I am sharing this post from Rachel, Chief Dean’s wife, wanting to uplift her message: call him because you care. Leadership is a heavy burden and I think we need to all remember that the best kind of leaders put their entire hearts into their work, and often, that is not sustainable. The leaders who seem to think they’re capable of running for a Presidency in their 70s and 80s scare me, because I wonder at what point they stopped feeling any compassion or empathy. Because when I think of the leaders who I admire, who are really caring and empathetic, I see that the endless demands of caring and the toll it takes. If we want leaders who care about people, we need to remember to care for them, back.

Rachel shared this morning that Chief Skalúlmecw Dean Nelson is “on a medical stress leave by doctor’s orders till the New Year. We had a scare last week where his heart was uncomfortable so we went to Emergency. Everything checked out okay except his blood pressure was a bit high. He followed up with his doctor the other day who asked him how much time off he’s had. He then said “I’m putting you on medical leave for 6 weeks”. So, Dean is not doing any Chief duties, acting Political Chief is Josh Anderson. He won’t be taking any Chief calls, Fire Fighting calls, Community Issues, etc. You can call him because you care or because you want to do something fun with him. His job is to rest, relax, have fun, decompress and focus on good heart health. Thank you for your kindness and understanding.”