Arlen Dumas (born 1974) is a Canadian

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

leader.

Life

Dumas was born and raised in

Pukatawagan The Mathias Colomb Cree Nation (MCCN) () —also known as Mathias Colomb First Nation, Mathias Colomb (Cree) First Nation, and Pukatawagan/Mathias Colomb Cree Nation—is a remote First Nations community in northern Manitoba, located north of ...

, Manitoba. He began attending

Lakefield College School Lakefield College School (sometimes called LCS, The Grove or simply Lakefield) is a private day and boarding school located north of the village of Lakefield, Ontario. It was the first Canadian member of Round Square, an international affiliatio ...

in Ontario at age 16, and attended

Mount Allison University Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839. Mount Allison was the first university in the British Empire to award a baccal ...

until 1999, studying Political Science and Canadian Studies. He lived in Toronto for a year as a stay at home father, and then worked in Toronto for several years as a community centre director. In 2008, Dumas, aged 33, was elected chief of the

Mathias Colomb First Nation The Mathias Colomb Cree Nation (MCCN) () —also known as Mathias Colomb First Nation, Mathias Colomb (Cree) First Nation, and Pukatawagan/Mathias Colomb Cree Nation—is a remote First Nations community in northern Manitoba, located north of ...

. Dumas has participated in the

Idle No More Idle No More is an ongoing protest movement, founded in December 2012 by four women: three First Nations women and one non-Native ally. It is a grassroots movement among the Indigenous peoples in Canada comprising the First Nations, Métis a ...

movement, and in activism against the Hudbay Minerals company beginning in 2013. In 2017, Dumas was elected grand chief of the

Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC; preceded by the Manitoba Indian Brotherhood, MIB) is an association that advocates on issues affecting First Nations in Manitoba. Representing all of the 63 First Nations in the province, it advocates on beha ...

, succeeding Derek Nepinak. In 2019 he left the role for two weeks following an accusation of

catfishing Catfishing refers to the creation of a fictitious online persona, or fake identity (typically on social networking platforms), with the intent of deception, usually to mislead a victim into an online romantic relationship or to commit finan ...

, with the role being temporarily filled by Chief Sheldon Kent of Black River First Nation. He was re-elected to the role in 2021. In March 2022, Dumas was suspended from the position following allegations of sexual harassment from a former female staff member; he was formally removed in August 2022 following an independent investigation into the matter. In August 2023, Dumas was sued by the former staff member, who alleged he had raped and sexually harassed her. Dumas launched a countersuit against the woman in November 2023. After being removed from the grand chief position, Dumas took the role of Health Services director at Quest Health Clinic Inc.

Personal life

Dumas' son, Achahk Dumas who had

cystic fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder inherited in an autosomal recessive manner that impairs the normal clearance of Sputum, mucus from the lungs, which facilitates the colonization and infection of the lungs by bacteria, notably ''Staphy ...

, died in 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dumas, Arlen 1970s births Living people 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century First Nations people Cree politicians Indigenous leaders in Manitoba Mount Allison University alumni