Aboriginals should jump on political bandwagon: Ross

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Don Ross believes in the political process and he wants other Aboriginal people to jump on the bandwagon.

The 39-year-old former candidate and current national co-president of the Liberal party's Aboriginal Peoples Commission spoke at a Liberal fundraising dinner in Prince Albert on May 28. He said Aboriginal people should be involving themselves in political parties, while keeping their identity and "be proud of that, and be involved."

Ross said he has been taking part in federal and provincial elections on behalf of his party since he was 17 years old. He has run provincially for the Liberals in the Regina-Centre riding, and federally in the Qu'Appelle riding.

This past March, at a convention in Ottawa, Ross was elected to the post of co-president of the Aboriginal Peoples Commission.,

"If you're not there you can never educate, and never debate," he said. "Integrate into mainstream politics and take your position with you."

Ross said that participation is crucial to protecting treaty rights in Saskatchewan.

If the Aboriginal population was more participatory in the mainstream political process it could control 20 provincial seats and five federal seats just based on population, he said. "But our vote stays home."

Ross notes that Aboriginal people have only been able to vote in the province since 1954, and were therefore just learning to be a part of the process.

"My dad couldn't vote. Now I can vote," he said, "So we're just learning."

Ross is married with two boys. He has worked for the province, the city of Regina, and is currently employed with the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations as the executive director to third vice-chief Lindsay Cyr.

Ross offers as proof of his success in the political process his role in the change to the Liberal party constitution that enshrines a proportional representation of voting delegates for the APC, based on population.

He said there are currently 4,000 Aboriginal people registered with his party in Saskatchewan, and as that number grows, so too does its influence.

"I think we've initiated that process as Aboriginal people, saying it's okay to participate in the political process," he said.