APTN National News
For decades the Lubicon Lake Cree Nation in northern Alberta has been a house divided.
For the last few years, there were two band councils, one led by Bernard Ominyak, the other by his brother-in-law Steven Noskey.
Noskey this week wrote to the federal government saying he is stepping down and Ominiyak is now chief.
Noskey’s letter read in part:
“The Lubicon Lake Indian Nation demands that INAC and its agents immediately remove themselves from the community and refrain from all further interference with the community and its long established customs.”
Ominyak was chief of the impoverished band since the 1970s. He was against multi-national corporations taking oil and gas from Cree territory without consulatation.
This led to the formation of the Little Buffalo band in the 1980s and the creation of Noskey’s council in Lubicon Lake in 2009.
Since 2009, the band has been under third-party management and has refused to sign any deals with Canada or oil companies.
Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan could not be reached for comment.
