New Natuashish chief promises cleaner finances, health

The new chief in an Innu village in northern Labrador said he hopes to bring both accountability and sobriety to a community that has attracted international attention for long-running problems with substance abuse.

Prote Poker — who had been a vocal critic of the previous Natuashish band council's handling of its finances — said new financial controls and an addictions program top his agenda.

"Everything is going to be open … Everything will be accounted for," he said. "People will get a financial report at the end of the year, where everything went… where monies came from and how they were dispersed."

Poker had a long-running and sometimes confrontational relationship with the previous council. At one point,he was charged with taking financial documents from the council office.

Poker admitted to taking documents from the council officer, but only to demonstrate problems with financial management.

Audits done by the federal government showed serious problems with handling of discretionary funds that the band council controls. Among other things, receipts for about $560,000 in discretionary spending could not be found.

"The first priority is to get organized in the office… in terms of files and the financial situation," Poker told CBC News.

Poker also wants to extend treatment for drug and alcohol addiction, a problem that residents brought with them when they settled in the newly built town of Natuashish almost six years ago.

In their former homes in Davis Inlet, Innu lived in decrepit housing conditions and dealt with rampant substance abuse. Incidents involving glue-sniffing children attracted worldwide attention in the 1990s, sparking the federal government to relocate residents in Natuashish.

Looking for addiction help

Poker said he believes his sobriety is one of the key reasons he was elected chief in Natuashish in last week's elections.

'That's the feeling I'm getting — people want to be sober.' —Natuashish Chief Prote Poker

He said many people in the community told him they want to break their addictions to drugs and alcohol.

"That's the feeling I'm getting— people want to be sober," he told CBC News.

"If a person wants to stop drinking, there's a lot of pressure from other people that are drinking, but I think with support, everyone can do it."

Poker said a treatment program is only available in Natuashish about once a year, and that people who want full-time help must go to Sheshatshiu, in central Labrador or to the island.

Simeon Tshakapesh, a former chief who has had his own problems with alcohol, backs a plan for a full-time treatment centre in the community.

'"I want to make a difference in my community. I was part of the problem and now I want to be part of the solution," said Tshakapesh, who said he has not had a drink in the last month.