Grand Chief Doug Kelly (Tseem)

BIOGRAPHY

Grand Chief Kelly carries the ancestral name of his late maternal grandfather — Tseem. Married, with a blended family of six adult children, he resides on the Soowahlie Indian Reserve located near Cultus Lake, BC.

Grand Chief Doug Kelly is a Tribal Chief of the Sto:lo Tribal Council. He is currently the Chair of the BC First Nations Fisheries Council, a member of the First Nations Health Council, and acts as the Treasurer and Tribal Chief for Intergovernmental Relations for the Sto:lo Tribal Council.

With more than twenty-eight years of experience in leadership roles for Aboriginal communities, Grand Chief Kelly has an extensive leadership background including: 8 years as Elected Chief of the Soowahlie Indian Band; 6 years as a self-employed Community Development Consultant;13 years in senior management positions including Executive Director, First Nations Chiefs' Health Committee; Executive Director, Health and Social Development for Sto:lo Nation; Operations Manager for the Sto:lo Tribal Council; and former Commissioner with the BC Treaty Commission.

Grand Chief Kelly served his first term on the three member political executive of the First Nations Summit, the Summit Task Group from June 2004 – June 2006. He was elected to a second two year term on the FNS Task Group in June 2008. The Task Group is authorized by the Summit to carry out specifically mandated tasks on issues related to treaty negotiations in British Columbia. The First Nations Summit, which is comprised of a majority of First Nations and Tribal Councils in BC, provides a forum for First Nations in British Columbia to address issues related to Treaty negotiations as well as other issues of common concern.

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