The other day (Feb. 2021) a Maori was kicked out of the New Zealand parliament for not wearing a tie. He was wearing his traditional regalia, instead. He described the tie as a "colonial noose." Since then he has been allowed back in without having to wear what he sees as the attire of colonialism. And the regulation forcing the wearing of ties has been rescinded.
The wearing of ties (for men) is (sometimes) required in our Alberta chambers as well. So far it has not been challenged on Indigenous grounds.
Part of the reason the regulation in its Edmonton city council application has never been challenged on those grounds is that we have only ever had two indigenous peoples elected to the city hall -- David Ward, of Inuit-white heritage, who served on council in 1968-1974 (he later renamed himself Kiviag), and Aaron Paquette, a Metis currently serving on council.
Edmonton city councillor Michael Phair, on council 1992-2007, council was not one to wear a tie. He successfully evaded the regulation by wearing sweaters his entire time in his seat. (He was the first openly gay person elected to political office in Alberta.)
Bicycle enthusiast and urban reformer Tooker Gomberg fought the tie regulation and "famously" refused to wear one in council meetings, according to his long-time partner Angela Bischoff. He served on council 1992-1995.
At the provincial level, we have had three Indigenous MLAs --
- Pearl Calahasen Metis (served 1989-2015) who is of course not required to wear a tie due to gender.
- Mike Cardinal (served 1989-2008) First Nations, and
- Frank Oberle Metis ( (served 2004-2015).
As well, Peter Lougheed was of Chinook/English heritage (and perhaps other diverse heritages). His grandmother was Isabelle Lougheed (nee Hardisty), daughter of fur trade official William Lucas Hardisty and Mary Anne Allen of the Chinook people of the Pacific Northwest. ("Community Stories Conflicting Loyalties The Hardisty Family Legacy" website)) He served in the Legislature 1967 to 1985.
None of the men (apparently) objected to wearing a tie, on Indigenous or on any other grounds.
However wearing a tie did not come naturally to a certain rancher. (Sorry I have forgotten his name.) It is said he went through his career in the legislature wearing a string-tie, a Western affectation.
It may be interesting to learn that the Moari man who had been kicked out, Rawiri Waititi, is a Moari Party MP, representing Wairiki, one of seven electorates, or seats, set aside for people elected by Moari voters across the country. That is, his seat is part of an electoral system separate from the main district electoral system. The whole country is districted into seven Moari districts. To vote in them you must be registered on the Moari roll.
These district systems are part of New Zealand's Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) system, where after the district elections (of all types) are held, some top-up MPs are added to create fairness at the party level.
(From here I moved on to blog about Indigenous representation...)
Thanks for reading.
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