Indigenous people may feel too “dislocated or estranged” to vote

The Assembly of First Nations and Congress of Aboriginal Peoples are encouraging Indigenous people to exercise their sovereign right and vote.

But not all Indigenous people believe that the way to have their voices heard is by marking an X on the ballot box.

John Borrows, law foundation chair in Aboriginal justice and governance at the University of Victoria, said he was at a recent powwow in Ontario where T-shirts declaring, ‘I’m not Aboriginal, I’m not Canadian. I’m Anishinaabe,’ were worn.

“That’s a prominent theme I see out east here, particularly among the Anishinaabe and others. So that’s going to be a big part of the vote as well,” said Borrows, a member of the Chippewas of Nawash.

“There’s going to be large groups of people who still feel either dislocated or estranged from politics or actively opposed [to] involvement in Canadian politics because of failure to deal with treaties and the Constitution in a way that recognizes the nationhood of Aboriginal people.”

There are also the frustrated youth, said Liberal candidate Robert-Falcon Ouellette, who is campaigning in Winnipeg Centre.

Idle No More, which took shape three years ago, galvanized young people, he said, but some of those same young people have been turned off by the political structure, frustrated by not knowing how to turn desire for change into public policy.

“This is my Idle No More. This is why I’m running… because I really wanted to make a long-term difference,” said Ouellette.

Winnipeg, with the highest urban Aboriginal population in the country, has four federal ridings. The AFN has identified three of these ridings, including Ouellette’s, as points of interest. To date, Ouellette, who is Cree, is the only Indigenous candidate contesting a Winnipeg seat.

Ouellette also ran for mayor in 2014, finishing third among seven candidates. His mayoral platform, in part, spoke about bringing together a city divided along socio-economic and ethnic lines.

His federal platform, in part, speaks about building a coalition in Winnipeg Centre, where 20 per cent of the population is Indigneous, 20 per cent are immigrants and 80 per cent speak French.

Response has been overwhelming, he said. People are snapping up his campaign signs and he and his team have been registering new voters, helping them meet the difficult new requirement for two pieces of identification.

To date, there are four ridings in Manitoba each with a single Indigenous candidate, all of whom are with the Liberal party. Manitoba has 14 federal ridings, with six identified by the AFN as being Aboriginal-influenced. Only two of those six ridings have Indigenous candidates. Liberal candidate Rebecca Chartrand, who is Anishinaabe and Metis, is challenging NDP incumbent Niki Ashton in Churchhill Keewatinook-Aski, one of the ridings the AFN says should be watched.

The AFN has pegged 51 ridings as significant for Aboriginal voters. In other words, said Don Kelly, communications director with the AFN, “essentially these are ridings where Aboriginal voters can either swing the vote (be a significant factor in deciding the outcome) or, in some, cases, where Aboriginal voters form the majority (some of the northern ridings, for example).”

Liberal candidate Lawrence Joseph is running in Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River in northern Saskatchewan. It is his second attempt to become MP. He says he did little campaigning in 2011 and came within 800 votes of Conservative incumbent Rob Clarke. Joseph expects a better outcome this time around.

To date, he is facing off against Clarke and Georgina Jolibois of the NDP. All three candidates are Indigenous. Joseph points out the riding has a 71 per cent Aboriginal population and 25 First Nations bands, including two of the largest bands in Saskatchewan: La Ronge and Peter Ballantyne.

April Bourgeois, who is Metis and the NDP candidate in Regina-Wascana, is knocking on doors and getting the regular “ABC” response – Anybody But the Conservatives.

“I think it’s really important. If we want to see change, we have to start voting because the government is not accountable if you’re not voting,” said Bourgeois.

Desnethe-Missinippi-Churchill River and Regina-Wascana are two of seven ridings (of 14) in Saskatchewan that Aboriginal voters can have an impact in, says the AFN.

“We need to have First Nations people around all decision-making tables on policy and legislation that impacts on our lives and our rights,” said AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde. “It’s better to have First Nations people pushing for change on the inside… and we can be pushing on the outside of those organizations as well.”

“This election campaign is far too important to the future of the country and the future prosperity of First Nations, MÈtis and Inuit for people to be uninvolved,” said CAP Vice-Chief Ron Swain in a statement.

“With over 1.4 million Aboriginal people in the country, the political power of an organized and unified voting block would not be over-looked.”

To date there are 40 Indigenous candidates – in five parties – in 37 ridings, but there are still a handful seeking nomination for their parties. Fifteen of the 51 ridings that the AFN says can be influenced by Aboriginal voters have Indigenous candidates. On the Oct. 19 federal election, there will be 338 MPs elected.

In 2011, there were 37 Indigenous candidates and a 45 per cent First Nations voter turnout.

The increase in Aboriginal candidates and the push by national organizations like AFN and CAP are strong indications that this election has the potential of providing a strong platform for Indigenous issues, said Borrows.

“But at the same time there is that other strand where people say, ‘We don’t want to be involved. We’re not Canadian. We are Aboriginal. We’re allies of the Crown. We’re not subjects of the Crown. We need to avoid that kind of electoral involvement,’” he said.

These people, said Borrows, believe that Sect. 91 (24) of the Constitution says the federal government’s power is in relation to First Nations and not over First Nations. In that case, Indigenous issues should be dealt with through such entities as the Treaty commissions in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, or the world stage, like the United Nations.