RoseAnne Archibald Becomes The First Female National Grand Chief

After Two Days of Voting, RoseAnne Archibald Elected New National Grand Chief

By Dami Igbinyemi

After five rounds of voting, former Ontario Regional Chief RoseAnne Archibald has been named the new National Grand Chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN).

‘This is an exciting time for Indigenous People and all of Canada. As the first female national chief of the AFM, Ms Archibald’s election is another important milestone moving indigenous people and Canada forward together.” Said Robert Falcon Ouellette

The election had stretched into its second day with no clear winner after five rounds of voting. Neither Archibald nor Bellerose surpassed the sixty per cent plurality to win the election. In the fourth round, Archibald received 50.7 % of the votes to Bellerose’s 43.3%. In the fifth round of voting, the results were virtually a tie.

Before the sixth round of voting could begin yesterday, Chief Bellerose withdrew from the race making former Ontario Regional Chief RoseAnne Archibald the new National Grand Chief.

“Congratulations RoseAnne Archibald on being elected National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations – and being the first woman in the role. I look forward to working together to further advance First Nation priorities and reconciliation. Said, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Grand Chief Archibald of Taykwa Tagamou has been active in First Nation politics for over 31 years. She was the first woman and the youngest chief elected for Taykwa Tagamou Nation in 1990 at the age of 23. She also went on to become the first woman and youngest Deputy Grand Chief of Nishnawbe-Aski Nation. She was later elected the first female and youngest Grand Chief for Mushkegowk nation.

In 2009, Grand Chief Archibald stepped away from politics and shifted her focus to operating the family consulting firm. She ran a very successful business for nearly a decade that offered advice and guidance to First Nation leaders and organizations.

In her return to politics in 2018, Chief Archibald won the election to become Ontario’s first women Reginal Chief. In her time as Regional Chief, she worked with Ontario’s Leadership Council to build a robust advocacy organization to advance the issues of first nations people.

As the incoming Grand Chief, Archibald outlined her post-pandemic recovery plan for first nations people, youth, the LGBTQ, and the two-spirited community. Grand Chief Archibald plans to make the AFN political processes more inclusive while providing concrete solutions to move First Nations toward financial independence.

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