By Canadian Press

RoseAnne Archibald to lead Assembly of First Nations as national chief

Jul 9, 2021 | 9:05 AM

RoseAnne Archibald of Ontario has become the first woman to serve as national chief of the Assembly of First Nations.

In her acceptance speech last night she declared, “The AFN has made her-story today.”

Archibald secured victory after her rival, Reginald Bellerose, who has been serving as Chief of Muskowekwan First Nation in Saskatchewan for the last 17 years, conceded.

The election had stretched to a second day and went to a fifth round of voting after neither Archibald nor Bellerose received the necessary 60 per cent of votes to win.

That remained the case when the AFN announced the fifth-ballot results last evening, but Bellerose withdrew from the race before a sixth round of voting could begin.

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In an effort to unify the organization, Archibald made a point in her speech to reach out to the seven candidates who ran against her.

The AFN represents 634 First Nations with 900,000 members.

Archibald, who previously served as regional chief for Ontario, campaigned on a platform to build a solid post-pandemic recovery plan for First Nations.

She succeeds outgoing national chief Perry Bellegarde.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 8, 2021.

The Canadian Press