Two chief councillors from Haida Gwaii attended the Assembly of First Nations annual meeting in Toronto last month.Skidegate Chief Councillor Robert Mills and Old Massett Chief Councillor Ken Rea joined over 500 First Nation leaders and 3,000 delegates from July 17 to 19 for the 33rd Assembly of the group. "Representatives from across Canada attended," said Mr. Mills, "I met chiefs from Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Alberta, BC and all over. It was well-attended I thoroughly enjoyed it, meeting new people and re-kindling old-friendships."This was the first national assembly Mr. Mills had attended and he said it was, "a great opportunity to see what's going on across the country, and to meet other First Nations' leaders struggling with some of the same issues, and from that, find a way to address them them collectively through the Assembly of First Nations." Mr. Mills said he also appreciated learning about different economic development strategies that might be used on Haida Gwaii."There were resolutions passed, but the bulk of the time was the election process, it went to three ballots, which was time consuming." Mr. Mills said he was happy with the results of the election and pleased that Shawn A-in-chut Atleo was re-elected as National Chief. Mr. Atleo is a hereditary chief from the Ahousaht First Nation and this will be his second term as National Chief.Old Massett Chief Councillor Ken Rae said "I thought it was great, and the man who won was the best person for the job and a great speaker. What impressed me most was the whole process."Mr Rea also said he was honoured to be able to represent half of the Haida people at the assembly