I must admit this was one of the most interesting elections I’ve have seen in a long time. It was a little bit of a revolution of sorts with so much active campaigning. I know it was the first time any Cree politicians took out political advertisements promoting their platforms. It seemed there was more presence in all forms of media as candidates tried to reach the people with their principles and beliefs.

I commend all the candidates for their efforts in this election race. We didn’t see the mudslinging that is occasionally part and parcel of the political game. I’m glad of that, as I have always found it to be disturbing. Kudos to everyone on their sportsmanship as they say.

I congratulate the new Grand Chief Ted Moses and his Deputy Grand Chief Matthew Mukash.

I have confidence that these leaders will guide us into the new millennium and we will see our dreams as a nation being accomplished. I know they have the strong support of the Cree Nation.

The numbers of Crees that came out to vote was phenomenal. You have made a difference. Those numbers are too strong to ignore, especially when you think of the stances they talked about in relation to protection of the land and Cree rights. I liked the fact that both leaders are against further Hydro development.

Voting may seem like a useless thing at times but in reality it isn’t. It is a time when each man is equal. One man said, “bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote.” This was not the case. A lot of good Cree citizens came forward and as a result we have two new leaders with strong mandates.

As I have said I have confidence in these two men as they represent beliefs and values I have in myself.

Was it a disappointment to have lost? Not really as I knew I had a snowball’s chance in the fiery pits of…

The reason why I ran was because I knew I should try it. In the words of Benjamin Franklin “Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing about.”

I knew if I actually win I would try to do something worth writing about and if not I would continue to write and this was something I enjoyed. It was an interesting experience. Though many people didn’t see me I had a chance to visit most communities. I spent four days delivering our magazine by van. I covered 3,400 plus kilometres. I had a chance to see some communities I had never visited before and an opportunity to again see the land so many companies covet. I have the greatest confidence our new leaders will protect it so the future generations will enjoy it as much as we all do.

I wish both of the new leaders and their families the best during their term and beyond.