The people of Heiltsuk Nation begin voting today, Feb. 6, to decide whether the Nation will move forward with and adopt a written constitution.
Located in the Central Coast community of Bella Bella on Campbell Island, the Heiltsuk have lived and governed on their land for more than 14,000 years. While the Nation has always been guided by a constitution enshrined in memory and tradition, the imposition of the Indian Act challenged the Heiltsuk’s jurisdiction over themselves and their territory.
By putting the Haíɫzaqv (Heiltsuk) Constitution into writing and voting on its adoption, the Heiltsuk are reaffirming their inherent rights and responsibilities as a self-determining, sovereign nation.
“Our constitution has always been in our hearts and minds,” said Heiltsuk community member and constitutional lead Saul Brown in an interview with Efteen.
“We had our vibrant system of governance prior to colonization...we’re just taking the principles and practices and writing them down in English.”
Just as animals such as wolves and sock-eye salmon follow their own constitutions without having them written down, so too do the Heiltsuk Brown explained, and it's been so since time immemorial.
“This is a direct rejection and resistance to the outdated and racists perspective that Indigenous people didn’t have laws or sophisticated governance,” he said.
Heiltsuk Chief Marilyn Slett emphasizes the constitution is not a treaty, not a land claim, nor is it an agreement with the Crown: “It’s an agreement amongst us...I think that’s where the power lies,” she said.
Opening with the words Q̓áikasas Ǧvi̓ḷás (the great laws of the Haíɫzaqv), the constitution will reflect Heiltsuk values while being cognizable to those they engage with from outside of the Nation.
Having a constitution will put what the Heiltsuk want for themselves first without jeopardizing the perceived benefits which the Indian Act may bring to status Indians. Spelling out their constitution will also help the community navigate the contemporary world as Heiltsuk people.
“It’s important to write it down because we exist as modern Heiltsuk people,” said Hereditary Chief Frank Brown. “The constitution will be the architecture of certainty of ourselves and for other governments,” he added, explaining that the document would provide clarity for both the Heiltsuk and other governments or agencies the Nation interacts with.
Saul Brown gave the example of resource development projects on First Nation territories. If a business or external government sought to construct a pipeline, for instance, through the Heiltsuk territory, they would have to consult not only with the Heiltsuk’s elected council – a form of governance which was imposed on First Nations by the Indian Act – but also with the Yímás Council (hereditary council), the Heiltsuk’s traditional form of leadership.
“Nobody asked us ‘do we want this band council system’,” Hereditary Chief Frank Brown said.
The Heiltsuk constitution, he said, is a way for the Nation to validate their chosen form of governance, a blend of the contemporary and the traditional, which also includes a women’s council (W̓úm̓aqs du M̓ṇúyaqs Council).
To move forward with their own form of governance, Hereditary Chief Brown said, “will be liberating.”
Along with creating confusion over who and what holds authority in First Nation communities, the Indian Act also imposed definitions and restrictions which continue to harm Indigenous people today, including by determining who ‘qualifies’ as an “Indian.”
“What we’re saying in our Constitution is that we’re more than what Canada or B.C. tells us," Saul Brown said during a session with Heiltsuk community members leading up to the referendum which will decide whether the written constitution will be adopted. “It’s for us, by us,” he said about the document.
From the leadership mandate to the drafting of a written constitution, this agreement has been years in the making. It was produced over several phases and included robust consultation with Elders, Knowledge Keepers, community members, leadership, Indigenous constitutional experts from as far as Harvard University and included independent reviews. The constitution includes a glossary of Haíɫzaqvḷa words of the Heiltsuk language and is available as an audio file as well as in simplified language to ease accessibility.
Over the last six months, Brown has run several community engagement sessions to raise awareness around the constitution and help community members make an informed decision during the vote. In November and December alone, 2,200 Heiltsuk people across the province, from Bella Bella to Nanaimo to Vancouver, were reached through a social media campaign.
This community engagement also gave Heiltsuk people the opportunity to give feedback and input on the constitution, leading to 53 ammendments including ensuring proper representation for young Heiltsuk members and accounting for gender amongst the aspects of a person to be protected against discrimination in the constitution.
Amendments were also made to provide representation for Heiltsuk living off reserve, keeping in line with the Nation’s affirmation that “you are Heiltsuk no matter where you live.”
“It’s been very empowering to be able to have these conversations with our community, to hear our community,” Chief Slett said. “It incorporates the voice of our community,” she said about the constitution, as it was developed over two decades through close community engagement.
If passed by vote, the Heiltsuk constitution will only come into effect once ratified with a feast in the Nation’s Big House, consistent with the Heiltsuk tradition. Following its ratification, the Nation can then consider adopting and adjusting legislation in accordance with their constitution, which Saul Brown describes as “the rules that guide the rules.”
“It will be a big effort, but a healing effort,” he said. The constitution will be reviewed every four years for the first 12 years following its adoption, and then every 10 years after that.
"This is Indigenous law in action,” Brown said while stating that it was time for Canadians to respect Indigenous laws and treat them as such. “We are not seeking recognition from anyone else except for ourselves as Heiltsuk,” he added.
Online voting begins on Thursday, Feb. 6, with voting stations open in Vancouver on Feb. 18 and in Bella Bella on Feb. 20. Some have already begun to mail in their ballots.
You can read the constitution or learn more about it by watching the short YouTube films Haíɫzaqv Constitution: 'Qáikasas Ǧví'las and The Q̓áikasas Ǧvi̓ḷás: The great laws of the Haíɫzaqv, Part 2 film.
