Walpole Island First Nation member wants special governance for off-reserve residents

More than half of those who are part of Walpole Island First Nation don’t live there. CTV Windsor’s Michelle Maluske has more on how they are represented.

A Walpole Island First Nation member wants there to be special governance for off-reserve residents.

Steven “Talking Bear” Amaro would like to see a special council created to represent the interests of members who don’t live on the reserve.

“Imagine just having a one-party system with no voice?” Amaro questions.

Like half of the 5,000 members of Walpole Island First Nation (WIFN), Amaro lives off the reserve.

“But that doesn’t mean you aren’t actively involved in what happens on the First Nation,” Amaro says.

He is lobbying Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) to use Section 17B of the Indian Act “to open up another opposition party where you’re guaranteed to have a voice.”

In a statement to CTV News ISC rejects Amaro’s effort.

Walpole Island First Nation carries out its leadership selection under the provisions of the Indian Act (i.e., Sections 74-79) and the Indian Band Election Regulations (IBER).

The Indian Act and the IBER do not provide a structure for creating political parties in First Nations elections. Therefore, any questions regarding political party creation fall outside the provisions of the Act and Regulations and should be directed to the First Nation.

Section 17(b) of the Indian Act refers to the recognition of new bands under the Indian Act. It is not a pathway to the creation of a political party.

Amaro is undeterred.

He has asked Chiefs of Ontario to support him in his cause to create a new party for off-island members.

It too has rejected his request, so Amaro is seeking a judicial review of that decision.

“I’ve been essentially just stifled at every which way,” Amaro said.

Amaro has ran, unsuccessfully, in three consecutive elections to sit on WIFN Chief and Council and he says he is now barred from attending meetings.

“Since 2018, I’ve been denied services and I’ve only been allowed to attend Chief and Council four times. And the last time I was served with a cease and desist, that’s four different administrations,” Amaro said.

“And I don’t even know these people. So just because I’m asking questions that they don’t like, I’m no longer allowed.”

Amaro tells CTV News he has requested support, through WIFN, for a tourism business he wants to start but has been rejected.

He feels like he was rejected because of his disputes with Chief and Council.

WIFN Chief Leela Thomas responded to CTV News requests for an interview.

Because of the cease-and-desist order against Amaro, Chief Thomas declined to answer any questions as the matter remains before the courts.

The cease-and-desist order – which Amaro showed to CTV News – directs him to stop “making any further untrue and damaging statements concerning any member of WIFN Chief and Council.”

The letter, written in February 2023 by the law firm hired by WIFN, accuses Amaro of making false statements about the Chief and Council “in an attempt to persuade them to become members of a new band you wish to form.”