Perry Bellegarde is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 First Nations

First Nations

First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...

{Metis} activist and politician. A member of the Little Black Bear First Nation in Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....

, he has served as a band councillor in Little Black Bear, as chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations

Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations

The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations is a Saskatchewan-based First Nations organization.The federation grew out of a number of different organizations. Although the Federation of Saskatchewan Indians was organized in 1959 , it grew out of the Union of Saskatchewan Indians, founded...

 and as the Saskatchewan regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations

Assembly of First Nations

The Assembly of First Nations , formerly known as the National Indian Brotherhood, is a body of First Nations leaders in Canada...

.

Bellegarde was a candidate in the AFN's 2009 leadership convention

Assembly of First Nations leadership conventions

Assembly of First Nations leadership elections are held every three years to elect the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations. Each chief of a First Nation in Canada is eligible to cast a vote. Currently there are 633 eligible voters.AFN rules state that a candidate needs 60% of the...

, in which he was defeated by Shawn Atleo

Shawn Atleo

Shawn A-in-chut Atleo is a Canadian First Nations activist and the current national chief of the Assembly of First Nations. Formerly the AFN's regional chief in British Columbia, he was selected as the new national chief of the AFN at its leadership convention on July 23, 2009, defeating Perry...

on the eighth ballot after six successive ballots on which the candidates were virtually tied.