Manto Sipi Cree Nation joins call for MKO grand chief's resignation
Chiefs want David Harper to resign for accepting money from nuclear waste organization
A northern Manitoba First Nation is joining the call for David Harper to resign as grand chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak over concerns that he accepted money from the Nuclear Waste Management Organization.
The Manto Sipi Cree Nation in God's River, Man., says it does not endorse the $312,689 agreement that Harper recently signed with the organization.
Harper told CBC News last week that the money is going toward educating his citizens about the risks involved with nuclear waste. The funds were not accepted in agreement to store waste, he added.
But Harper's move angered a group of chiefs from the Swampy Cree Tribal Council (SCTC), which said signing the agreement contravenes a 2014 moratorium against the storing of nuclear waste in Manitoba.
On Monday, the Manto Sipi Cree Nation issued a release saying it supports those who want Harper to step down as MKO grand chief over "signing the nuclear consultation deal that commits 30 MKO First Nations without their consent."
"The MKO Grand Chief is overstepping the sovereignty of each individual First Nation by signing the deal," Manto Sipi Chief Michael Yellowback said in a news release Monday.
The chiefs with the Swampy Cree Tribal Council, which is politically aligned with MKO, say they are pulling out of the organization until Harper has been removed from office — something he has refused to do.