David Poitras elected as chief of Salt River First Nation

David Poitras has returned as chief of the Salt River First Nation, according to official polling results from the community.

Poitras defeated opponent Ronald Schaefer by taking 149 of 240 ballots cast in the Sept. 16 election.

Frieda Martselos was the previous chief of the First Nation, which is located in Fort Smith. Her name did not appear on the ballot this time. She is running in the territorial election.

Eleven candidates ran for councillor positions. The six winners, in order of number of votes won, are: April McAllister, Levi Macdonald, Kendra Bourke, Henry Beaver Jr., Donny Beaulieu and Archie Beaulieu.

Poitras was last elected chief of the Salt River First Nation in a 2011 byelection, after Martselos stepped down. She had defeated Poitras in the 2007 election.

According to statistics published by the federal government, the Salt River First Nation has just over 1,000 registered members.