Quebec Natives to ignore election

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Quebec's First Nations are approaching the upcoming provincial election on Sept. 12 with a mix of ambiguity and alarm.

On one hand, many are alarmed by the likelihood of a victory by the separatist Parti Quebecois, which boasts a number of candidates who don't hide their hostility to Native peoples. On the other, the vast majority of Native people living in Quebec are unlikely to cast a ballot in the election. Many First Nations aren't even allowing scrutineers or polling booths to set up in their communities.

"The elections? What elections? It's been a long time since the elections were held (for band council)," was how Kahnawake band council member Billy Two Rivers put it when asked by the Montreal daily La Presse newspaper to comment on the election. Of a population of 12,000 Mohawks in Quebec, not one voted in the 1992 referendum, none voted in the 1989 Quebec election, three voted in 1985, 10 in 1981, and seven in 1976. Virtually no Mohawks voted in recent federal or Ontario elections, either.

Quebec's National Assembly took away Natives' right to vote in 1915. It was only given back 25 years ago.

"We are a nation. We have been sovereign here for centuries, and never have we been asked to become Canadians," said Kenneth Deer, editor of the Mohawk newspaper The Eastern Door, in an interview with La Presse.

"Voting in these elections for us would be like denying our identity, and the Mohawks have always been very firm on that."

Kahnawake Chief Lindsay LeBorgne echoed Deer's sentiments in an interview with Windspeaker.

"People in Kahnawake feel the election is a non-Native issue. Even though it does concern us, we feel that their process - just like we wouldn't want them participating in our process."

This sentiment is shared by other First Nations peoples across Quebec. Only 29 per cent of Natives voted in the last Quebec election. This time around, it doesn't promise to be any different and the rate may govern lower because of a mounting animosity between Native peoples in the province and the Quebec public.

The Crees of James Bay boasted an even lower rate than the average - only 26

per cent. To some Crees, even that figure was higher than they would preferred. In an opinion piece published in the Aug. 26 issue of the Cree magazine The Nation, former Cree Deputy Grand Chief Romeo Saganash criticized the minority of Crees who did vote in 1989.

"I couldn't help but wonder how we sometimes so cruelly lack consistency in politics," he said. "If we are indeed a distinct nation, a people (Eeyou), then why are we participating with such hopeless submissiveness in another nation's electoral process."

The Crees' current Deputy Grand Chief, Kenny Blacksmith, said he sympathizes with the Mohawk position, but added that Crees are watching the election closely.

"Sovereignty is one of the most fundamental issues facing the Crees," he said, noting that the Quebec election could set the course for the break-up of Canada.

Chief Blacksmith said the Cree Nation has a vital strategic role to play should Quebec threaten to pull out of Canada.

"We have an immense responsibility," he said. "I understand why they (the Mohawks) act in the manner they have chosen, but at the same time Crees will have a major impact. The position of the Crees could be very important in the whole situation," he said.

"We're all concerned about what the outcome will be. As for our people, we've never dictated what they should do or if they should vote. We will provide information about the possibilities, but I think the people will decide.

Chief Blacksmith said sovereignty would be a major item on the agenda at this year's 10th annual general assembly of the grand Council of the Crees/Cree Regional Authority, starting Aug. 23 in the coastal village of Eastmain.

The Cree people will also have a chance to weigh the election results and consider their future with Quebec at the first ever Cree Nation Gathering Sept. 13-16, scheduled to stat the day after the election at Old Nemaska site.