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The Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) confirmed Thursday that Grand Chief Jerry Daniels is now on leave for health reasons, but the SCO isn’t saying much about an incident in Ottawa last week that left Daniels in hospital.
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“We are sharing with you today that Grand Chief Jerry Daniels is on leave for an undetermined length of time for health reasons,” SCO spokesperson Karen Mitchell said in an email Thursday.
“In his absence, the chiefs’ executive committee has selected Chief Cornell McLean of Lake Manitoba First Nation as Acting Grand Chief. The Southern Chiefs’ Organization is in good hands with Chief McLean, who has been a member of SCO’s chiefs’ executive committee and chair of the finance and personnel committee for eight years.
“On the operational side, it is business as usual for SCO and the many programs and services that support First Nation citizens.”
Ottawa police confirmed on Dec. 6 an investigation after a “disturbance” outside of a downtown bar in the nation’s capital that took place Dec. 3, and a source has confirmed to the Winnipeg Sun Daniels was sent to an Ottawa hospital with injuries after the incident.
Daniels was in Ottawa last week to attend the Assembly of First Nations Special Chiefs Assembly which was held Dec. 3-5, at the Rogers Centre in downtown Ottawa, and brought Indigenous leaders together from across the country.
Some First Nations leaders including Pine Creek First Nation Chief Derek Nepinak have been asking for more transparency on what happened in Ottawa last week but the SCO has not publicly addressed the incident or Daniel’s current condition directly.
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