Evan Lilley from Dakota Tipi First Nation is a newly elected Southern Chiefs Organization (SCO) Youth Chief, and he recently attended his first quarterly summit at Sandy Bay First Nation with the 34 other Chiefs. Lilley outlines, as a Youth Chief he holds a vote. He notes during the summit resolutions are passed, and topics are honed in upon.

Grand Chief Jerry DanielsThis time around those topics were Health and Governance. SCO Grand Chief Jerry Daniels explains concerning governance, ways to work with the different tribal councils, and other treaty governments were discussed. He adds this allows SCO to select priorities and strategies with the help of various regions.

Lilley explains they also looked to the Manitoba Indigenous Contributions to the Manitoba Economy report that came out in January of this year. Lilley was glad to see the number of contributions made by the Indigenous population in Manitoba.

When looking at the topic of health transformation the 34 Chiefs looked at how they can transfer health responsibility to First Nation jurisdiction, Daniels adds, strategies were formulated based off of case studies done around Canada.

During the summit, a 10-year-old mandate passed a resolution for revision. Environmental Strategy is that mandate, and Daniels outlines it's now an all-inclusive resolution that allows them to paint of picture of how they can work with partners to formulate strategies to organize themselves around the environment better.

Lilley would like to thank Sandy Bay First Nation for hosting the Summit and having them on their land.