Jerry Daniels in an interview with APTN's Face to Face program. Photo: APTN file
Jerry Daniels has apologized to the Southern Chiefs Organization (SCO) in Manitoba for his role in an incident outside an Ottawa bar about two weeks ago.
In a letter written to the SCO and its executives obtained by APTN News, Daniels says he has a problem.
“The past few weeks have been a wake-up call, and I recognize the need for change in my lifestyle,” writes Daniels. “Just like anyone who faces the shame of having personal struggles laid bare, I wish I had been honest sooner about my challenges with alcohol.”
Daniels says he is committing to a program that includes traditional ceremony and alcohol treatment.
“I have already started on this journey to better myself and will continue to commit to my program when I am back behind my desk in a few weeks,” he writes.
Daniels, who is from Long Plain First Nation about an hour west of Winnipeg, thanked SCO for supporting him and helping him deal with his trauma.
“I am committed to maintaining close contact with the (Chiefs’ Executive Council) to set up regular check-ins to hold me accountable in regard to my progress,” he promised.
“As community leaders, we can do better, and I am proposing a restorative justice model to resolve the incident that occurred.”
Daniels, 42, has not commented publicly on the altercation where police were called to a downtown area called the Byward Market on Dec. 3 at about 2:30 a.m.
He reportedly went to hospital with injuries and SCO said in a release last week that Daniels was on “indefinite health leave”.
SCO response to employees
In an attached letter to SCO employees, Chief Executive Officer Joy Cramer says the apology was accepted by herself, the Chiefs’ Executive Council and two First Nations Elders at a joint meeting.
Cramer says Daniels expressed “sincere regret about the incident in Ottawa, and has apologized … We wish the grand chief the very best over the next three weeks and look forward to welcoming him back on Jan. 6.”
A restorative justice approach, if approved by others involved, would mean a private face-to-face meeting to discuss the altercation and come to a mutual understanding.
Sources tell APTN that Daniels fought with two or three band councillors from Lake St. Martin First Nation in Manitoba. All of the men were in Ottawa for a national gathering of chiefs hosted by the Assembly of First Nations.
SCO has not responded to APTN’s questions about what happened in Ottawa.
Daniels, who was elected to a third, three-year term in June, says he is “deeply sorry”, wants to learn from his mistake and “work toward reconciliation.
“I am truly grateful for your patience, kindness, and most of all, your forgiveness. I promise you that I will not let you down and be the leader you all deserve.”
SCO was established in 1999 and says it represents 33 Anishinaabe and Dakota Nations in southern Manitoba, with more than 88,000 citizens.
