‘I won’t be the last’: Tréchelle Bunn elected as first female chief of Dakota nation

WINNIPEG — Tréchelle Bunn has had a whirlwind month.

She wrapped up her two-year tenure as one of the Southern Chiefs’ Organization youth chiefs, finished her second year of law school at the University of Manitoba and received an Indspire award for her work in Indigenous communities at a ceremony in Vancouver.

Then an election held the day Bunn returned to Manitoba from B.C. put the young woman in the history books.

On April 10, Bunn was voted in as chief of Birdtail Sioux Dakota Nation, marking the first time the community located near the Saskatchewan boundary has elected a female leader.

At age 25, Bunn is also the youngest person elected as chief in her community and is believed to be one of the youngest sitting chiefs in the country.

“Something that always kind of motivates me and inspires me is that I may be the first, but I won’t be the last,” Bunn said in an interview. “I hope that other young people and other women are inspired by my story and to step into positions of leadership within our communities and across the country.”

Bunn began her leadership journey on the ice. She was born in Minnesota but grew up in Wampum, Man., a small southeastern community.

Her love of hockey would eventually take her back to the United States, where she played in Minnesota and for the Boston Shamrocks as part of the Junior Women’s Hockey League before getting a scholarship to play for the University of Calgary Dinos.

“She’s always been taking charge and leading from a positive place,” Jolene Bunn said of her daughter.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tréchelle Bunn transferred to the University of Manitoba, where she ended her collegiate career with the women’s Bisons hockey team.

She graduated with a degree in criminology and Indigenous studies in 2023 and is now pursuing a law degree.

Throughout her university career, Bunn worked to support Indigenous students and athletes.

Bunn established the Reconciliation Run in 2022. The half-marathon takes place Sept. 30 on Orange Shirt Day, also known as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The route begins at the former site of the Birtle Indian Residential School and ends in Birdtail Sioux Dakota Nation, where participants take part in a community feast.

She founded the race to honour her great-grandparents Donald and Mildred Bunn, who were survivors of the school.

“From a young age, I was always very aware of the love in my community and the love that my relatives gave me no matter what,” she said.

Despite not growing up in Birdtail, Bunn has maintained a connection to her community, culture and identity as a Dakota woman.

Some of her fondest memories are of summers in Birdtail at her grandparents’ house, racing her cousins in the nearby valley and hills.

On election day, Bunn had family at her side. While some were at the polling station watching votes be counted, Bunn was at her grandparents’ place with her partner and cousins.

“Before long, my grandfather burst through the door and was like, ‘There’s my chief,”’ she said. “We had an elder from my community, Joe Bunn, he brought a drum and him and my grandpa sang me a victory song right in my grandparents’ living room.”

Bunn’s interest in becoming chief started as early as 2021, said Jolene Bunn. Elders began encouraging her to put her name forward.

“She is the future of Birdtail,” Jolene Bunn recalls one elder telling her.

Along with family, Bunn credits her mentor, former provincial NDP cabinet minister Kevin Chief. The two have shared many stages together, with Chief saying Bunn has a natural ability to create an influence of change.

“She’s proud, but she’s also grateful,” said Chief.

“Those are good values to have when you’re going to try to speak on behalf of your community.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 22, 2025.

Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press