Saskatchewan’s Aboriginal Oligarchy

Aboriginal poverty in Saskatchewan is well-documented, well-publicized and well-nigh obvious to Saskatchewanians. Said poverty, however, isn’t universally endured. Internal income distribution explains its persistence.

Saskatchewan’s 70 Aboriginal Bands report cumulative membership of 170,000. Of these, 91,000 live off-reserve; mostly in Saskatoon, Regina and Prince Albert.

Cited Band incomes include “travel” expenses; as well they must

There are 73 Band Chiefs because the bitterly divided James Smith Cree Nation sustains three Chiefs. As well, Red Earth Cree Nation supports a Chief and Vice-Chief. There are 436 Band Councilors.

Aggregate Band revenues of $1.7 billion derive almost entirely from Ottawa.

The highest paid Band official, Piapot First Nation Chief Mark Fox, pulls in $484,500 a year. The next ten:

• Cumberland House Cree Nation Chief Rene Chaboyer – $464,236
• Clearwater River Dene Chief Teddy Clark – $330,034
• Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation Chief Peter Beatty – $257,601
• Black Lake Chief Coreen Sayazie – $245,710 (i.e., her 5-month income was $102,376)
• Canoe Lake Cree First Nation Chief Francis X Iron – $235,812
• Lac La Ronge Indian Band Chief Tammy Cook-Searson – $225,940
• Kahkewistahaw First Nation Chief Evan Taypotat – $223,430
• Whitecap Dakota First Nation Chief Darcy Bear - $217,404
• Ministikwan Lake Cree Nation Chief Leslie Crookedneck – $210,437
• English River First Nation Councilor Jenny Wolverine – $200,603

Pursuant to Indian Act (s. 87) this is tax-free income! In ballpark terms, non-Aboriginal Saskatchewanians need gross nearly $300,000 to net $200,000. Saskatchewan’s “Sunshine List” of Provincial Government income recipients, which perforce doesn’t include Band officials, records only 50 persons grossing over $300,000. Only 92 gross over $200,000.

Cited Band incomes include “travel” expenses; as well they must. The jobs of Chief and Councilor don’t require much travel; and amounts claimed are often outlandish. Councilor Jenny Wolverine oversees an on-reserve population of 800. She rang up a $129,080 travel bill in 2022. Her Chief, Jerry Bernard, exercised fiscal restraint with an $80,324 travel tab. Cumberland House Chief Rene Chaboyer’s above-listed income includes $285,775 in “out of pocket” expenses.

These salaries by no means represent full incomes of Saskatchewan’s Aboriginal oligarchy

For further comparison, note these pre-tax annual salaries:

• Saskatchewan Premier – $178,406
• MLAs – $103,285
• Regina Mayor – $151,215
• Regina City Councilors – $49,818
• Saskatoon Mayor – $151,694
• Saskatoon City Councilors – $69,870

Band Councilor salaries average around $100,000 (net). Lac La Ronge Band’s 12 Councilors enjoy salaries ranging from $115,000 to $175,000.

Not all Band officials are so grasping. Lucky Man Band Chief only pays herself $73,750. Of Lucky Man’s 118 members, 8 live on-reserve.

These salaries by no means represent full incomes of Saskatchewan’s Aboriginal oligarchy. Many Bands own businesses and properties, on and off reserve. Financial disclosures for Band-owned enterprises lack transparency. The sole clarity is who’s in charge; i.e., Chief and Council.

Double-dipping seems more at issue regarding “Tribal Councils” – which nearly all Bands belong to. Three Councils have little substance – however even the Agency Chiefs Tribal Council employs 38 staff.

Meadow Lake Tribal Council (MLTC) subsidiaries yield $147 million in annual sales. MLTC also administers government-funded health and social services operations. MLTC employs 800. In 2021 Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs took in $25 million, while File Hills Qu’ Apelles Tribal Council reaped $55 million. Prince Albert Development Corporation owns motels and pot dispensaries etc generating yearly revenues of $20 million. Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC), amongst other things, owns 222 apartments in Saskatoon and manages 162 units for the Feds. STC garners annual cash flows of $60 million and employs 250.

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Money flowing from Council operations to Band officials aren’t factored into Band remuneration disclosures

Tribal Councils are run by Chiefs. Money flowing from Council operations to Band officials aren’t factored into Band remuneration disclosures.

Same could be said of money flowing from Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority’s 6 casinos. Last year SIGA creamed $65 million off revenues of $196 million. SIGA is run by a clique of Chiefs. SIGA boasts that most of its 775 employees are Aboriginal; but doesn’t say how many of its video gambling machine addicts are Aboriginal. Vegas wasn’t built on winners.

Likewise, many reserves are notorious havens for illicit narcotic, alcohol and tobacco trafficking. Such activity couldn’t survive without official complicity.

The upshot of all this is an Aboriginal community consisting of several hundred entrenched kleptocrats raking-in lavish incomes whilst lording over a vast majority mired in squalor. Nevertheless, this oligarchy is the public face and voice for the entire community. As ever, strident ethno-nationalism papers over deep cracks in the foundation.

Sources

• Welcome to First Nation Profiles
• The Meadow Lake Tribal Council
• Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs Inc.
• File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council
• Prince Albert Development Corporation
• Saskatoon Tribal Council
• Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority

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