We don’t need more oppression.

April 3, 2014

Tanya Lalonde – President, APC (QC) – Over a year ago, the #IdleNoMore movement swept across Indigenous communities in Canada and beyond. It made me think hard about what being #IdleNoMore meant to me and how I could take action to become more involved. I decided then that being politically engaged was an important place to start.

Whether we like it or not, politics is where decisions are made and we must ensure that we are adequately represented. The lack of voter engagement in Indigenous communities is an issue because when we remain absent from the polling stations and disengaged in politics, we become even more invisible than we already are.

This is a problem.

I do agree the system is not perfect, but I do not agree that this is an excuse to not vote or to not become candidates, or demonstrate how our values and belief systems can change this system for the better. The Indigenous vote IS important to political parties and I know members of the Liberal Party at least spend quite a bit of time discussing how to better engage Indigenous communities and I have been honored to be a part of these discussions. I also sat in a room with hundreds of Liberal members as they voted unanimously to support every single policy resolution we, as the Aboriginal Peoples’ Commission put forward. It was a very powerful moment indeed. Most members wanted to speak to us, to hear our stories, to better understand where we are coming from and how we can work together to solve the issues our peoples currently find themselves facing. It confirmed to me that I was doing the right thing by being involved.

It was shocked and saddened to witness and experience the backlash we got from our own people. After the Liberal convention, other Indigenous people called us assimilationists, token Indians, “white”, and a bunch of other not-so-nice things. How terrible to put down people who are working hard to ensure that our voice is out there. I value and love my identity as an Indigenous person. That doesn’t mean, though, that I have to abstain from mainstream society’s way of making decisions – decisions that very much impact all of us on a daily basis.

My way of putting #Idle No More into action is by learning the issues, learning what each party stands for, voting, becoming politically engaged, leading other people to action, and creating a dialogue on the importance of being involved. I bring our issues to the provincial party and the federal party and work with our people and communities to create policies that work to address those issues. However, if no one is there to speak to these issues – well, the issues become non-issues and they simply move on to the next. It is very important to me to provide that voice.

What I have recently learned is that political involvement should NOT include intimidation tactics from your own community when you decide to become involved. Participation should not result in being negatively labelled simply because you feel it is important to exercise your democratic right. Participation should not be something that calls your identity as an Indigenous person into question.

My participation should NOT result in my continued oppression.

*Note 1: The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views of and/or official policy of the Aboriginal Peoples’ Commission and/or the Liberal Party of Canada*
*Note 2: The blog was published in the language it was received*