aboriginal politics More than voting aboriginal politics

Greg Poelzer, Bonita Beatty and Loleen Berdahl

If Canada and Aboriginal people are going to find a common political path to dealing with conflict, the myth of the politically disengaged Aboriginal citizen needs to be expunged.

Pour que le Canada et les peuples autochtones puissent un jour convenir d’une approche de règlement des conflits, il faudra d’abord en finir avec le mythe du citoyen autochtone politiquement désengagé.

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ne of the enduring myths of Canadian politics is Our own study, based on an extensive telephone sur- with turnouts of 45 percent and 38 per- hat, then, can explain the lower per levels were more inclined to partici- that of the apolitical Aboriginal citizen. This con- vey conducted in November and December of 2010 across cent, respectively, in the last provincial Wvoter turnout in provincial and, pate (not unlike the broader Canadian Oventional wisdom has arisen from a narrow meas- the Northern Administration District of Saskatchewan, as and federal elections. especially, federal elections among a voting profile). Men were more likely urement of political engagement that focuses solely on low well as on focus groups that later looked at these broader As Robert Putnam’s famous Bowling population that is otherwise very polit- than women to report voting in gener- Aboriginal voter turnout rates in federal elections. Spread by measurements of engagement, found that Aboriginal people Alone showed, active political involve- ical? We believe the answer lies in the al elections. media reports and repeated by many politicians as gospel, are in fact highly politically and civically engaged. In the ment is a core of social capital, the degree of affinity to the level of govern- Broadly speaking, on-reserve popu- the result is a dangerous misperception among Canadians telephone survey of 851 people that included 505 Aborig- concept of interaction with others and ment: the greater the affinity, the higher lations tend to be younger, with low- that Aboriginal people are disengaged and uninterested in inal people, as well as in focus groups with youth across the civic participation that contributes to the election turnout. First Nations and er educational attainment and lower politics. And correcting that myth is essential if we are to North, most respondents reported that participation in com- healthier democracies. By this measure, Métis people have strong attachment income levels than off-reserve popula- find common political ground upon which to resolve dis- munity events and political activities was important or very Aboriginal residents are model citizens. to their traditional communities, while, tions. And Aboriginal Canada is young: putes over natural resource development and the myriad important to them. This was underscored by participation Among our findings: for First Nations people, the less trust 46 percent of Aboriginal people are other issues that confront Ottawa and Aboriginal peoples. in more formal political activities: 23 percent reported con- • close to 80 percent of Aboriginal north- that people had with the level of gov- under the age of 25, compared with 29 A more comprehensive and fairer assessment of Aborig- tacting a government office about an issue in the past year; erners shared or gave away tradition- ernment, the less likely they were to percent for Canada as a whole. Over 81 inal political engagement paints a different picture. Political 31 percent said they had attended a band council meeting. al foods with community members vote. The sense of alienation from those percent of respondents aged 18-25 re- participation does not begin and stop with voting on federal These direct participation levels are staggering. It is (moose meat and berries); levels of government and a perceived ported not voting in the last provincial election day. Civic engagement is also about active participa- highly unlikely that one in three Canadians have attended a • 66 percent of the Aboriginal re- lack of efficacy — Aboriginal voters are election, and 92 percent reported not tion in civil society and includes volunteerism or sharing time municipal meeting in the past year. Barely that number even spondents reported ­providing care a small percentage compared with the voting in the last federal election. and resources within a community. And it includes activities bother to turn out for municipal elections. or support, including counselling or mainstream — as well as procedural bar- These low turnout rates matter. ranging from contacting an elected official or running for of- Indeed, contrary to the widely held view of low Ab- friendly visiting, in the past year; riers all contributed to lower turnouts. While local political and civic engage- fice to serving on committees and attending public meetings. original voting turnouts, First Nations people participate • just under half reported helping organ- The research also suggests that fed- ment adds to the vitality of Aboriginal heavily in voting. The pattern of voting is simply opposite ize or supervise activities or events for eral voter turnout rates differ across Ab- communities, low federal and provin- Greg Poelzer is associate professor of political studies and director of to that of non-Aboriginal Canadians. Typically, Canadian school, church or other organizations original groups, and that socio-demo- cial turnout rates hinder the ability of the International Centre for Northern Governance and Development participation is highest in federal elections (61 percent in in the past year; graphic differences strongly influence Aboriginal peoples to have impact on at the University of Saskatchewan and head of the Northern the 2011 election) and lowest in municipal elections, with • 40 percent reported volunteering for a voting turnout, especially for First policy outcomes. For this reason, in- Governance Thematic Network, University of the Arctic. Bonita local elections often having turnout rates below 40 percent band event; Nations living on reserve. On-reserve creasing engagement in the electoral Beatty is graduate chair at the International Centre for Northern (for example, just 35 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in • 37 percent reported teaching or coach- First Nations generally self-reported process at the federal and provincial Governance and Development and assistant professor in the the 2013 Edmonton municipal election). But in our study of ing; and lower federal turnout than the off-re- levels is an important goal. Department of Native Studies at the University of Saskatchewan. northern Saskatchewan, self-reporting (common in electoral • 32 percent reported serving as a mem- serve First Nations and Métis. Those in Aboriginal leaders have taken a She is a member of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation. Loleen studies, but there is a caveat: people tend to slightly over- ber of a board or committee. the lower age, income and education large degree of responsibility to en- Berdahl is an associate professor in the Department of Political report voting as they believe they should vote even if they These numbers simply do not have brackets tended to be less inclined to courage higher turnouts in federal and Studies at the University of Saskatchewan. didn’t) for band elections was nearly 77 percent, compared parallels in mainstream Canada. engage, but those in the middle to up- provincial elections. Before the 2008

