Standing Buffalo Dakota Nation, located 65 kilometers east of Regina, did not have a polling station in its community, resulting in a lack of accessibility for voting for band members living on-reserve.
Standing Buffalo is in the Regina – Qu’Appelle electoral district.
There was a polling station located on-reserve in the Standing Buffalo Dakota’s gymnasium for the 2019 federal election. Due to COVID-19, that was not an option for this election.
“The school is operational again and we don’t want to allow outside people into the school right now, for the safety of the kids,” said Band Councillor Kim Goodfeather.
“The kids aren’t vaccinated.”
Band members living on-reserve had to vote in Lipton or at the Treaty 4 Governance Centre in Fort Qu’Appelle, each is a 15-minute drive from the reserve.
Each reserve has to notify Elections Canada if they want a polling station, then Elections Canada would follow through and contact the band’s electoral officer and provide any training needed. The band decided against applying this year because of the pandemic.
The Standing Buffalo Chief and Council provided transportation to polling stations in previous elections, but due to COVID-19 were no longer able to do so.
“Because of COVID this year, we cannot provide transportation,” Goodfeather said before the election. “Unless families or friends want to provide transportation. Previous to COVID, we used to provide transportation to the polling stations,”
For members who were unable to drive or get a ride to the polling stations, there were little to no other options. While mail-in ballots were encouraged, many band members were not comfortable with this form of voting.
“I wouldn’t have voted with the mail-in,” said Deidre Movescamp, a Standing Buffalo band member living on reserve. “I’m not good with that type of stuff, I’m not computer literate.”
Movescamp said that a polling station within the community would be more convenient for voters.
“It would be easier to vote if there was a polling station on reserve because it’s less distance to travel.” Movescamp said. “Not everyone has a license, not everyone has a vehicle. It is harder.”
Standing Buffalo has recently had 14 active cases of COVID-19. No support or alternative options were provided for members who tested positive. Movescamp, who recently completed her mandatory quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19, said that if she had been COVID positive on election day, she would not have been able to vote at all.
