Historic referendum: Heiltsuk Nation votes on written constitution [Video]

Online voting has begun in what the Heiltsuk Nation calls a historic referendum on a written constitution for the First Nation on British Columbia’s central coast.

A statement from the nation says the voting follows nearly two decades of development and consultation, including six months of engagement with more than 2,000 Heiltsuk members in Bella Bella, Nanaimo and Vancouver.

If approved, it says the constitution will help the nation “reclaim its power.”

Marilyn Slett, elected Chief of the Heiltsuk, says they have always had an ancestral constitution, enacted through ceremonies and everyday practices.

She says the nation is proud of the work that has gone into “reconstituting” its governance system with the written constitution, which lays out a legal framework for Heiltsuk governance, rights, responsibilities and law-making.

The statement says the constitution would help provide clarity for the nation and those it chooses to do business with, clearing up questions around …