64 OPTIONS POLITIQUES POLICY OPTIONS 65 SEPTEMBRE-OCTOBRE 2014 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2014 law and order Greg Poelzer, Bonita Beatty andand L oleenLoleen B erdahlBerdahl Crime and populism federal election, the Assembly of First high Aboriginal populations and on Nations’ national “Vote ’08, Change or adjacent to traditional Aboriginal Can’t Wait!” campaign sought to get lands. If Canadians assume that Aborig- Michael Adams out the vote, and in the 2011 federal inal people are not politically engaged election, provincial Aboriginal organi­ and have little interest in broader poli­ The Harper government has made a tough stance on zations also became involved. The tical processes, there may be a greater Métis Nation-Saskatchewan and the inclination to try to resolve disputes by crime one of its showcase positions. Why? Federation of Saskatchewan Indian legal action rather than pursuing a pro- Nations co-hosted forums to encour- cess of consultation. La répression de la criminalité compte parmi les projets age Aborigi­nal peoples to vote. The At- This may also explain some of the phares du gouvernement Harper. Pourquoi, au juste ? lantic Policy Congress of First Nation differing perceptions between Aborigin- Chiefs Secretariat encouraged bands to al and non-Aboriginal people over the participate more fully in the election, repeated Aboriginal demand for greater and the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs “consultation.” A belief that Aborigin- held the “I Am First Nations and I al peoples are apolitical can lead to a Vote” campaign. discounting of “consultation” as noth- Aboriginal engagement at the prov- ing more than grandstanding — when incial and federal levels is not limited to in fact it may reflect a core element of voting. An increasing num- ­Aboriginal political engagement. ver the past eight years, the federal Conservatives Today, the tone is less pragmatic and more punitive. ber of Aboriginal people By contrast, if Canadians assume, have seldom missed an opportunity to show Can- “For too long,” Harper complained in Calgary, “our crim- Low federal and stand as candidates. In 2011, as our research suggests, that Aborig- Oadians how seriously they take crime and how eager inal justice system was twisted to make the rights and wel- provincial turnout rates the most recent federal elec- inal people are and will be politically they are to make convicted offenders sorry for their trans- fare of the criminal its central concern. So we said: do the tion, Canada elected seven engaged, then designing consultation gressions. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has made punish- crime, do the time.” Harper’s government posits a sharp hinder the ability Aboriginal MPs, the high- processes in meaningful ways has a ing crime a showcase priority of his government. He ham- dichotomy between good Canadians and bad criminals. It est number in history: five greater potential for successful econom- mered this home in his annual summer speech to the local rejects a technocratic, evidence-based, intellectual approach of Aboriginal peoples Conservatives and two New ic futures. Consultation processes can faithful in Calgary this past July. “If, God forbid, Canadians in favour of a more emotionally satisfying “tough” stance. to have impact on Democrats. And over 2011 be and have been implemented in ways are attacked, or robbed, if they lose someone they love to a It’s clear that something has shifted in the federal gov- there were three Aboriginal­ that accommodate Aboriginal con- murderer, or if they see their children driven to suicide by ernment’s approach to crime. What is less clear is why. Can- policy outcomes. cabinet ministers, Leona cerns and opportunities. The First Na- bullying and harassment... the first thing they want their adian crime rates are low and falling (though Harper has tried Aglukkaq, Peter Penashue, tions Power Authority in Saskatchewan government to do is not to make excuses for criminals, but to take credit for falling crime rates, the downward trend and Shelly Glover. and the co-management boards in the to stick up for victims,” reads the Prime Minister’s prepared long predates his government). Canadians were not and are It is therefore concerning that Northwest Territories show