With members of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte hitting the polls on Saturday December 4, the next Tyendinaga Mohawk Council has been elected.
Voting took place at Quinte Mohawk School on Saturday, with voters being assured there would be no safety tisk following a shut down on Friday due to COVID cases within the school.
Chief R. Don Maracle will remain as the incumbent Chief following the tallying of this weekend’s votes.
Only one other candidate, Andrew (Karoniakeshon) Miracle, ran for the position of Chief occupied by Maracle for the last 28 years.
Miracle’s election platform read “42 years ago, and you are still waiting… All land stolen will be returned! Development! Development! Development!”, and listed 32 ideas, with several points looking to establish Tyendinaga as a separate country.
The voting community overwhelmingly selected Chief Maracle to remain in his position, receiving 908 of 977 casted eligible votes for the role, while 43 ballots cast for Chief were rejected.
Chief Maracle’s election platform made note of some of the successful projects he has lobbied for in the past including his most recent term, and looked ahead to some future goals for the community.
Maracle listed poverty reduction measures, actively pursuing land claim settlements, constructing a homeless shelter and revitalization of the Mohawk language as key points he is focused on.
Both candidates highlighted long-term care homes, drinking water and job creation as key platform points but had different approaches to achieving those goals.
Alongside the election for Chief, four councillors were elected from the seven candidates who ran.
Chris Maracle, Stacia Loft, Carl (Ted) Maracle, and Josh Hill were elected to the office of councillors after 1006 eligible votes were cast, the latter two councillors will retain their seat.
Elected officials will serve a term of two years as members of the Tyendinaga Mohawk Council.
