FROM THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF
Weyt-kp xwexwéytep Membership,
Your leadership is calling on you to vote in the upcoming Federal Election. Your Vote Matters!
Did you know that we as First Nations people were denied the right to vote in federal elections until 1960, unless we gave up our status and rights. This means that our right to vote is barely 65 years old, a right our ancestors fought hard to reclaim.
Voting today is a powerful expression of reclaiming a voice that was stolen for generations. It’s a way to honor those who came before us and fought for the rights we now hold.
By casting your vote, you are sending a clear message: our Indigenous lives, voices, and futures matter. You are standing up for our communities and supporting your elected Chief and Council hold government to account and include us in all decision-making matters.
When we vote, we bring attention to the critical issues that impact us directly, such as:
- A renewed, respectful nation-to-nation relationship between Canada and First Nations
- Asserting our Nationhood and unity in the face of ongoing colonial challenges
- Infrastructure and affordable housing
- Improved mental health services and culturally grounded healthcare
- Support for Indigenous languages, culture, and education
- Protection of our lands, waters, and traditional rights
- Truth and accountability for the impacts of Indian Residential Schools and the harmful rise of denialism
- Economic sovereignty and sustainable development
- Jurisdiction over our children, education systems, and Membership governance
- Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG)
- Full recognition of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Upholding our sovereignty and achieving reconciliation is a prerequisite for Canada’s future success, we need continued progress, we need to continue that path forward like our ancestors did that for us, we need to do that for those not yet born.
On Election Day Monday April 28, 2025 voting takes place at Moccasin Square Gardens between 7am -7pm. Advance Voting Days are April 18,19,20,21 from 9am-9pm also taking place at Moccasin Square Gardens.
“Re xyemstéms te tnk’we7 re xyemstéms xwexwéyt te swet,” “The honor of one is the honor of all” is the wisdom that we must embody and embrace.
Your vote matters. Let’s show up, speak out, and be heard. Let’s show our unity and our strength and support your leadership by giving them your voice and vote in the federal election!
Yours truly,
Tk̓emlúps te Secwépemc
Kúkpi7 Rosanne Casimir (Chief)
On behalf of Council