Cree leader elected chief

JULY 13, 2000

Matthew Coon Come, the Quebec Cree leader who has battled everyone from Quebec separatists to big industry, has been elected National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Canada's largest aboriginal organization.

Coon Come upset Phil Fontaine for the $125,000 a year job with a 58 percent vote.

Coon Come campaigned on a "First Nations First" platform, saying the organization needs to be more a voice for Candian aboriginal treaty, self-government, and land rights, and not a tool of the federal government.

Get the Story:
Hard bargaining ahead (The Montreal Gazette 7/13)
Coon Come unseats Fontaine as leader of Assembly of First Nations (CP 7/12)
Coon Come defeats Fontaine, becomes new AFN leader (CBC 7/12)
Candidates volley for position (First Nations 7/12)
Vote crucial for organization (First Nations 7/10)

Relevant Links:
The Assembly of First Nations - www.afn.ca
Coon Come profile, by the CBC - cbc.ca/news/indepth/facts/cooncome.html