Heiltsuk Nation passes written constitution with 67% of votes [Video]

The Heiltsuk Nation has approved the adoption of a written constitution for the First Nation on British Columbia’s central coast.

The nation says 67 per cent of the 725 people who voted on the referendum were in favour of the constitution.

It says voting this month came after about two decades of development and consultation.

That included six months of engagement with more than 2,000 Heiltsuk members in Bella Bella, Nanaimo and Vancouver.

Elected Chief Marilyn Slett says she felt “pride and happiness” upon hearing the result, calling the written constitution a “reclamation” of Heiltsuk ways.

She says the document, which will be ratified in May, lays out a legal framework for self-governance and will help guide others who want to work with the nation.

“It’s a new day for our Heiltsuk people,” she said in an interview Friday. “It’s us charting our course forward based on our laws, our …