“I feel pretty good,” said Vice-Chief Deranger after the vote. “It’s a mandate from the Chiefs and delegates who want to see a new direction from the Grand Council.”

The Vice-Chief feels that the three Athabasca First Nations, which also includes Hatchet Lake Denesuline Nation, have progressed in the past three years during his first term in office. He wants to focus more on working for all member First Nations within the Grand Council.

“What I’ve learned in the Athabasca is to bring it down to the other nine bands within the Grand Council and see if we can all move in one direction together on the issues that are confronting us,” he said.

He sees the biggest issue facing all 12 First Nations being housing, because it impacts so strongly on the quality of life.

“There is a shortage of housing, and there’s epidemics of TB and so on and so forth in the Athabasca. But it’s not happening only up there, it’s also happening in all of our 26 communities.”

What is required, he said, is “a housing strategy and an action plan so that we can get the funds required for the communities, so that each household will have 2-3 persons to a house. That, itself, would provide a better quality of life for themselves and the community.”

There may have been questions prior to the vote on whether he his inability to speak Dene would hurt his chances, but he prevailed. Vice-Chief Deranger said that he lost his Dene language when he entered a residential school at age 7, and thereafter immediately working in a non-First Nations environment after leaving school.

“So I wasn’t able to get my language. But I saw that I was able to do the work that I needed to do, without the language, and I don’t think it’s a problem. The language is there—I respect it very much, and I also understand it.”

It’s important to be able to speak Dene, he said, but explained that when it comes down to the language of business, it’s English, and one must be able to communicate fluently in that language.

The Athabasca Basin Economic Development Limited Partnership has purchased 50 percent of Points North, and Deranger believes that other Grand Council First Nations would benefit from purchasing the remainder. Points North could be a jumping off point for servicing the remote communities in Nunavut, and believes it is a viable business opportunity.

He thanked Sayazie for putting his name forward, saying that his opponent worked very hard on his campaign, and “maybe a couple of more days, and he would have got it. I congratulate him for his efforts and I hope that we can continue to work together as friends.”

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