'I just want to thank you all': Charles McNeely elected new Sahtu secretariat chair by acclamation

Another Indigenous organization in the Northwest Territories is undernew leadership, as the Sahtu Secretariat Incorporated has chosen a new chairman.

Charles McNeely was acclaimed as the new chair at the annual assembly in Tulita, N.W.T., on Tuesday night.

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"I just want to thank you all, I feel great today," he told the delegates, who came from Deline, Tulita, Norman Wells, Colville Lake and Fort Good Hope.

The election had been set to take place Thursday afternoon, but when nominations closed on Tuesday night, McNeely was the only candidate to have put his name forward.

Raymond Tutcho had also put his name forwardat 5:02 p.m. two minutes past the deadlinemaking him ineligible to run.

There did not appear to be controversy, however, as Tutcho congratulated McNeely on his new role shortly after he was elected.

McNeely succeeds Ethel Blondin-Andrew, who served as chair of theSahtuSecretariat for the past nine years. She steppeddown earlier this summer and McNeely was in the role on an interim basis.

No recent board meetings

Before nominations closed, McNeelyhad said electing a new chair was a priority for this week's assembly.

Sahtu Secretariat Incorporatedis an organization made up of the seven Sahtuland corporations, including four Dene land corporations and three Mtis land corporations.It's responsible for administering the Sahtu Dene and Mtis Land Claim Agreement, which was signed in Tulita in 1993.

The chair is responsible for carrying out the wishes of the Sahtu Secretariat board, consisting of representatives from the Dene and Mtis communities in the Sahtu, McNeely explained.

There hasn't been a board meeting recently, which means holding one will be the first job for the new chair, he said.

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"After the assembly we'll get our direction from the assembly, then we'll have our regular board meeting. Then we'll set our priorities."

Land claim's 25th anniversary

The assembly is being held in September this year, rather than July or August, in recognition of the 25th anniversary of the land claim, which was signed in Tulita on Sept. 6, 1993, McNeely explained.

The Sahtu Tribal Council, the forerunner of the Sahtu Secretariat, negotiated the land claim with the federal and territorial governments. According to the agreement's 2016-17 implementation report, the land claim included:

• Nearly 42,000 square kilometres of land in the Sahtu.
• $130 million in tax-free capital transfers over 15 years.
• Wildlife harvesting rights and the right of first refusal for commercial wildlife activities.
• Establishment of government institutions to manage wildlife, land, water and the environment.
• Guaranteed Sahtu representatives on public institutions.
• The right to negotiate self-government agreements.

'Using it as a tool'

Twenty-five years on, the land claim "gives a little more power to the Native groups, the seven land corporations," McNeely said.

Self-government agreements have been ongoingin the territory. The latest development happened in Norman Wells last week, when the community agreed to sign an agreement-in-principle with the federal government.

That development is another step in reaching a final self-government agreement for the Dene and Mtisliving in Norman Wells.

"We're using [the secretariat] as a tool right now," said McNeely. "The tool's working."