By Rod Nickel
WINNIPEG, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Canada's Aboriginal people,
less than half of whom usually vote because many do not
recognize the government's sovereignty, could help decide the
outcome of an unusually tight three-way federal election race in
October.
Spurred by anger over disproportionately high rates of
violence against indigenous women and poor living standards as
well as resource development and environmental issues,
Aboriginal voters are being urged by their national chief to
vote.
Known as First Nations, indigenous Canadians want an
inquiry into the cases of missing and murdered women. The ruling
Conservative government has declined a national inquiry while
the center-left Liberals and New Democrats support the idea.
"Clearly, there is an awakening happening," pollster Bruce
Cameron said. "If either the Liberals or (New Democrats) can tap
into that, that will be a really interesting factor in this
election."
Grassroots efforts to draw attention to issues and heavy
social media interest point to potentially higher participation.
Assembly of First Nations, the main Aboriginal political
group, has identified 51, or 15 percent, of Canada's 338
electoral districts as including enough Aboriginal voters to
swing results.
A study by poll tracker ThreeHundredEight.com said that,
based on 2011 results, the New Democrats stand to gain the most
if Aboriginals vote in heavy numbers.
The New Democrats are running 23 Aboriginal candidates, 10
more than in 2011. Liberals have 17 Aboriginal candidates while
the Conservatives have four, including a current cabinet
minister.
Low Aboriginal voter turnout has cultural roots, as some
identify more with their First Nation communities than Canada.
"I think that's your politics and I don't involve myself in
your politics. We have our own politics and law," said
Qeqmetgwe, an Aboriginal woman who was protesting outside a
Conservative rally in British Columbia, urging people to vote
against the prime minister.
New voter identification requirements may make it harder for
Aboriginals to vote - addresses are now required but the main ID
card for most indigenous people does not include that and many
reserves do not have street addresses.
Last month, activist group Winnipeg Indigenous Rock the Vote
spent hours helping people register for voting.
"No government is doing the work that needs to be done on
missing and murdered indigenous women," said Lisa Forbes, an
Aboriginal woman who is part of Rock the Vote. "So making it an
issue is very important."
Police said last year 1,017 Aboriginal women had been
murdered between 1980 and 2012, while another 108 are missing.