Lennox Island Chief Darlene Bernard is retiring after nearly 20 years in position

Thinh Nguyen · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 04, 2025 12:28 PM EDT | Last Updated: 22 minutes ago

After astir 2 decades successful leadership, Chief of Lennox Island First Nation Darlene Bernard is stepping down.

In a missive to her assemblage this week, Bernard said she volition not question re-election, calling it "one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make."

She archetypal served arsenic main from 2001 to 2013, past returned to the relation six years ago.

"I spot truthful galore large things happening and I've been starring the charge. It's astir heartbreaking to say, oh, you know, you've got to fto spell each that benignant of stuff," she told CBC News.

"It was hard for maine to locomotion distant from a enactment relation because… you go who you are. Like, you know, you're the chief, you're the leader, and it becomes your life."

Bernard said assemblage members person trusted her to assistance them with their concerns and issues implicit the years. But she acknowledged that aft each this time, the value of enactment has go "a truly dense load" — particularly done caller challenges similar the COVID-19 pandemic, harm from post-tropical storms, and the ongoing enactment to instrumentality and support pact rights.

"I spot tons of aboriginal leaders each astir me, and I consciousness assured that I tin walk the torch, and the enactment that I've done volition proceed to determination forward," she said.

Bernard volition stay successful bureau until a caller main is elected. The band's predetermination is scheduled for June 14.

Goals achieved

Bernard said she feels this is the close infinitesimal to measurement down due to the fact that she has accomplished the goals she acceptable retired during her astir caller term.

That includes gathering beardown relationships with governments, which helped pb to the improvement of the Pituamkek National Park Reserve located a concatenation of islands disconnected the province's North Shore.

Along with Abegweit First Nation Chief Junior Gould, Bernard signed an statement with Parks Canada past summertime for co-governance of the Pituamkek National Park Reserve, pursuing astir 2 decades of negotiations.

"We secured a brand-new wharf, a occurrence hall," Bernard added. We're moving connected our span and we brought successful each kinds of homes and each these large things."

She besides mentioned her enactment with L'nuey, the enactment representing the Island's 2 First Nations, arsenic a cardinal accomplishment.

"We've done specified large enactment to assistance each Islanders, each Epekwitnewaq person a amended knowing of pact rights and that we're here, we person a shared past unneurotic and that together, we tin scope reconciliation," she said.

Bernard added that portion she won't beryllium successful bureau to spot immoderate large projects travel to beingness — including the projected Na'ku'set Sun Park star workplace successful Mount Pleasant and the Wejipek Wind Project successful the Kinkora country — she is arrogant of the groundwork that's been laid.

"I'm not going to beryllium present to spot them go operational, but surely I'll beryllium watching from afar and cheering them on."

Ongoing challenges

While overmuch has been achieved, Bernard said cardinal challenges remain, peculiarly issues surrounding the national Indian Act and however that affects the designation of Indigenous children successful the future.

Many members of Indigenous communities successful Canada person besides raised concerns astir the Indian Act's second procreation cut-off rule, which says that aft 2 generations of "out-parenting," Indian presumption cannot beryllium transmitted to a child. In galore instances, this prevents First Nations radical from passing connected Indian presumption to their descendants.

A United Nations committee past twelvemonth called connected Canada to overhaul the Indian Act to region favoritism against women and their descendants, and to destruct the 2nd procreation cut-off rule.

Bernard said galore children successful her community, including her ain grandchildren, are affected by that system.

"My grandchildren… they should beryllium connected the list. Half of them are, and fractional of them are not, depending connected who they're, who my children are joined to, whether they're presumption oregon not status," she said.

"They are our children, they should beryllium recognized. They should beryllium the beneficiaries of our treaties and stuff. It's a ridiculous system, and it needs to beryllium addressed."

Bernard said L'nuey volition proceed to propulsion for changes.

"It continues to beryllium a situation for america to person self-determination successful our communities and jurisdiction implicit however we bash things here," she said.

"There'll ever beryllium challenges for our people, but it's however we conscionable those challenges. If we conscionable those challenges with an unfastened mind, with the tone of reconciliation, past we tin lick the problems and determination forward."

What's next

As for her ain future, Bernard said she's keeping an unfastened mind.

"I request to person immoderate rest. I'm going to instrumentality the summertime and instrumentality immoderate clip with my family.

"And past I volition person to spell backmost to work. I'm lone 61 years old, and I deliberation that I person a batch of cognition that I person that possibly I tin bring to a array somewhere. Somebody mightiness privation me."