Batchewana First Nation allows election polling stations for 1st time in years

A First Nation in northeastern Ontario is welcoming polling stations for the first time in years, opting to give residents the chance to vote tactically, even though the community's leader says they see the current federal campaign as a "foreign election."

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The Batchewana First Nation, which comprises four reserves near Sault Ste. Marie, in recent years has not had polling stations on its territory.

"Batchewana has long held the position that we are not Canadian. And we all still believe that," Chief Dean Sayers said.

"And we've not encouraged our people to participate in what we refer to as a foreign election, the Canadian election."

But this year, the First Nation is allowing Elections Canada to set up voting booths.

The band council has also taken the unusual step of encouraging members to vote and helping them to register.

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The First Nation has an on-reserve population of about 700, according to Canadian government figures.

Sayers said while it feels strange for his people to be choosing a government for Canada, he sees voting as a "business decision" to ensure that Batchewana and other First Nations have a co-operative treaty partner in Ottawa.

He said he hasn't yet decided if he will cast a ballot.

"My family and I will be having the discussion. I'm really still uncomfortable and I'm noticing that with a lot of our people," Sayers said.

Low turnout

Historically, aboriginal people in Canada have had a low voter turnout in federal elections.

Elections Canada estimates the average turnout for eligible voters on First Nationreserves is 44 per cent, well below the overall 61 per cent turnout in 2011, and far from the participation rate in local aboriginal elections, which can often hit 90 per cent.

The reasons vary.

Many of Canada's Aboriginal Peoples view their special relationship with the Canadian government as a nation-to-nation one, in which many, like Sayers, are uneasy electing representatives to another nation.

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde, whose organization is encouraging aboriginals in Canada to vote next month, said last week he hasnever voted in a federal election because he hasbeen in various First Nations leadership roles and wanted to preserve the appearance of impartiality.

Moreover, Bellegarde said he was following the advice of First Nations elders who advised him against voting, arguing the Crown has treaty obligations that must be honoured no matter which party forms government.

"As indigenous peoples, our relationship is with the Crown, rather than one political party. And I must work with the entire Crown. This is why I have not voted in federal elections," he said in a statement this week.

But after First Nations leaders and young people reached out to him, he said he decided to vote this time.

"The message to me is consistent and clear: 'It is vital that First Nations voices be heard in every way possible, including through the ballot box. You need to be an example. You need to vote.'"

Tool against assimilation

The decision whether to vote, and the reasons for it, are complex.

Tyrone Souliere of Garden River First Nation, east of Sault Ste. Marie, has started a group called Rally the First Nations Vote holding voter registration clinics in communities across the region.

Souliere said he sees voting as a tool in the war against assimilation of First Nations.

"Fifty years ago, they gave us the vote. We view that as a tactical error on their part. Now we can take advantage," he said.

In what recent polls suggest is a close electoral race, aboriginal votes could make a substantial difference.

Fifty-one ridings across Canada have been identified by the AFN as potential swing ridings where, according to Bellegarde, the outcome could be determined by the turnout of aboriginal voters.

Four of those districts are in northeastern Ontario.

The NDP is the party with the most aboriginal candidates, with 23 to 16 for the Liberals, seven for the Greens and three for the Conservatives.

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