Math'ieya Alatini elected grand chief of Council of Yukon First Nations

Math'ieya Alatini, former chief of the Kluane First Nation, has been elected the new grand chief of the Council of Yukon First Nations (CYFN).

The election took place Wednesday during CYFN's annual general assembly at Brooks Brook, near Teslin.

Four other people were running alongside Alatini: Pauline Frost, Ed Schultz, Rose Sellars and Steve Smith. Five rounds of voting were held to determine the winner, with one candidate being removed after each round. The final vote was between Alatini and Schultz, a former CYFN grand chief. 

Alatini succeeds Peter Johnston in the role. Johnston, who served as grand chief since 2016, decided not to run for another term.

Alatini has a commerce degree from the University of Victoria. She was elected chief of Kluane First Nation in 2010 and served two terms before deciding to enter territorial politics. She ran as a Liberal candidate in the 2016 Yukon election, but finished second behind Yukon Party MLA Wade Istchenko.

She has also served as a chief strategist with GSD Strategies, a consulting firm, and was CYFN's COVID-19 coordinator during the pandemic.

CYFN is a non-profit political organization based in the territory that represents and advocates for Yukon First Nations, with the grand chief serving as the main political spokesperson.

Alatini will also have some new responsibilities as grand chief. Starting in October, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) will no longer have a Yukon regional chief who's independent of CYFN. That person's duties and responsibilities will now be taken up by the CYFN grand chief. The two organizations announced the change earlier this month.