{"id":1679,"date":"2019-09-25T11:57:11","date_gmt":"2019-09-25T15:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learn.the-irg.ca\/htsept9-19\/"},"modified":"2019-09-25T11:57:11","modified_gmt":"2019-09-25T15:57:11","slug":"htsept9-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/the-irg.ca\/fr\/htsept9-19\/","title":{"rendered":"The myth and opportunity of the Indigenous vote"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Hill Times, September 9, 2019<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s election time again, when political parties look to build voter support. Are Indigenous votes included in these national discussions about where we want to go as a country? Some may answer that there is enough Indigenous inclusion. The usual defence is either the Indigenous vote is so small that it isn\u2019t worth the resources, and this is a myth Indigenous vote numbers can swing ridings across the north of Canada and can be incredibly influential. This is a real opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second defence is that \u201cthe Indigenous issues\u201d are specific to Indigenous peoples so not national in scope. It\u2019s time to challenge the notion that \u201cIndigenous issues\u201d are about Indigenous peoples. This is Canada\u2019s enduring myth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We would not describe the challenges facing new immigrants as \u201cthe immigrant issues.\u201d Instead, we would describe the systems and barriers that may be faced by new Canadians, such as the immigration process and mix of provincial, municipal, and non-profit resources and supports. But we wouldn\u2019t personalize the discussion. When the phrase \u201cIndigenous issue\u201d is used, it risks the perception that Indigenous peoples are the issue, instead of focusing on the systems and barriers that are holding back Indigenous inclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\\’s about systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For an example of systems not exactly working as planned, let\u2019s talk about child welfare for Indigenous children. The proportion of Indigenous children in care is horrifying, but is not an \u201cIndigenous issue,\u201d it\u2019s a Canadian issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The network of systems apprehends Indigenous children at much higher rates than any other group, and continues to foster and adopt our Indigenous children to families from starkly different cultures. The most recent report about inequities for Indigenous child welfare comes from Newfoundland and Labrador<\/a> by child and youth advocate Jackie Lake Kavanagh, but it could have been written about almost any child welfare system in Canada. So how about we protect all our children, including Indigenous children? How about we demand a change in systems?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If there was a poll of Indigenous Canadians, there wouldn\u2019t be just one or two top priorities, but I suspect these would be in the top 10: child welfare, so we don\u2019t repeat the outcomes of the \u201960s Scoop again in the 2020s decade; the safety of Indigenous women and girls, so that we don\u2019t lose another thousand to murder in the next decade; legislation to implement reconciliation at federal and provincial\/territorial levels, so that we don\u2019t waste yet another generation of Indigenous children\u2019s hope; funding and supports for basic education in the K-12 schools, so that kids can succeed in science and math and enter university; and basic housing with safe drinking water. The hard truth is that each of these priorities is heart-breaking\u2014that we have to fight for it, and that we all don\u2019t have it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are not partisan issues. Indigenous inclusion is a moral issue. It\u2019s time we all demand that political platforms give attention to these systems in desperate need of change, so that Indigenous peoples need not fear the systems purported to help them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a time for allies\u2014non-Indigenous Canadians\u2014to amplify the voices of Indigenous and demand some changes. It won\u2019t be easy. There are layers upon layers of complexity in these discussions and multiple perspectives on the problems and proposed solutions. I do know that an essential part of the answer is to include Indigenous voices in all aspects of the election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a call to political parties to do real inclusion for Indigenous Canadians in this election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n