how insti- speech. “And that is our role.” not especially agitated about crime; no Willie ­Horton-style some of the proposed changes in the tutionalized engagement of Aboriginal This is not empty rhetoric. Since taking office in 2006, ­parolee-run-amok case has inflamed public sentiment. Crime Fair Elections Act could increase barriers Canadians in the policy process can the government has introduced no fewer than 81 crime is rarely mentioned by more than 5 percent of Canadians as to Aboriginal participation in federal strengthen resource development. And bills, though only 30 have been passed into law. According the most important issue facing the country. elections. The requirements for vot- the youth focus groups that we con- to University of Toronto criminologist Anthony Doob, the What benefit, then, to today’s Conservatives in departing er identification will almost certainly ducted as part of the research suggested effect of these new laws has largely been to lengthen sen- from the evidence-based approach of both Liberal and Pro- result in lower voter participation, es- that youth would participate more if tences (as with mandatory minimums) or to eliminate chan- gressive Conservative governments since the Trudeau era? pecially in more remote communities given opportunities to do so, particu- ces to have sentences shortened (as with the elimination of The answer can be found in public opinion data on where many people do not have driv- larly in activities that they enjoyed and “accelerated parole review,” a mechanism that could temper the discrepancy between the views of the country’s elite er’s licences, bank accounts or other that might achieve positive benefits, punishments for first-time, nonviolent offenders). ­decision-makers and those of the public. Analysis of years pieces of identification indicating a such as youth cultural camps. Just as Harper uses crime to shape his political identity, of public opinion research suggests that during the Trudeau, street address. The new requirements All governments — federal, prov- the government is using new rhetoric to describe crime and Mulroney and Chrétien/Martin eras, as some of Canada’s core are poorly tailored for communities incial and Aboriginal — need to place criminals. As Doob points out, in the past, legislators of all “progressive” policies emerged, Canadians were not altogeth- where voter fraud through false identi- greater priority on institutionalizing political stripes and in all regions — including Progressive er enamoured of them. Instead, they deferred to elites: a loose fication is practically impossible, since political processes that tap into the Conservatives and even those governing Alberta — once coalition of the educated, the urban, and Quebec progres- everyone knows everyone. high levels of Aboriginal civic and pol- tended to emphasize concepts such as restraint and balance. sives, who were heavily represented in institutions such as itical engagement. This not only will They also generally described the criminal justice system in legislatures, government bureaucracies and the courts. n fundamental ways, the success of provide greater economy prosperity for pragmatic terms: What helps people function successfully Those elites, in turn, deferred to evidence, including ICanada’s economic future will de- Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Can- after being punished for a crime? What is cost-effective? those darn statistics so beloved by criminologists. And over pend highly on our ability to develop, adians alike, but could also strengthen What works? time, Canadians have generally warmed to the progressive transport and sell our natural resources Aboriginal engagement in all levels of policies of the last several decades — even if they were divid- and to provide the power and energy government in Canada. The myth of ed about them when they were first introduced. to run our industries. Most of Canada’s Aboriginal lack of interest in politics is Michael Adams is the founder and president of the Environics However, a significant minority remained unim- natural resource wealth lies in areas of one that needs to be busted. n Institute for Survey Research. pressed with the drift of the country. This minority

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