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Question of legality in Six Nations Elections {Continued from front page) done properly. It is illegal." Marilyn Maracle said the code "was itppropedy and il1egally instituted and it is still improper and illegal." She said. she thought she as deal- ing with "honourable people." "We dealt with them as though they were people of honour and integrity. I'm sony, they're not." She said "if INAC (Indian and NOJ•m Affairs Canada) can be so quick to provide approval for a code that was never approved by the community, and despite objec- tions, it seems they should be just as willing to do the same, in the reverse." Brian Maracle said the "1995 election is illegal and so is this one. We have a renegade band council that was elected without popular support, by rules that were never approved by the coroonnrity, that holds all of its important dis- cussions behind closed doors. It's time that the band council becomes answerable to the entire comnnmity." Band Council Chief Wellington Staats was not available for com- ment. Brian Maracle said the move is an attempt to force INAC to "respect this council's request and move Six Nations back under Indian Act electio~ guidelines." Maracle said be hopes to see Band Council joining their action. "They should be joining us and launching their own injunction. I hope council comes on side and the collllllllDity stands up to join us in dealing with this bogus move by INAC." Six Nations Band Council has sent two band council resolutions to INAC asking to be placed back under Indian Act election guide- lines. SixlRJll!MPJns was taken out of the act's gwclelines three years ago when a new "custom" band co1J11Cil election code was devel- oped and used to operate the 1995 etections. The current "custom" band coun- cil agreed with the Maracles, (who had sought legal action against the code) that the code had not been widely accepted by the community and agreed to ask INAC to place Six Nations back under the Indian Act for its elec- tions. However, at recent meetings with INAC, band councillors said INAC has been reluctant to make the move. Councillor J;)avc Hill said INAC officials even walked out of one meeting with band council. Band Council Chief Wellington Staats said the November 14th elections were being held under the custom code because the council's term is com- ing to an end and INAC had not moved on the resolutions. He said as a result band council had no alternative but to use the election guidelines. INAC election officials told Tur- tle Island News they had placed Six Nations request "on the ice." Gatean Pilon, elections manager said meetings were held with Six Nations council and the decison to put the request on hold was agreed to. However, Six Nations Band Council says it never agreed to place the request on hold. Instead, band councillor Les Sowden.said, "we told them a deal's a deal. I don't know what they're pulling now but that's not what council told them to do." Maracle said the code is "intoler- able" He said there wer several items in the code that needed to be changed. The "custom" election code, he says, only allows people who voted in a particular election to impeach or remove a chief or councillor for wrongdoing, and makes the elections subject to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. "This means that 86 per cent of the population is barred from removing a corrupt chief or coun- cilloi: The only peopJe who can impeach him or her are the friends and family members who voted for them in the first place, N • The code also allowed off- reserve residents to vote for both chief and councillon and changed the term of office from two years to three. Government reguJations require a band to provide evidence that the band's membership supports the election changes by way of a "public band meeting, by petition, by plebiacite or by other means within the custom of the band." The Maracles maintained the council did not get community approval but .die federal govern- ment approved the new code jllSt two days before the advance poll in October 1995. In early 1996 the Maracle sued the band council and Minister of Indian Affairs in Federal Court to have the election nullified. The lawsuit dragged on through 1996 and 1997 and in April of this. year, Brian MaracJe, said the Maracles proposed an out-of-court settlemeQt that included reversion to the previ- ous election rules and a public statement that if council wouldn't try to install another elections code without first getting the communi- ty's approval. In April the band council accept the tenns of the settlement and passed a , resolution asking the Department oflndian Affairs to reinstate the old election rules by placing the band back under Sectjon 74 of the Indian Act. But the settlement was never finaJized. Band council bs been wating for INAC to make the nec- essaty changes and INAC claims to be studying the issue. Maracle said as a resuh they have ,decided to launch the injunction and will hold a public meeting tonight (Wednesday) at 7 p.m. at the community hall to discuss the council plans.