If there's one central message in Frederick Blake Jr.'s election platform, it's unity.
Blake, or 'Sonny,' as many in the Delta know him, is one of two candidates running for grand chief in the upcoming Gwich'in Tribal Council election, set for Aug. 19.
After three terms as an MLA, Blake said he sees his role as a facilitator for local leadership.
"I don't like to take any credit for projects we received, a lot of that came through the community," he said. "Whether it was through constituency meetings or local leadership that brought those ideas forward, I just followed them up.
"The big thing is listening to the people, whether it's an assembly, community meetings or board meetings. It's important to hear what the people want you to do and work on."
Having served as MLA for Mackenzie Delta and Speaker of the House for the legislative assembly of the GNWT, Blake says he's got a good handle on the process of governing and is well connected to key players in other jurisdictions.
He said he was compelled to seek the grand chief position after being asked repeatedly by people in his community and throughout the Gwich'in Settlement Area.
"I received a number of calls and people have been asking me over the last year," he said. "It seemed to be what people wanted me to do.
"It's important to support the communities. Whether people live outside the GSA or not, they're under the four communities. So it's very important we all work together."
Blake said he wants to smooth out relations between the GTC and the designated Gwich'in organizations, particularly in Tsiigehtchic and Fort McPherson.
Both Gwichya Gwich'in Council and Tetlit Gwich'in Council have been in an ongoing dispute with the GTC over funding and governance issues, which resulted in an NWT Supreme Court filing by the Gwichya on July 12.
In a news release, the Gwichya Gwich'in Council alleges the GTC wrongfully removed designated Gwich'in organization president Mavis Clark and other representatives from the board of directors and argues that a 21-6 vote to bar her from sitting as a director at the 2023 GTC annual general assembly was out of order, in part because the Gwichya Gwich'in Council was not able to appoint its own delegation and therefore there was not a quorum. The GTC argued in a previous court case that the Gwichya Gwich'in Council did not conduct its election properly and had not been properly reporting spending. Clark was suspended for breaches of the code of conduct following an in-camera presentation during the annual general meeting.
Blake said he wanted to bring all the groups back to the same table.
"The big issue is division," he said. "I can't speak too much to what's happening at the moment with the lawsuits, but we only have representation of two communities at the board level. That's the biggest challenge.
"The first step in resolving anything is having a common interest, and I think we do have that," he added. "The first step will be welcoming them back to the board and moving forward. That's what the people want."
Blake said he wants to see more programming and responsibility at the designated Gwich'in organization (DGO) level and said he supports dissolving powers back to the four DGOs in Tsiigehtchic, Aklavik, Inuvik and Tetlit Zheh (Fort McPherson).
He encouraged everyone to get out and vote on election day.
"I'm looking forward to working for the people, if that's what they wish," he said. "It's important for us all to work together and move ahead SA国际影视传媒� put everything that's happened behind us and move forward.
"I want to have an open door policy."
