Voter turnout among aboriginals is lower than among non-aboriginals. Even the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), Perry Bellegarde, has admitted to never having voted in a federal election. Ironically, Chief Bellegarde is urging native people to go out and vote in this election, to be part of this country’s democratic practice, a very public instance of “Do as I say, not as I do.”
But that’s okay. Only 330 or so chiefs can vote in AFN elections, an organization that claims to represent the vast multitudes of on-reserve native people stretching from ocean to ocean to ocean… but I digress.
Aboriginal reluctance to participate in this democratic exercise every four or five years is easily understandable when you look at the candidates for prime minister – all white, privileged and male, although Elizabeth May is only two out of three of these, which ain’t bad.
For many indigenous people, voting is like shopping for white bread. It might be enriched but, really, does that make it any healthier?
This time around, though, exciting things are afoot aboriginally speaking. In at least 50 ridings across the country, native people could hold the swing vote. On top of that, there are 53 candidates running for office who identify as aboriginal, Métis or Inuit: four are running for the Conservatives, eight are Green Party, 18 Liberal and 23 NDP.
So on election night there could be a substantial splash of red (of the non-Liberal variety) on the Canadian political landscape.
When I was growing up, it was common to see Progressive Conservative signs spread liberally across lawns, including my grandfather’s, on my reserve. At the time, this was a sign of gratitude, a response to the fact that it was the PCs under John Diefenbaker who gave native people the right to vote in 1960. Prior to that we were considered wards of the state and as such had no say in the direction of the country. This was better than in Australia, where all Aborigines didn’t get the federal vote in all states and territories until 1967.
But nowadays, most people on the rez lean toward the Liberals or NDP. The changed nature of the Conservative Party has definitely had a negative effect on the political appetites of First Nations voters.
A good example would be the issue on the minds of most indigenous people this election: the 1,200 murdered and missing aboriginal women, and how each of the individual parties plans to address it – or not.
So far only the Liberals and the NDP have expressed an interest in holding a public inquiry.
The Conservatives continue to maintain that it’s a criminal matter. They feel more comfortable dangling shiny big-ticket promises in front of us for our votes, like committing $567 million over five years to help build “stronger communities,” and $215 million for skills development and training for aboriginal people.
The Green Party continues its drive to be Indian-friendly, offering up a bevy of interesting promises, including removal of the two per cent fund-ing cap on First Nations education and full funding of the program backlog ($424 million).
Also high on their list is ensuring that any self-government negotiations do not lead to the extinguishing of aboriginal title rights or assimilation, and, most interestingly, a proposal to scrap the Indian Act. There’s also an interest in fully implementing the recommendations of the 1996 Report Of The Royal Commission On Aboriginal Peoples. The original report set out a 20-year time-line to implement its recommendations. That would be… next year, I believe.
The Liberals are offering the most assurances. If given a mandate, Justin Trudeau and his crowd plan to provide, among other things, more money to support and enhance indigenous languages, an initial commitment of an extra $515 million a year for core education in First Nations schools (K to 12) for a total of $2.6 billion over four years, and the development of a “federal reconciliation framework” to resolve grievances related to existing historical treaties and land-claims agreements.
But let’s not forget it was this man’s father, along with Jean Chrétien, who first endorsed the controversial and coincidently named white paper in 1969 that basically called for eliminating any special recognition for native people by abolishing the Indian Act and dismantling the legal relationship between native people and the government of Canada. To put it mildly, it did not go over well with most of us. Natives became restless, and the proposal was quickly sacrificed on the altar of good judgment.
The New Democratic Party, meanwhile, is making a bunch of feel-good promises, including the creation of a cabinet-level committee, chaired by the prime minister, to ensure that federal government decisions respect treaty rights, inherent rights and Canada’s international obligations. And building an all-weather road (an idea the Liberals also support) for the problem-plagued Shoal Lake 40 First Nation.
All the major parties, with the exception of the Greens, plan in some way to review or commit to the 94 recommendations released by the Truth And Reconciliation Commission on residential schools. All parties except the Conservatives plan to implement the United Nations Declaration On The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples.
Native well-being may not be as sexy as Senate misdeeds, but it is an area where a lot of us quite frequently feel wet and miserable. Surviving is a matter of picking the right umbrella.
Drew Hayden Taylor is an award-winning playwright, author and humorist. He is originally from Curve Lake First Nations in central Ontario.
Original Article
Source: NOW
Author: DREW HAYDEN TAYLOR
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