A few of them have messages that read “Every Child Matters” or “This is Mohawk Land.”
asserted
This → have → messages
Some feature the local language of Kanien’kéha.
asserted
Some → feature → Kanien’kéha
But election campaign posters or signs are nowhere to be found in Kahnawake, even though a Quebec general election is only a few weeks away.
asserted
election → find → Kahnawake
“We don’t want to participate or be involved in (the elections) in any way, nor do we want it to be right in our face,” said Mohawk Council of Kahnawake Grand Chief Cody Diabo.
asserted
Diabo → want → Kahnawake
If someone tried to put up a sign, they’re swiftly taken down, said Diabo.
asserted
Diabo → try → sign
Recently, a video of someone tearing down a sign of Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon that had been installed at the outskirts of Kahnawake made the rounds online.
asserted
that → tear → rounds
In the video, a man appears to use a sledgehammer to knock out the wooden stakes propping up the poster at the edge of the highway.
asserted
man → appear → highway
Diabo said that most people in the community view both provincial and federal elections as if they were taking place in a different country.
asserted
they → say → country
Numbers compiled over the past two decades reflect how Kahnawake and many other Indigenous communities in Quebec have largely turned away from participating in Quebec elections.
asserted
Kahnawake → compile → elections
In May, the province’s electoral oversight agency, Élections Québec, published data showing the average voter turnout for provincial elections in Indigenous communities in Quebec was at about 19 per cent since 2007, compared to close to 68 per cent provincewide.
uncertain
turnout → publish → cent
These rates vary from community to community.
asserted
rates → vary → community
In Wendake, a community in the Quebec City region, 1012 out of 1691 registered voters cast their ballots in 2022.
asserted
voters → register → 2022
Turnout has been much lower in Akwesasne, where no one voted in 2022 even though the community had 1423 registered voters.
asserted
community → vote → voters
Over the past two decades, only one person has voted in a Quebec election in the community, which is located in the southwestern part of the province, overlapping with Ontario and New York.
asserted
which → vote → Ontario
The single vote was cast in the 2018 election.
asserted
vote → cast → election
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In Kahnawake in 2022, 20 out of 2313 registered voters cast their ballots in the provincial riding of Châteauguay.
asserted
voters → get → Châteauguay
Overall, the voter turnout in Kahnawake has been under one per cent in every Quebec election since 2007, except for 2012, when there was a turnout of 1.87 per cent.
asserted
turnout → be → cent
Despite the low turnout, the provincial agency isn’t campaigning to increase voter participation.
asserted
agency → campaign → participation
Instead, it’s focusing on making sure that voting is accessible, spokesperson Julie St-Arnaud-Drolet said.
asserted
Drolet → focus → ?
Part of those efforts include sending out trilingual documents with voting information in French, English and local languages to post office boxes in Inuit, Cree and Naskapi communities.
asserted
Part → include → communities
“We understand their history, and the goal is not necessarily to boost voter turnout, but rather to ensure that voting is accessible to those who wish to vote,” she said.
asserted
she → understand → those
In Kahnawake, a number of community members approached by The Canadian Press seemed surprised when asked about the elections.
asserted
number → approach → elections
They were quick to point out that they don’t vote on the provincial or federal levels.
asserted
they → point → levels
Diabo explained that Kahnawake follows the principle of the Two Row Wampum, an agreement of mutual respect and non-interference with Quebec and Canada represented by a belt of parallel purple and white beads.
asserted
Kahnawake → explain → beads
“We’re staying in our lane, and we expect the federal and provincial governments to stay in their lane.
asserted
governments → stay → lane
So that’s why we don’t participate in their governing system,” he said.
asserted
he → ’ → system
Ideally, he would like that principle to be applied to legislation as well, with the Quebec government staying out of the community’s affairs.
asserted
government → like → affairs
But he knows the provincial government can make sweeping decisions that impact Kahnawake.
asserted
that → know → Kahnawake
While Kahnawake is keeping its distance from provincial elections, some Indigenous politicians have embraced Quebec politics.
asserted
politicians → keep → politics
Alexis Wawanoloath is one of the few Indigenous people who were elected to represent ridings in Quebec’s national assembly.
asserted
who → elect → assembly
Voters in the riding of Abitibi-Est riding elected Wawanoloath, who ran for the Parti Québécois, in 2007.
asserted
who → elect → 2007
He held that seat for a year, until the minority Liberal government triggered another election in 2008 and he lost his seat.
asserted
he → hold → seat
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asserted
Carney → approach → images
As he was campaigning to get elected, he received mixed responses from First Nations communities in his riding, with some of them showing support.
“For others, because of my position with a sovereigntist party, they saw it as a kind of betrayal.
asserted
they → campaign → betrayal
Others thought that just the fact that I was running, no matter the party, legitimized a system that shouldn’t be ours,” he said.
asserted
he → think → system
Once he was elected, he had more time to digest these messages.
asserted
he → elect → messages
“To be called a traitor and things like that, I found it hard.
asserted
it → call → that
But to see that I could bring hope and be a spokesperson, it’s certain I felt driven by that mission,” he said.
uncertain
he → see → mission
Natural Resources Minister Kateri Champagne Jourdain, a member of the Innu nation, is seeking re-election in the north shore riding of Duplessis, where she grew up.
asserted
she → seek → Duplessis
She said she understands those who choose not to participate in elections, but she believes Indigenous communities should make their voices heard by voting.
asserted
voices → say → elections
…and 12 more, not listed.
