Isabel O’Soup has been acclaimed to a fifth term as Tribal Chief with the Yorkton Tribal Council.
Asked why she has continued to let her name stand for the position, O’Soup said it’s a job which needs to be done.
“Honestly, it’s a tough job, and it’s not an easy job, but I love being an advocate for my people,” O’Soup told Grasslands News.
Looking back through her four previous terms as Tribal Chief O’Soup was asked what has stood out as a highlight for her.
“The tipi,” she quickly replied, referring to the metal tipi erected in City Centre Park. . . . It’s a constant reminder for everybody that First Nations are here.”
Looking ahead to her next four years in the role, O’Soup said there are still many things she wants to work on.
Leading the list is a desire to be more involved with Yorkton as a community.
“We want to be involved,” she offered, noting “we’ve never been involved before.”
Another key effort is educating people about the reality of First Nations.
“I want the general public to be educated,” she said, adding “the education we learned in schools about First Nations people is really not the truth.”
O’Soup said there is also work to be done in terms of supporting First Nations to find dollars in areas where they are not getting support. As an example, she said when Cote First Nations builds a new arena, it is their money with no other supports.
People may think First Nations “get everything for free,” said O’Soup, but she quickly added that is certainly not the case.”
So, have things gotten better through four terms?
“Some days yes, yes, yes, we did it,” said O’Soup. “. . . Some days it’s three steps forward and four back.”
That said O’Soup said she remains optimistic.
“There’s always a silver lining. . . I want to have a good positive vision for my people,” she said.
