Drew Hayden Taylor is an Anishnawbe playwright and humorist.
Much like the cicadas making an appearance every few years, it’s election season again – and it comes with the same annoying, constant buzz. Come April 28, a wide swath of Canadians will choose who they will complain about for the next few years. Kinda like a wedding.
For many Indigenous people, federal elections can be a bit of a conundrum. First of all, numerous First Nations, Metis and Inuit people view the Canadian government as a foreign occupier, and see voting as an act of complicity in maintaining that status quo. I can see that.
Others in our community also believe that if you’re in a boat that belongs to somebody else, and you see that it’s sinking, you might want to pick up a pail to help bail for everybody’s benefit – especially if that boat used to belong to you. I can see that too.
Then there’s also that issue that much of mainstream Canada finds itself grappling with, too: which party should I support?
This particular election has had an odd Indigenous subtext. It’s been said that when disagreements last for long periods of time, eventually somebody will be accused of being a Nazi. It’s now officially human nature to skip right to that. That could also be said for Canadian politics, except in this case about references to residential schools. Case in point: It has emerged that Liberal Leader Mark Carney’s father used to be the principal of a Catholic residential school. In a 1965 CBC Radio interview, he spoke of a program at his Indian day school in Fort Smith, NWT, for “culturally retarded children,” and later criticized Indigenous-led studies for being one-sided in criticizing these schools.
Understandably, Mr. Carney disavowed his father’s comments: “I love my father, but I don’t share those views, to be absolutely clear.” While Indigenous people have an understanding known as The Seven Generations Teachings, which states every decision you make will have possible repercussions for the next seven generations, for the most part we don’t believe in the axiom “the sins of the fathers are visited upon the children” (I read that in a book somewhere). Every canoe must chart its own path.
I believe Mr. Carney. I mean, whom among us hasn’t winced at something our parents said? Yes, that can happen in the Indigenous community too. My mother once told me she didn’t “get” Star Trek. It’s two completely different topics, but I assume you get my point.
Pierre Poilievre has his own past issues on the topic to deal with. In 2008, the Conservative Leader is on record as saying “Canada’s Aboriginals need to learn the value of hard work more than they need compensation for abuse suffered in residential school.” More recently, Mr. Poilievre defended Conservative candidate Aaron Gunn, even though local Indigenous leaders have called for his removal from the ballot in the B.C. riding of North Island-Powell River due to comments like this, from 2020: “There was no genocide. Stop lying to people and read a book.”
Well, I’ve read (and written) several books, and I’m quite sure what people are saying about residential schools and the acts of genocide were pretty much true. I would advise Mr. Gunn to read a book, specifically, one called the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report. Spoiler alert: settlers play a small but influential part in the overall plot.
George Orwell allegedly said of his own book, “I wrote 1984 as a warning, not an instruction.” Mr. Gunn should be aware the TRC Report could be considered the opposite.
When I was young, I remember when my grandparents had signs on their lawn for the Conservatives, as did many on my reserve. This was primarily because Conservative prime minister John Diefenbaker gave First Nations people the vote in 1960. We tend to remember and appreciate little things like that. Doing a cursory survey today, I can’t find a lot of Indigenous people who would confuse Diefenbaker (and his policies) for Mr. Poilievre (and his policies), which may be why there’s a notable lack of Conservative signs on the rez for this election.
I know there are other political parties strutting their stuff in this election too. I salute the NDP and the Green Party; in a perfect world they would have much more influence in how this country is run. Many say they are lost causes, but as Jimmy Stewart said in Mr. Smith Goes To Washington: lost causes are “the only causes worth fighting for.”
I cannot, of course, speak for all First Nations people. But out here in Indian country, it usually feels like you’re looking for the party that will do the least damage.
Politics, eh?