The Manitoba Assembly of Chiefs has voted to remove suspended Grand Chief Arlen Dumas and publicly apologized to the two women who made allegations of sexual misconduct.
At a special general assembly held Friday in Winnipeg, dozens of Manitoba chiefs held a vote of no confidence to officially remove Dumas from his post, following allegations that he sexually harassed and assaulted an employee.
Interim Grand Chief Cornell McLean told CBC News that 30 voted in favor of immediate removal of the Grand Chief and 13 voted against in the closed-door meeting.
“On behalf of the assembly, we have to do it [apologize]because we have to protect them from things like that,” McLean said.
Dumas was suspended in March pending an investigation into allegations that he engaged in workplace sexual harassment and sexually assaulted an employee, who was anonymous at the time. The employee filed a police report, but no charges have been filed.
McLean apologized to Shauna Fontaine, who was presented publicly in June as the employee who filed the complaint, and expressed her disappointment with AMC and the police response to her report.
He also apologized to Bethany Maytwayashing, who accused Dumas of sending her inappropriate text messages in 2019.
“When you’re a leader in your community, you can’t abuse your power or trust in any way,” McLean said.
In a written statement provided to CBC News, Fontaine expressed some relief at Dumas’ immediate removal, but says she is “mostly saddened and traumatized by this whole experience.”
The statement renews its call for more transparent and informed trauma investigation and resolution processes within the AMC, which represents 62 First Nations in the province.
In response to Fontaine’s allegations, the assembly ordered a third-party investigation, which found that Dumas had engaged in sexual harassment in the workplace.
Fontaine initially expressed concern about AMC’s handling of her allegations in June, through an open letter that was signed by 200 supporters. The letter called for an independent investigation into the case.
“It’s time for change, and with this result, I can only hope that change will accelerate,” Fontaine’s statement said.
Earlier this week, Dumas announced that he would seek trauma-informed treatment to “begin to heal not only from the events of the past five months, but from a lifetime of trauma,” he said in a statement from press
He did not appear at the extraordinary general meeting on Friday, although AMC asked its lawyers to attend virtually. He has previously denied the allegations.
Dumas was first elected as AMC Grand Chief in 2017 and was re-elected last summer.
In an emailed press release after the vote, the assembly said a by-election will be held on Oct. 19 to choose a replacement. Until then, McLean will continue as Acting Grand Chief.
“A message of hope”
Manitoba gender-based violence expert and advocate Hilda Anderson-Pyrz says the vote to oust Dumas sends “a message of hope” that the winds are changing when it comes to how allegations are handled within political systems .
“There has been a slight shift,” he said, adding that Friday’s decision had been a long time coming.
Anderson-Pyrz says she looks back on when the Maytwayashing allegations first emerged and believes the AMC should have immediately called for an independent third-party investigation rather than dealing with the matter internally.
“In my view, the victim was revictimized by how the whole process was handled,” he said.
“Once the investigation is done, there have to be procedures in place to, you know, hold accountable the individual who violated those policies and procedures. And it also has to be acted upon immediately.”
If Dumas had stayed, it would have sent “a heartbreaking message to Indigenous women across the country,” Anderson-Pyrz said. “It would have diminished any hope … especially for those victims of gender-based violence who are suffering right now and have found their voice and reached out for help.”
Anderson-Pyrz says more Indigenous women need to be given opportunities to take on political roles, including providing training and other support resources.
Patriarchy and misogyny remain “very thick” within political structures today, he said: “We’re still trying to break through those glass ceilings.”