Sam Crowfoot elected new Chief for Siksika Nation

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Siksika Nation has elected its new Chief and council with Sam Crowfoot at the helm, defeating Frederick Rabbit Carrier and Jack Royal for the position. 

A total of 49 candidates campaigned to claim 12 council seats. The new council now consists of Romeo Crow Chief, Own Crane Bear, Louise Doore, Stephen Old Yellow Woman, Kendall Panther Bone, Lenora Rabbit Carrier, Candace Backfat, Carlon Big Snake, Darrell Daniels, Jamie Spring Chief, Ike Solway, and Tracy McHugh. 

Voting took place Nov 26, from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. This followed in the wake of advanced polling, which had taken place Nov. 19.

“We need to make our community safer. Our community is already safer than what it was six years ago, which is really good, but it still needs to be safer. We need to bring back our policing, that is a big thing to work toward,” said Crowfoot, outlining his immediate priorities as council activities resume. 

“We (also) need to work on different governing documents. There is a big push for us to shore up our governance – looking at a constitution for our nation is going to be key, and then we need to develop some infrastructure, some capital projects … things like that.”

Crowfoot has spent the last six years serving on Chief and council as an elected councillor.

He explained a significant part of his platform is to address legal challenges the nation has been experiencing, particularly before the courts, as well as to protect the nation against provincial encroachment.

Crowfoot steps into his new role as Chief, succeeding his cousin, Ouray Crowfoot, who has stepped away from council in order to pursue private ventures. 

“I’ve talked with (Ouray) a lot … we have been close our entire lives so there is a natural discussion with the passing of the torch,” said Crowfoot. “From the last term, we had a transition of seven, and five remain on, which is a pretty high transition. But that being said, two of those transitions are not first-time councillors; they have been on four or five terms in the past, respectively.”

The first meeting of the new Chief and council took place, Nov. 28, which Crowfoot explained consisted of laying out expectations and things that members wished to bring forward and prioritize.

Among the capital projects which have been suggested is the development of more facilities for nation members to be able to develop their sense of community.

“Our fiscal year operates on the same kind of time frame as everybody else, so that is something we are definitely looking at,” added Crowfoot.