Jerry Daniels, grand chief of the Southern Chiefs Organization, is on health leave. Photo: APTN file
The Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) in Manitoba has released an update regarding the status of troubled Grand Chief Jerry Daniels.
In a statement emailed to APTN News, spokesperson Karen Mitchell indicated SCO will comply with a demand from several member chiefs to hold a summit to discuss the situation in January.
Daniels has been off work since Dec. 3 when he was reportedly injured in a brawl outside an Ottawa bar. He has not been seen or spoken publicly since, but issued an apology last week in a letter to SCO he later posted on his Facebook page.
The apology was accepted by SCO’s chief executive officer Joy Cramer, its Chiefs’ Executive Committee (CEC) and two knowledge keepers, according to the letter obtained by APTN.
Cramer said the apology was accepted and a back-to-work date set.
The very best
“We wish the grand chief the very best over the next three weeks and look forward to welcoming him back on Jan. 6,” she wrote.
However, eight member chiefs of SCO, which is an advocacy organization for 33 Anishinaabe and Dakota Nations representing more than 88,000 members in southern Manitoba, weren’t satisfied.
The eight chiefs make up the Southeast Resource Development Council Corp. (SERDC), a group that delivers programs and services to communities in Berens River, Black River, Bloodvein, Brokenhead Ojibway, Hollow Water, Little Grand Rapids, Pauingassi and Poplar River First Nations.
They threaten to leave SCO if a special summit is not held, according to another letter obtained by APTN.
“Should no SCO Summit on this critical leadership (be) held in January 2025 and Jerry Daniels reinstated to the SCO office of Grand Chief, the SERDC Chiefs will be withdrawing membership from SCO,” they wrote, “and SERDC Chiefs withdrawal from SCO will request a full valuation of any monetary or assets to be withdrawn from the SCO be transferred to SERDC within a three-month period.”
Chiefs-in-summit
Mitchell now said SCO will host a “Chiefs-in-Summit in January 2025” that will “focus on the apology recently offered by Grand Chief Jerry Daniels and identify the best path forward. Grand Chief Daniels’ leave will be extended accordingly.”
Prior to accepting his apology, SCO had said Daniels, 42, would be off work for an “indefinite health leave.”
SCO has not responded to APTN’s questions about Daniels’ injuries or the altercation that occurred during a national meeting of chiefs and is being investigated by the Ottawa Police Service.
The incident involved what sources say was a fight between Daniels and two or three councillors from Lake St. Martin First Nation, an SCO member located about an hour north of Winnipeg. There has been no comment from Lake St. Martin.
The chief of Minegoziibe Anishnaabe, formerly known as Pine Creek First Nation and a member of SCO, was the first to speak out.
Derek Nepinak said the incident, in an email obtained by APTN, remained a “mystery to us as we have not been reported to on this matter.”
Nepinak noted his community has had “limited participation” with SCO in recent years due to the organization’s involvement with the multi-million-dollar redevelopment of the downtown Winnipeg Hudson’s Bay store.
“Minegoziibe Anishnaabe has provided notice to the SCO we are again minimizing our participation until such time that we can be provided with adequate information about the conduct and status of the Grand Chief,” Nepinak said.
Meanwhile, Daniels, who was elected to his third term as grand chief in June, disclosed in his letter of apology that he had a problem with alcohol.
“The past few weeks have been a wake-up call, and I recognize the need for change in my lifestyle,” he wrote. “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 said he was committing to treatment.
