After a long night of voting, a decision is reached near dawn
B.C.’s regional chief Shawn Atleo will be the next national chief of the Assembly of First Nations. The vote was decided Thursday morning, after eight ballots. Although Atleo did not get the required 60 per cent of votes, the election was decided when his opponent, Perry Bellegarde, conceded defeat after more than 12 hours of debate. Atleo has pushed for more economic development within the First Nations community: “We know economic independence is political independence, economic power is political power.”