Doug Cuthand: Native leaders turning against one of their own

Friday, September 30, 2011  

"Kirk Goodtrack never thought that returning home and working for his people would result in such a backlash. But on Thursday, he was removed as chair of SIGA's board.

Goodtrack is from the Wood Mountain reserve south of Regina. After high school he attended the University of Saskatchewan, where he received a bachelor's degree. He then moved to Ontario and attended Queen's University, where he received a law degree.

Obviously he is no dummy, and when he was named chair of the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority in February of this year, he seemed like the obvious choice to steer the gaming organization of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations.

However, it soon became apparent that Goodtrack wanted to see SIGA operated like a business, not a political program. Board-related overheads were far too large for an organization that was designed to work on behalf of the First Nations, so he moved to implement reforms that included making cuts. These included paring board expenses, per diems and frequency of meetings."

Get the Story:
Doug Cuthand: Parochial FSIN speeding down ruinous path (The Saskatoon StarPhoenix 9/30)

Also Today:
SIGA chair ousted again (The Saskatoon StarPhoenix 9/30)
FSIN's Watson says Goodtrack not suspended but removed (CJME News Talk Radio CJME News Talk Radio 9/29)
Chair of SIGA fired again (CBC 9/29)

Related Stories:
Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority chair suspended again (9/29)
Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority board chair still in limbo (9/16)
Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority chair back on the job (9/15)
Big expenses on Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority board (9/14)
Editorial: Ruling on gaming authority a blow to First Nations (9/13)
Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority told to restore chair (9/12)
First Nations leader disputes removal of gaming authority chair (7/27)
First Nations leaders challenge payments for gaming authority (7/26)