Sherri-Lyn Hill becomes newly elected chief for Six Nations of the Grand River

A certified First Nations addictions counsellor is the new chief of Six Nations of the Grand River's elected council.

Sherri-Lyn Hill, who was already an elected councillor going into the election, won on Saturday after receiving 606 votes.

She'll serve a four-year term.

Hill wasn't immediately available for an interview, but in a Facebook post the day before the election, she wrote she will be an "active listener" for the community and wanted to be a chief who is "approachable and acts on the issues."

"You deserve more supports and services for families, services that specifically target seniors needs, strong mental health and addictions supports, a culturally-safe health system, and a unified and transparent governance system," she wrote.

During a pre-election debate hosted by Turtle Island News and CKRZ 100.3 FM, Hill said her top community issues are mental health and addictions, housing, language and culture, and economic sustainability.

She said the solutions to those issues include:

• 24/7 mental health and addictions services, along with more safe beds and community outreach.
• Fixing housing policies to be less colonial, more tiny homes and emergency housing options.
• All ages should learn Indigenous language and culture and there needs to be space for artifacts returned to the community.
• Economic sustainability through a casino, a large egg farm or federal grants.
• "Our people are dying. We really need to do programs to start saving lives," she said.

Hill was up against Steve Williams, a former elected chief and president of the Grand River Enterprises cigarette company. He received 444 votes.

Thirteen people ran for the 12 councillor spots.

The 12 elected councillors are:

• Cynthia Jamieson
• Greg Frazer
• Melba Thomas
• Hazel Johnson
• Helen Miller
• Audrey Powless Bomberry
• Kerry Bomberry
• Alaina VanEvery
• Dayle Bomberry
• Amos Keye
• Dean Hill
• Carole Greene

Election turnout under 5% for chief

There were 1,050 votes cast for chief, down from 1,716 in the 2019 election.

The number of spoiled ballots is unclear.

There are over 25,000 band members in Six Nations and over 12,000 live in the community which is roughly 40 kilometres south of Hamilton.

Six Nations elected council communications coordinator Darryl Smart told CBC Hamilton there are24,462 eligible voters.That means voter turnout for the elected chief was around4.2 per cent.

The elected council, also called the band council, is a governance system created under the Indian Act and imposed by the federal government.

Many in the community don't participate in the election as they view the Haudenosaunee Confederacy Chiefs Council (HCCC), the traditional leaders of the Haudenosaunee people, as the true representatives of the community.