After a late night and long morning of voting, deal-making, concession speeches and tense last-minute pleading, Cindy Woodhouse was elected Thursday as the new national chief of the Assembly of First Nations.

In her new post, Woodhouse, 40, faces the daunting task of uniting more than 600 chiefs after years of bitter internal strife, punctuated with complaints from chiefs that the assembly often neglects their best interests.

That害羞草研究所檚 why Woodhouse and David Pratt, the challenger whose strong showing throughout 15 hours of voting Wednesday kept him in the race, took to the Ottawa convention centre floor in a hand-in-hand show of unity.

害羞草研究所淚 knew it wasn害羞草研究所檛 doing our convention any good to prolong it when we害羞草研究所檙e facing a housing crisis, when we害羞草研究所檙e facing a suicide, opioid, crystal meth epidemic in this country,害羞草研究所� Pratt said as he conceded victory.

害羞草研究所淵ou leave here with one word from me: We leave here united, we leave here behind our national chief. We害羞草研究所檙e back, and the future belongs to First Nations.害羞草研究所�

Pratt, who serves as first vice-chief for the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations in Saskatchewan, trailed by about 10 per cent throughout the six rounds of votes that began Wednesday morning and ended shortly before midnight.

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That害羞草研究所檚 when organizers, facing the Shaw Centre害羞草研究所檚 imminent closure for the night, called a halt to the stalemate 害羞草研究所� Woodhouse had not cleared the necessary 60 per cent vote threshold 害羞草研究所� and scheduled a seventh ballot for Thursday morning.

It never happened.

害羞草研究所淵ou have to work with First Nations people in a good way,害羞草研究所� warned Woodhouse, formerly the assembly害羞草研究所檚 regional chief in Manitoba, after taking part in an elaborate oath of office ceremony.

害羞草研究所淚f you don害羞草研究所檛 listen to our people, you don害羞草研究所檛 listen to our chiefs, you don害羞草研究所檛 answer them, then there害羞草研究所檚 problems. And so, to Canada: we害羞草研究所檙e coming for you.害羞草研究所�

Murmurings from both camps Thursday suggested Woodhouse and Pratt had reached a deal to make her the winner after late-night and early-morning discussions alongside interim national chief Joanna Bernard.

Part of that deal included collaboration between Woodhouse and Pratt on issues surrounding child welfare, Woodhouse confirmed later in the day.

Woodhouse thanked former national chief RoseAnne Archibald during her acceptance speech, saying she 害羞草研究所渟mashed glass ceilings for all of us.害羞草研究所�

Arhibald was the first woman to be elected to the position in 50 years, but was ousted earlier this year over the findings of an investigation into complaints from five staff members about her conduct. Woodhouse was an executive at that time.

A third-party independent review of Archibald found some of her behaviour amounted to harassment, and that she had breached confidentiality rules and violated internal policies by retaliating against complainants.

Archibald denied the allegations. Her supporters maintain she was removed from the post for trying to change the organization害羞草研究所檚 status quo.

Of the 231 chiefs who took part in the special assembly earlier this year, 71 per cent voted to remove her.

Her ouster triggered a legitimacy crisis and divided chiefs, but Woodhouse vowed that she would work hard to bring them together and restore the assembly害羞草研究所檚 lustre.

害羞草研究所淚 don害羞草研究所檛 want a big band office,害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淚 want a strong advocacy office.害羞草研究所�

It turns out her advocacy work was already underway: Woodhouse said she had already spoken with a number of political leaders, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

She urged him to invest in infrastructure and 害羞草研究所渁ll those things that, maybe, Canadians take for granted,害羞草研究所� she said.

Some chiefs want the assembly to take a more adversarial approach to their relationship with the government 害羞草研究所� something Woodhouse acknowledged is sometimes necessary.

害羞草研究所淏ut at the same time, there害羞草研究所檚 also a time to try and work through these things 害羞草研究所� We have to sometimes kick down doors, or sometimes we have to do what we have to do to get our people recognized,害羞草研究所� she said.

害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檓 coming in here as a fresh start to try and say: Let害羞草研究所檚 work through some of these issues together.害羞草研究所�

The issues, say chiefs, are plentiful. Among them are First Nations policing, child welfare, a housing crisis, water quality, M茅tis self-government legislation and the carbon pricing system.

The Chiefs of Ontario, an advocacy group representing 133 First Nations, has asked the Federal Court to undertake a judicial review of the system the federal government has put in place to extract a price for pollution.

The chiefs say the regime is discriminatory, in part because its rebate mechanism is tied to the federal income tax system, which many who live and work on reserves do not use.

Woodhouse said she害羞草研究所檚 害羞草研究所渁bsolutely害羞草研究所� willing to support the application, and wants the AFN to take a closer look of its own at the carbon regime.

害羞草研究所淔rom what I害羞草研究所檓 hearing, it害羞草研究所檚 going to hurt our people,害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淲e should have a proper legal strategy on that, as well as a political lens on it.害羞草研究所�

Woodhouse promised that she would prioritize issues brought forward by the assembly害羞草研究所檚 chiefs, no matter their scale.

害羞草研究所淔irst Nations from coast to coast to coast have to be unified 害羞草研究所� We have a lot of work to do,害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淲e need to make sure we害羞草研究所檙e working together for progress.害羞草研究所�

害羞草研究所� With files from Stephanie Taylor in Ottawa

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press