AFN head defends against removal, says opponents 'behaving like Indian agents'

RoseAnne Archibald, the first female Assembly of First Nations (AFN) national chief, is accusing her regional chiefs of hypocrisy, misogyny and "behaving like Indian Agents," as they recommend her removal for the second time in a year, documents obtained by CBC News reveal.

The Cree leader from Ontario has mounted her political offensive following a June 14 AFN executive committee meeting that included bursts of bitter squabbling, according to recordings also obtained by CBC News.

After the meeting, Archibald circulated a batch of confidential communiqués to the chiefs-in-assembly, blasting what she alleges is "a pattern of unfairness, unco-operativeness, stonewalling and outright denial of justice" by the regional leaders.

"The silencing, shutting out, and marginalization of the highest profile First Nations woman leader is a dangerous and frightening precedent for First Nations women everywhere to witness," she said in an email to the chiefs.

All documents and recordings that were leaked to CBC News were independently verified by multiple sources.

The AFN, a federally funded First Nations advocacy organization, has been embroiled in a leadership dispute and internal controversy since at least late 2020.

Its executive committee — consisting of the national chief and regional chiefs — met on June 14 to set the agenda for this week's closed-door assembly concerning a probe into Archibald's conduct.

The probe found Archibald harassed two staffers and retaliated against five, says a confidential summary report by law firm Emond Harnden. After that, the executive voted 10-0 to denounce Archibald and recommend her removal. Archibald countered with a rebuttal, calling the investigation a distraction from her push to root out alleged corruption.

The regional chiefs either did not reply to emailed interview requests or said they were unable to comment, pointing to the 2022 AFN resolution directing the executive to "refrain from making any public comments to the media" about the matter.

However, in a June 13 letter to Archibald, Nova Scotia Regional Chief Paul Prosper told her she is "risking legal claims and significant legal costs" that "could spell financial ruin for the organization."

Archibald's latest dispatches are addressed to the First Nations-in-assembly and include a personal complaint against Ontario Regional Chief Glen Hare, four chronologies of internal events from her perspective and a summary memo.

The complaint against Hare, dated June 14, is addressed to chiefs in Ontario and suggests the leaders, both multi-decade political veterans, were already at loggerheads for months.

In what the complaint alleges was the latest in a string of conflicts, Archibald said that Hare "mocked and laughed at me while interrupting me and speaking over me" at the June 14 meeting.

A spokesperson in Hare's office said he was unable to give interviews or supply a statement as a confidential internal process has been initiated connected to the complaint. Its allegations are unproven.