APTN National News
Perry Bellegarde is no stranger to First Nation politics.
He’s been chief of Little Black Bear First Nation, chair of the Touchwood File Hills tribal council, chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations and FSIN’s regional chief at the Assembly of First Nations.
In 2008, Bellegarde took a step onto the national stage when he went for national chief at the AFN – conceding to Shawn Atleo after a record setting all night voting session.
Atleo’s suddenly resignation earlier this year has Bellegarde’s sights set on the top job, again.
“For me when former national chief Shawn Atleo resigned there was a vacancy so I felt it was time to step up again and help on a national level,” he said.
If elected, Bellegarde said he’ll narrow the gap between impoverished First Nations people and the rest of Canada with a bigger cut of natural resources revenue.
APTN’s Larissa Burnouf has more on Bellegarde, which is part of a special APTN broadcast at 4 p.m., EST.
