Former Six Nations Chief Wellington Staats dead

(Update)

The Six Nations community is mourning the death of former band council chief Wellington Staats. He died Tuesday at home at the age of 81.

Staats was the face of Six Nations when he was elected chief from 1980 to 1986 and from 1995 to 2001. He was involved in national aboriginal issues, meeting with first nations leaders across Canada along with provincial and federal officials.

He met Queen Elizabeth several times and escorted her around Her Majesty’s Royal Chapel of the Mohawks during the Queen’s visit to Brantford in 1984.

A funeral will take place at 2 pm tomorrow at St Paul’s Anglican Church on Six Nations.