Financially troubled First Nation looks to future

Is therelight at the end of the tunnel for a Saskatchewan First Nation that was besieged by financial woes in the late 1990s and lost millions of dollars?

Velma Nightthinks so.

She's the new chief of Saulteaux First Nation, located about 40 kilometres north of North Battleford near Cochin.Saulteaux was under third-party management for several years, but has put new procedures in place and is back in control of itsfinancial affairs.

Night says today there are stricter rules than there used to be. Her job involves making tough decisions andtrying to not be everybody's friend, she says.

"[We] have to make sure this band does not get into a debt situation," she said.

TLE money lost

That's a reference to what happened after the late 1990s, when Saulteaux First Nation received more than $16 million in treaty land entitlement (TLE) money from the government.

It was money intended to correct a historic wrong, compensating the band for land it had been promised a century ago but never received.

Other bands spent their TLE money to buy land and businesses, to create jobs for members, but at Saulteaux, that didn't happen.

It's estimated more than 80 per cent of the money was misspent. Former chief Gabriel Gopher and two other band officials, Archie Moccasin and Mervin Night, were convicted of criminal breach of trust, with about $1 million going into their pockets, according to the Crown.

Some of the money was used to buy vehicles and go on trips. Some went to family and friends. There was never a full accounting of what happened to all the money, court heard.

In the midst of the problems, band members began demanding answers. Night worked for the band at the time and could see that things were wrong. "I knew what was going on. Knew a lot of the dishonesty. Big time money was being spent on elections," she said.

Third party management

By the time the government stepped in and the chief and council were removed, millions of dollars were gone and the band was deep in debt.

Slowly, things began to turn around. The third-party manager appointed by the federal government, Sherry Jimmy, helped the band set up financial checks and balances and get its debt under control.

Jimmy says it hasn't been easy, but there's also reason for optimism.

"I've seen a lot of progression in the community," Jimmy said.

Good managers critical

Night says having a good band manager like Jimmy is critical to a First Nation's success. Jimmy is, in fact, moving on and the band is looking to find a replacement.

"She's been our backbone," Night said, who adds that she hopes the changes Jimmy helped bring in will pay off for the band for many years to come.