{"id":107465,"date":"2026-07-31T16:53:36","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T20:53:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?p=107465"},"modified":"2026-07-31T16:53:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T20:53:36","slug":"potlotek-chief-faces-four-opponents-in-cape-breton-band-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/31\/potlotek-chief-faces-four-opponents-in-cape-breton-band-election\/","title":{"rendered":"Potlotek chief faces four opponents in Cape Breton band election"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Rosemary Godin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cape Breton Post Five people are running to be chief of Potlotek First Nation in its upcoming band election to be held Aug. 11. Running against incumbent Chief Wilbert Marshall are: retired businessman Kenny Basque; seasonal fisherman Wayne Johnson; recent Cape Breton University business grad and community volunteer Noelle Julian; and Potlotek\u2019s economic development officer Tahirih Paul. Presently, Marshall chairs the board of directors for the powerful Atlantic First Nations Water Authority Inc., among his many other wider positions within Mi\u2019kma\u2019ki. He is also a voting member of the board of directors for the Union of Nova Scotia Mi\u2019kmaq. A year ago, Marshall was a recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal and received it at a special ceremony at the same&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\">\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription &#8211; Corporate, Print Subscription Only, Canada Print and Online, and USA Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2026%2F07%2F31%2Fpotlotek-chief-faces-four-opponents-in-cape-breton-band-election%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Rosemary Godin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cape Breton Post Five people are running to be chief of Potlotek First Nation in its upcoming band election to be held Aug. 11. Running against incumbent Chief Wilbert Marshall are: retired businessman Kenny Basque; seasonal fisherman Wayne Johnson; recent Cape Breton University business grad and community volunteer Noelle Julian; and Potlotek\u2019s economic development officer Tahirih Paul. Presently, Marshall chairs the board of directors for the powerful Atlantic First Nations Water Authority Inc., among his many other wider positions within Mi\u2019kma\u2019ki. He is also a voting member of the board of directors for the Union of Nova Scotia Mi\u2019kmaq. A year ago, Marshall was a recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal and received it at a special ceremony at the same... <\/p>\n<div class=\"pmpro\"><div class=\"pmpro_card pmpro_content_message\"><div class=\"pmpro_card_content\">This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription - Corporate, Print Subscription Only, Canada Print and Online, and USA Print and Online members only.<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?action=register\">Register<\/a><\/div><div class=\"pmpro_card_actions pmpro_font-medium\">Already a member? <a href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-login.php?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Ftheturtleislandnews.com%2Findex.php%2F2026%2F07%2F31%2Fpotlotek-chief-faces-four-opponents-in-cape-breton-band-election%2F\">Log in here<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":101363,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","category-ticker","pmpro-level-required","pmpro-level-3","pmpro-level-2","pmpro-level-5","pmpro-level-4","pmpro-level-6","pmpro-level-7","pmpro-level-8","pmpro-no-access"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Potlotek chief faces four opponents in Cape Breton band election - The Turtle Island News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/31\/potlotek-chief-faces-four-opponents-in-cape-breton-band-election\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Potlotek chief faces four opponents in Cape Breton band election - The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Rosemary Godin, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Cape Breton Post Five people are running to be chief of Potlotek First Nation in its upcoming band election to be held Aug. 11. Running against incumbent Chief Wilbert Marshall are: retired businessman Kenny Basque; seasonal fisherman Wayne Johnson; recent Cape Breton University business grad and community volunteer Noelle Julian; and Potlotek\u2019s economic development officer Tahirih Paul. Presently, Marshall chairs the board of directors for the powerful Atlantic First Nations Water Authority Inc., among his many other wider positions within Mi\u2019kma\u2019ki. He is also a voting member of the board of directors for the Union of Nova Scotia Mi\u2019kmaq. A year ago, Marshall was a recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal and received it at a special ceremony at the same\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/31\/potlotek-chief-faces-four-opponents-in-cape-breton-band-election\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TurtleIslandNews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-31T20:53:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/facebooklogo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"725\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"483\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/31\\\/potlotek-chief-faces-four-opponents-in-cape-breton-band-election\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/31\\\/potlotek-chief-faces-four-opponents-in-cape-breton-band-election\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lynda Powless\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458\"},\"headline\":\"Potlotek chief faces four opponents in Cape Breton band election\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-31T20:53:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/31\\\/potlotek-chief-faces-four-opponents-in-cape-breton-band-election\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1139,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"National News\",\"ticker\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/31\\\/potlotek-chief-faces-four-opponents-in-cape-breton-band-election\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/31\\\/potlotek-chief-faces-four-opponents-in-cape-breton-band-election\\\/\",\"name\":\"Potlotek chief faces four opponents in Cape Breton band election - 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