Salt River First Nation dispute heats up

A feud that began this week between band councillors at the Salt River First Nation in Fort Smith, N.W.T., and its ousted chief appears to be escalating.

The dispute began Monday when council voted to remove Frieda Martselos as chief, only about one week after she was elected to office. As a result, Martselos and her supportershave been staginga sit-in since Monday evening to protest the firing.

Martselos filed an application Thursday to the Federal Court of Canada, asking it to quash the band council's vote. A date for a hearing, to take place in Edmonton, has not been set.

Meanwhile, council has since cut off phone access and power in the band office this week, following a complaint to the RCMP that Martselos's supporters broke into secured areas of the office.

Band staff have also been sent home as it was no longer safe at the office, according to sub-chief Toni Heron.

Police refuse to comment, while Martselos denied the allegations.

In firing Martselos, councillors alleged she was acting autocratically as chief by firing staff and contractors without council's permission, as well as blocking normal band business. Martselos and her supportershave been demanding an audit of the band's finances.

An official with the federal Department of Indian and Northern Affairs told CBC News on Wednesday that the department will not get involved in the current dispute, saying council followed the rules when it fired Martselos.

But George Cleary, the department's director of Indian and Inuit services in the N.W.T, said he is more concerned about financial documents that were taken from the band's office and sent to an accountant in Edmonton.

He sent some of his staff to the band office earlier this week to look into that situation, and to ensure nothing else was taken from the office without proper authorization. He would not confirm who was responsible for taking those documents out of the office.

Fort Smith lies on the N.W.T.-Alberta border, 300 kilometres south of Yellowknife.