Woodhouse brings 'bridge-builder' experience to AFN, but some see Liberal ties as a liability

Cindy Woodhouse brings bridge-building experience to the national chief's office at the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), one campaign insider says,but she also brings political baggage others see as a potential liability.

That baggage includes her past support for the federal Liberal party and her participation in the toppling of her predecessor, RoseAnne Archibald, while serving as AFN Manitoba regional chief, one campaign organizer says.

"There was a lot of chatter among the chiefs that she's a liability because she's a Liberal," said Cara Currie Hall, a campaign manager and strategist for third-place candidate Sheila North.

In 2014, Woodhouse was Manitoba president of theLiberal Party's Indigenous Peoples Commission, an advocacy arm of the party established in 1990.

In 2015, Woodhouse co-managed the Liberals' unsuccessful election bid in the NDP-held riding of ChurchillKeewatinook Aski, with the Winnipeg Free Presscalling her "a well-known local Liberal."

Currie Hall said this raises questions for the AFN, the largest First Nations advocacy organization in Canada representing chiefs from more than 630 communities.

"These alliances are personal choices that people make and I think it's going to be a big problem," said Currie Hall, who is Cree from the Montana First Nation in Alberta.

Woodhouse, of the Anishinaabe community of Pinaymootang First Nation in Manitoba, was elected national chief earlier this month in Ottawaafter runner-up David Pratt conceded.

Woodhouse did not respond to a request for an interview for this story and a statement was not provided by time of publishing.

Michael Hutchinson, a former AFN communications officer and broadcaster with CTV and APTNand a member of the Misipawistik Cree Nation,helped the Woodhouse campaign. He said he believes it was experience that secured her success.

"She is a bridge-builder," said Hutchinson.

"She knows how to talk to politiciansand she has a mandate to advocate and to lobby no matter who is sitting in the big chair in the Canadian government."

Part of the AFN system for decades

Hutchinson worked on communications and strategy, ensuring Woodhouse was shaking the right hands and talking to the right people, he said.

He recalled working with her when she was 19, when she worked for the AFN's then-regional chief for Manitoba, Francis Flett. She later worked as an adviser to national chiefs Shawn Atleo and Perry Bellegarde.

"She's been a part of the AFN system in one form or another, and working for First Nations within Manitoba in one form or another, for decades," said Hutchinson.

All national chiefs bring political baggage of some sort, which can prove a detriment or an asset as they lobby for First Nations input in an Indian Act-dominated system, he said.

Atleo was nearly ousted over his collaboration with the Harper Conservative government on proposed education legislation, resigning in 2014 amid outcry against the bill.

Bellegarde was often seen as too close to the ruling Liberals, while his successor Archibald criticized them harshly, slamming Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a "performative reconciliationist" and panning the 2023 budget.

National chiefs must be able to work with any government, particularly now with a federal election scheduled for 2025, said Doug Dokis, campaign manager for fourth-place finisher Dean Sayers.

"[Woodhouse's] previous loyalty to the Liberal government may very well be a detriment moving forward, depending on how her skills are in relationship building," and depending onwho wins the next election, said Dokis, who is from Dokis First Nation in Ontario.

WATCH |Rosemary Bartonspeaks withCindy Woodhouse:

We need to make sure our voices are not lost, says new AFN national chief

10 months ago

Duration 8:37

Rosemary Barton speaks with the newly elected Assembly of First Nations National Chief, Cindy Woodhouse, about her new role and her goals on child welfare compensation, carbon tax and reconciliation.

Woodhouse answered a question about her past donations to the federal Liberals on CBC's Rosemary Barton Live earlier this monthby promising to work with all parties beginning right away at their holiday bashes last week.

"My treaty is not with any one party," she said.

"My treaty is with the Crown."

How close is too close to government?

When Archibaldwas removed in June over harassment allegations, which she denied, she saida government-friendly faction within the assembly used the complaints as a pretext for a coup, which theydenied.

Currie Hall, who previously worked for national chief Matthew Coon Come's campaign,said she fears the AFNhas grown too cozy with Indigenous Services Canada (ISC).

"Where does the line end between ISC and the AFN?" she said.

"Well, there is no line now. AFN is matter-of-factly co-writing legislation [with] ISC and that's why chiefs are leaving."

In her concession speech, North condemned the way Archibald was treated, as she endorsed Pratt over Woodhouse. Currie Hall said Archibald's toppling has seriously damagedthe officeitself and theorganization as a whole.

While Pratt initially refusedto concede after six ballots with no one getting the required 60 per cent support, heconceded the following day in a show of unity, prompting hope the assembly's recent troubles are over.

"It was nice to see that eventually cooler heads prevailed, and the well-being of the overall national agenda emerged," said Dokis.

The Sayers campaign was laser-focused on First Nations rights and sovereignty, an element Dokis saidWoodhouse will need in her leadership circle. She has promised results and faces a daunting task, all three campaigners agreed.

"Some of the new legislation that's coming forward, it's really concerning to some of the chiefs," said Dokis.

"It's not always in the best interest of communities to be status quo."