Leadership changes coming to Six Nations, Mississaugas of the Credit councils

Canada’s most populous First Nation will soon have a new chief.

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Mark Hill will not seek a second four-year term as the head of elected council at Six Nations of the Grand River, the reserve southwest of Hamilton.

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Hill, 33, has been in politics his entire adult life, having been first elected as a band councilor as a 19-year-old in 2010 before becoming chief 10 years later.

He did not seek re-election when nominations opened late last month to fill the ballot for the upcoming election on Nov. 4.

Instead, the campaign for chief will be waged between current elected councilor Sherri-Lyn Hill-Pierce and Steve Williams, a former elected chief whose other high-profile roles on the reserve have included chief electoral polling officer for elected council — in which capacity he oversaw the 2019 election that saw Hill elevated to chief — and chair of the Six Nations Police Commission.

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Hill could not be reached for comment for this story.

Williams, who was nominated as a candidate for chief by former elected chief Ava Hill, is currently president of Grand River Enterprises International, the Six Nations-based cigarette conglomerate he ran with his well-known business partner, the late Ken Hill.

Fourteen band members have been nominated to run for councilor, including Cynthia Jamieson — who finished second to Mark Hill in the race for chief in 2019 — and Dayle Bomberry, a former senior administrative officer with Six Nations, as well as five incumbent councillors.

New this election, voters will elect 12 councillors, up from the current nine.

Band members recently voted to make several changes to the Six Nations Election Code in August, including implementing a two-term limit for council members.

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Laforme to withdraw from politics

After a 24-year career, Mississaugas of the Credit Chief R. Stacey Laforme announced he will retire from politics this December and not seek a fifth term as chief.

Laforme was first elected to council in 1999 at age 50 and secured his first two-year term as gimaa, or chief, in 2015.

At 2,600 band members — roughly 1,000 of whom live on the reserve near Hagersville — MCFN is dwarfed by Six Nations and its approximately 26,000 band members.

But Laforme has kept MCFN in the public eye by advocating for Anishinaabe rights and culture across the wide swath of southern Ontario considered the traditional territory of the Mississauagas, and through his well-regarded poetry and storytelling.

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“I want to thank all those who supported me and the various councils over the years,” Laforme said in a statement.

“I believe we have accomplished a tremendous amount, both on and off reserve, building on the work of the elected chiefs and councils of the past. We did good work, but there is a lot of work ahead of the First Nation.”

Laforme promised his help to future councils.

“I am retiring from MCFN politics but will always be a part of this First Nation and available to help whenever needed,” he said.

On Oct. 28, MCFN will hold a nomination meeting for its eight-member elected council at the community center on New Credit Road from 9 am to 1 pm Candidates can also be nominated by mail.

The election is scheduled for Dec. 9.

JP Antonacci is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter based at the Hamilton Spectator. The initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

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