Hagwilget Band Office Under Blockade for More than Two Months

Rose Austin and Tamara Murrell outside the Hagwilget Band Office. They've been blocking chief and council's access to the building for almost two months. Source: Dan Mesec
Rose Austin and Tamara Murrell outside the Hagwilget Band Office. They've been blocking chief and council's access to the building for almost two months. Source: Dan Mesec
Pamela Haasen - CICK - SmithersBC | 16-09-2021
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Several members of the Hagwilget band are blockading the band office after calling for the chief councillor to resign.

Tamara Murrell and Rose Austin, two spokespersons for the group blockading the band office said they initiated the blockade after the band council failed to launch an election, which was deferred due to COVID-19.

Murrell, Austin and others in the community saw the deferral as an over reach of the council’s authority and asked that en election take place. When the council refused they boarded up the windows of the band office and began a sit in, stopping all members of council from accessing the building.

“Community members have said ‘enough is enough’”, according to Austin. “We have no confidence in chief and council, every child should matter and every member in this community should matter. They [council] have done a lot of stuff against a lot of people in this village and hurt them. We don’t want people living in fear any more.”

Murrell and Austin cited abuses of power and aggression towards band members as the reasons why they called for Chief Councillor Cynthia Joseph’s resignation.

Although CICK NEWS reached out to Joseph for a comment, we have yet to receive a response.

Shortly after the blockade began, an election was called and the election office took nominations out of his car. There are now eight candidates in the running for chief and 21 for council. Elections will be held on Oct. 2nd.

Listen to the full interview below.