As an Anishinaabe citizen, I can't vote in good conscience in federal elections
CBC
This First Person column is written by Waabshkigaabo (Will Landon), a citizen of Wauzhushk Onigum Nation which is on the northern shores of Lake of the Woods in Ontario. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.
For a counterpoint take on voting on the federal election, read "As an Indigenous Sovereign, I will vote in this year's federal election."
There's been a longstanding debate when it comes to voting as a First Nations. Do you vote in order to get a "friendly" government that will support First Nations to attain a better quality of life? Or do you not vote because it will erode our sovereignty, nationhood and identity?
When I was younger, I wanted to cast my ballot as soon as I turned 18. Like other First Nations, I thought that voting would have a positive impact on Indigenous lives since we could help determine who formed the government and set policies.
But the more I learned about Canada's history and began to understand what it meant to be Anishinaabe who never gave up their rights to self-determination and nationhood, my desire to vote changed. Today, I believe that it doesn't matter which party is in power or how many First Nations faces sit in parliament. Things won't change until we recognize self-determination for ourselves and fight for the change of our quality of life from within.
The leaders in my family, most prominently my grandmother, helped shape my view to believe that Anishinaabe are separate from the Canadian socio-political body due to the inherent differences in our relationship with the land and our responsibilities as sovereign treaty persons.
When entering into the treaties, we as Anishinaabe understood that we would not interfere with each other's way of life or governance but would respect one another as neighbouring sovereigns. Clearly, that didn't happen. Colonization came in the form of residential schools, the Sixties Scoop and exists even today in the form of reserves and the child welfare system.
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