Chief and Council
Historically, our traditional governance system was well established based on inherited leadership through our Y’mas (Hereditary Chiefs), their advisors and the community as a whole. Decisions were made by consensus building with transparency and accountability as keystone principles. This ancient governance way was changed and subsumed with the Indian Act enforcement beginning in 1876. Since then, the Heiltsuk Tribal Council has adapted and modified over time to customize and create a model that is a blend of traditional and contemporary governance.
Our elected band council is made up of a Chief Councillor and 11 councillors with constituency from both on reserve and urban membership. The Chief Councillor candidates must live on reserve and councillor candidates can be from either constituency. Councillors serve 2 or 4 years based on voting outcomes and hold portfolios for duration of their tenure. The Heiltsuk Band Council administers services including infrastructure and other programs, facilities, and initiatives.
Elected Chief Councillor
Marilyn Slett
K̓áwáziɫ, Marilyn Slett is the elected Chief Councillor of the Heiltsuk Tribal Council. She is currently serving her fourth consecutive term as Chief Councillor, beginning in 2008.
She is the President of the Coastal First Nations/Great Bear Initiative and is a member of the Vancouver Coastal Health Board of Directors, and recently appointed to the Committee on First Nations Health Governance Renewal by the First Nations Leadership Council. She previously held the position of the BC Assembly of First Nations Women’s Representative on the National Assembly of First Nations Women’s Council and Co-Chair of the Wild Salmon Advisory Council and former Board of Director for the BC Assembly of First Nations.
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