Chief of Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation resigns

Eugene Hart was elected to the position three times

The chief of the Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation has resigned. Eugene Hart, who has been chief since 2015, announced his resignation on Tuesday, June 6, via a livestream on Facebook.

Hart said he had given a two-week notice to council on Monday that he was stepping down.

“Maybe it’s time for me to give somebody else a chance to take over my seat now,” Hart said in the video, saying he hopes the work he started in Sheshatshiu would continue.

Under the Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation’s election rules, a byelection has to be called in the next three months to replace Hart. Hart is the first member of the First Nation to be elected to the position of chief three times and was vice-principal at Sheshatshiu Innu School before entering politics.

Hart was two years into a three-year term, with the next general election for the First Nation set for 2024.