjericon and Norman Yakeleya – ahead of the Aug. 22 election. Richard Edjericon hails from Fort Resolution and currently lives in Ndilo. Edjericon was Yellowknives Dene First Nation Chief from 1999 to 2003 and chairperson of the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Review Board.

NN: How will you work to improve the lives of Dene peoples?

A common strategy among Dene peoples will be key to creating unity for the future of Denendeh, says candidate Richard Edjericon. photo courtesy of Richard Edjericon

I've been Yellowknives Dene First Nation chief before, I've done work at the local level. If elected, I want to bring together all the elders, chiefs and band councillors, investment corporations, the NWT Native Women's Association, and bring together the young people to develop a vision for Dene Nation.

Dene Nation has come a long way since the Indian Brotherhood days, but that mandate has changed. Going forward, there needs to be a coming together to put everything on the table and develop a new vision and mandate.

As you know, we in the North right now need to get claims settled. Other claims are pushing years ahead. To improve the lives of the Dene Nation, I want to bring everyone together to develop a strategic plan on housing, education and economic development. I would work closely with regional governments and assist where I can to come to resolutions.

Another problem we're having is that it costs money to implement the resolutions we already have.

It comes back full circle to how we develop the plan for Dene Nation.

NN: What are the top priorities in your platform?

The history of the Indian Brotherhood and Dene Nation extends back to the Berger Inquiry, the Paulette Case ... Now we have regional claims, our own governments and law-making powers. We know those changes speak for themselves, but there are still all the things that are the creation and children of Dene Nation: whether its the Dene Cultural Institute or CKLB Radio.

The issues we confront are at a local level, which must be addressed in the development of a strategic plan.

The Dene Nation is running on the old mandate. We need to modernize it, with attention to section 35 rights.

There is a role for Dene Nation in advocacy, to push regional governments' agendas and to complement what they're doing. My hope, if elected, is to bring Dene chiefs and organizations under one roof.

They are all creatures of the Dene Nation. We need to put everything on the table. We need to define what Dene Nation does and to complement them in an advocacy role.

NN: What has Dene Nation been doing right? What can Dene Nation improve upon?

The history speaks for itself already. How we can improve it is to bring everyone together in a united way and try to figure out how to speak with one common voice while respecting regional claims, because we can't take away from that.

Dene Nation has already played a role in the constitution in 1982. It's not often that you see constitutions open up like that, and really put your fingerprint on the law of the land.

Dene Nation has come a long way since 1969 and can continue to expand on the use of section 35 rights.

NN: What role will elders play when you are chief?

They're going to play a big role. As former chief of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, I introduced elders as part of decision making for council. They provided sound advice and guidance to our chief and council on any issue – whether it be land claims, development or mining. Going forward I think there's a chance to restructure Dene Nation.

I think its important that we also include the elders, maybe one elder from each region.

We can make Dene Nation more accountable and transparent, and take ownership.

We need the elders and we know there's a lot of elders that started the Indian Brotherhood and Dene Nation. We must continue to remember them. We'll continue to use our elders to give us good advice. Elders from each region should give oversight of the Dene Nation executive and give us advice.

NN: What are your feelings on resource sectors, including mining, oil and gas and other exploration in the territory?

As you know I used to be the chair for the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board (MVLWB). We oversaw the mining companies and oil and gas companies to do environmental assessments here in the NWT.

We do this to make sure the air, water and animals are all protected. There is a whole process we have to go through when we do that. In certain areas, the people who live there will have a greater say about what happens with mining.

Here in the NWT, if I'm elected, it all comes back to what we establish in our vision, including an economic plan for the NWT.

Oil, gas and mining are down here in the NWT and the future is bleak. So what do we do?

We need to find a new way, a strategy to sustain ourselves into the future.

Regional governments have their own claims to speak to. My feeling is that we need to go beyond these jobs and look for employment opportunities to adapt with changes to mining and other industry. Training will be important.

We also need to look to our own backyard and determine how to assist regional corporations.

NN: How would you work to improve environmental issues?

As regional claims are being concluded, we see offshore drilling and we have the National Energy Board who will be involved with those issues.

The MVLWB will review oil and gas in the Mackenzie region with regional representatives to say what will happen.

We also have the Wek'eezhii Land and Water Board.

We're going through unique times. Dene Nation can work with regional government to ensure we can provide any assistance so that our voices are strong.

We need to Develop a communications strategy so people know whats going on up and down the valley. There's no communication and we have to develop a strategy.

NN: How will you unify regional Indigenous governments?

We have a family of five. We all grew up together and we started separating in our own way and having our own families, but we need to start speaking with one voice ... and see how we can move forward to strengthen what we've got.

We can bring that strength back and speak with one voice.

As Dene Nation, I can't speak on behalf of anyone, but I can work with them to bring their issues up at all different levels.

My role is to bring everyone together, with no agenda, as a facilitator and to try to figure out how we're going to develop a unique strategy.

NN: With the settlement of land claims and self-government agreements, what role do you see for the GNWT in Denendeh?

We're concluding claims here in the North, self government agreements and land use plans.

The days of the GNWT going through the Tlicho region and asking them to speed up an (impact benefit agreement) – that's not right.

They're going to lose those cases, because they have no business going to the regions and pushing their agenda, the Premier taking a position on taking the Tlicho to court because they're not moving fast enough on the Tlicho access road. It's an ongoing private agreement between the Tlicho and private enterprise.

In terms of the Tlicho region, the GNWT should stay out of that one and let them negotiate their own agreement.

At what level do we start working with the GNWT and how do they start working with us?

The GNWT has a $1.9 billion budget annually. They're still getting money on behalf of all Aboriginal governments in the NWT and we need to start talking about the constitution under (section) 35 if all claims are done and the GNWT is still under the Indian Act, which is under the territorial act.