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At least one Attawapiskat First Nation band member is vowing to appeal Chief Theresa Spence’s re-election, as the controversy surrounding the process is shedding light on a longstanding issue: a democratic deficit on some First Nations reserves.

The election required band members to travel to the northern Ontario reserve to vote, even though more than half of its population lives off-reserve. Charles Hookimaw, an Attawapiskat band member who lives in North Bay, told Postmedia News he plans to appeal Spence’s election result.

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“I won’t let this die down,” Hookimaw said. “It’s my right to vote. You can’t violate that.”

Spence, who gained notoriety by undertaking a six-week protest liquid diet near Parliament Hill at the height of the indigenous grassroots Idle No More movement in January, won re-election on Tuesday with 214 votes out of 507 cast.

It’s my right to vote. You can’t violate that

Out of Attawapiskat’s registered population of 3,351, about 1,862 people live off-reserve, according to Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada.