Chief Roland Twinn of the Sawridge First Nation was re-elected on Feb. 17. He defeated his challenger Elizabeth Poitras of Elk Point fairly easily.
“It was a decent win,” says Twinn. “Twenty-six votes to five.”
Poitras thinks more than five people voted for her, but accepts the loss.
“It doesn’t matter,” she says. “I just wanted to send a message.”
Her message is that Sawridge members like her, who regained their band status through legislation (Bill C-31) upheld by court rulings, deserve the full benefits of band membership. Those have not been forthcoming for her and several other members of that category, she says.
Poitras has no particular beef with Twinn.
“I think Roland’s okay,” she says. “He just has to realize he’s also responsible for us. Whether he likes it or not, he’s our leader.”
Twinn’s priorities for his new term don’t seem to include making C-31 members welcome. He says “advancing our C-31 court case,” is one of his main objectives, along with pursuing self-government initiatives the band has been working on for the past 20 years.
The C-31 court case challenges the federal government’s legislation giving band status back to members that lost it (particularly women, through marriage) for various reasons. Launched by the late Chief Walter Twinn and a couple of other Alberta First Nation governments, the case challenges Ottawa’s right to determine who is or is not a band member.
Twinn says another priority for him over the next couple of years will be developing a band constitution, “for transparency in government.”
Also on the the Sawridge agenda, in conjunction with the other members of the Lesser Slave Lake Indian Regional Council, is a continued push for the right to consultation on development happening in what it terms its traditional lands.
Also elected on Feb. 17 were Bertha L’Hirondelle Twinn and Justin Twin as band councillors.

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