Gwich'in Tribal Council nixes deputy grand chief position

The Gwich'in Tribal Council no longer has a deputy grand chief, after members voted last week to remove the position.

The decision required three separate votes, which all passed during the council's annual general assembly in Fort McPherson, N.W.T.

It's a decision delegates debated at the last assembly, where they decided to put it to a referendum — a process later deemed unnecessary. The position used to be held by Kristine McLeod, who died in a car accident in August 2021. 

Grand Chief Ken Kyikavichik told CBC the council has appointed a vice-chair from its board of directors to fill in for him instead if needed. 

That position is currently held by Nihtat Gwich'in Council president Kelly McLeod, who had temporarily stepped in as deputy grand chief in Kristine McLeod's stead.

The decision means Gwich'in members will only vote on one position in future elections — that of grand chief.

Kyikavichik called this year's annual general meeting "the culmination of transparency and the openness that we're looking to achieve," featuring a "robust" annual report, a look at the council's finances and payment schedules for himself and the board of directors.

The assembly also gave the council's 3,500 members a chance to ask questions and raise concerns.

Wade Clifford Vaneltsi, who participated in-person, said Wednesday afternoon that he thought there was a good turnout for the assembly's public forums.

"I thought a lot of good topics were brought up," he said.

Vaneltsi said what resonated with him the most were conversations about how to address intergenerational trauma, given the long-term effects from residential schools.

"We need to take a different approach to that," he said.

"What would be really good going forward is working on our engagement with getting more youth involved into these [leadership] positions, too."

The assembly ran from Tuesday to Thursday last week. The next annual general assembly will take place in Aklavik in 2023 from Aug. 15 to 17.