Canada’s Assembly of First Nations Chooses First Woman Chief
RoseAnne Archibald of the Taykwa Tagamou Nation in Ontario has become the first woman to serve as national chief of the Assembly of First Nations.
“The AFN has made her-story today,” she said Thursday, using a play on words to outline the historic win.
“Today is a victory, and you can tell all the women in your life that the glass ceiling has been broken. And I thank all of the women who touched that ceiling before me and made it crack. You are an inspiration to me.”
RoseAnne Archibald, a former Ontario regional chief, will represent the 634 nations in the AFN, which advocates for indigenous communities at a federal level. First Nations people make up almost 5% of the country’s population of 38 million.
She won the leadership after five rounds of voting and the concession of her main competitor
In 1990, aged just 23, Archibald was the first woman and youngest Chief elected for Taykwa Tagamou Nation, a remote community in the province of Ontario. She takes over AFN from Perry Bellegarde, who served two terms.
“I would encourage the chiefs on a go-forward basis that whatever we’re going to do on renewal, whatever we’re going to do in restructuring, let’s add some stability to the election,” Bellerose said.
“Let’s put some criteria on social media, let’s put some criteria on how candidates conduct themselves. That way when people say the AFN chief is irrelevant, no it’s not. It’s ethical, it’s strong, it’s fair.”
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