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Muskoday First Nation. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)
Muskoday election

‘We have to create a good place for the next generation coming up’: Chief candidate at Muskoday

Feb 21, 2019 | 2:00 PM

One of three candidates for chief in the upcoming Muskoday First Nation election says his priorities include providing more services for youth, and addressing homelessness and additions in the community.

Herman Crain has been on council for 32 years, and told paNOW he felt now was the right time to run for chief.

“I was nominated a few times before but I always declined the nomination because I believed in the work and effort Chief Bear was doing at the time, and I was 100 per cent supportive of him,” he said.

Herman Crain says the wellness of the community is his number one concern. (submitted photo/Herman Crain)

In addition to his work on council, Crain was also a member of the Muskoday Fire Department for 32 years and is co-manager of the Muskoday First Nation emergency management group. He was involved with the summer games committee. Crain said this election represents an important election for the community and added whomever gets elected has some big shoes to fill.

“The community may be a little fractured at this time and my goal is to find a way to bring the people together and just have that healthy atmosphere,” he said.

One of the initiatives started under the previous regime to address addictions issues is a HUB program (Muskoday Intervention Circle) similar to the one used by the City of Prince Albert. Crain said he would like to see that program continue and expanded.

“Through the school we are trying to bring back a lot of the traditional teachings and practices that I think were not present in the community for many, many years,” he said, adding staff put together round dances, teepee teachings and mini powwows.

In addition to that work in the schools, Crain said he would like to help start a minor sports program for youth, which could be affiliated with the Saskatchewan Minor Hockey Association.

“I also participated for the teams in the community back in my younger days and I always found it brought out the community and it created a bit of pride in your community,” he said.

The election has been scheduled to take place March 21, 2019. The other candidates for Chief are Sandi Leboeuf and Sandra Burns. paNOW reached out to all three candidates for comment, but as of Thursday afternoon, Crain was the only one to respond.

nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell

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