Inside the chaos of the Assembly of First Nations national chief's office

When RoseAnne Archibald staffed her office following her election win last July as the Assembly of First Nations' first female national chief, it was seen by some working in First Nation politics as a dream career opportunity. 

Now, a year into her first term, what was considered a chance to usher in a new era at the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) under female leadership has devolved into workplace turbulence, according to sources who spoke with CBC News.

Archibald faces an external investigation triggered by bullying and harassment complaints from four senior staff members she hired to move to Ottawa and run her national chief's office. 

Three of the four complainants are women, CBC News has learned.

Archibald's acting chief of staff has filed her own complaint against the four staffers, as well as senior AFN officials, CBC News has also learned.

The internal tensions within Archibald's office have now plunged the AFN, a national organization advocating for 634 First Nations, into an unprecedented crisis. 

Archibald is pitted against the majority of regional chiefs, who suspended her after she made public statements accusing the four staff members of requesting more than $1 million in severance payouts. 

The national chief also faces an expected vote of non-confidence at next week's annual general assembly in Vancouver that could force her out of office — something that has never happened in the history of the organization. Archibald was barred from attending the Vancouver assembly but the AFN reversed that decision, according to an AFN statement sent late Thursday.

CBC News reviewed several documents related to the complaints and interviewed seven sources with direct knowledge of the AFN's internal workings.

The records and interviews paint the most detailed picture to date of the alleged dysfunction within the national chief's office.

The complaints allege Archibald required staff to participate in "daily rituals of semi-religious, psychological therapy and psychoanalysis," and recruited them in schemes against other AFN employees while claiming they were facing "dark forces" aimed at undermining "God's work."

CBC News spoke to the seven sources confidentially because they feared workplace reprisal if they were named.

Events came to a head in early May when Archibald delivered what a complainant called an "ultimatum" to her most senior staff: get on board with her plan to dismantle part of the organization or get out, sources said.

The seven sources also said Archibald was focused on targeting AFN staff she viewed as loyalists to her predecessor, former national chief Perry Bellegarde.