Chief Tammy Cook-Searson said her band has been working to make voting easier for members. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

importance

Cook-Searson urges Indigenous Peoples to vote in provincial election

Oct 24, 2024 | 6:39 AM

Lac La Ronge Indian Band Chief Tammy Cook-Searson is urging Indigenous voters to cast their ballot in the upcoming general provincial election.

While voting day is set for Oct. 28, advance voting began Tuesday and will run until Saturday between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Those in the tri-communities can cast their vote at either the Kikinahk Friendship Centre or Jonas Roberts Memorial Community Centre, while those in Stanley Mission can do so at the community hall.

“It’s very important for our community members, whether they live on-reserve or off-reserve, to exercise their right to vote,” Cook-Searson said.

“Normally, we have a low voter turnout, so we hope we can get a high voter turnout. I know the chief electoral officer has been working closely with our communities to make it more accessible to vote in the provincial election.”

According to Elections Saskatchewan, nearly 53 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot during the 2020 provincial general election. In the Cumberland constituency, of which the population is approximately 85 per cent Indigenous, only 31 per cent of the eligible population voted.

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Cook-Searson explained numbers that low are problematic, noting when people don’t vote, it could show the governing party that the area doesn’t vote and they should direct their resources towards areas that do.

“That’s why it is important for us to show that it matters, and we are going to vote,” Cook-Searson said. “When we come out in numbers, it does affect the election results.”

Cook-Searson also mentioned polling stations have access to the band’s membership list, so that removes the barrier of needing a residency address on identification. Voters will still need to show up with identification such as a Treaty card, driver’s license or health card to prove they are the person on the list.

As for issues that are important to the Lac La Ronge Indian Band during this election, Cook-Searson said they include housing, addictions, mental health, intergeneration trauma, gangs, violence, additional RCMP officers and establishing on-reserve police forces, access to health care, and reaching a settlement for those who attended the Timber Bay Children’s Home.

“We want to get negotiating on behalf of the survivors and their families, so that has been one of the things we have been pushing for with the provincial government,” she added.

“I did bring that to the premier when he was in Molanosa in person. We also brought that to the federal government. It is up to the governing party to come to the table and to recognize the Timber Bay Children’s Home survivors and the students.”

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com