Voters of the
Blackfeet Nation rejected an overhaul of the tribe's governing document.
According to
unofficial results posted on Facebook, 1,279 voters supported the reformed constitution in a
secretarial election on Tuesday. They were outweighed by the 1,644 who objected to the proposed amendments.
"The Blackfeet people have a really good starting point and we’ve got to keep the momentum going so that we can get to change, but we want that driven by the people and not a political agenda," citizen Dawn Gray told Montana Public Radio.
The constitution was first adopted in 1935. It's been amended over the years but the overall governing structure of the tribe, whose reservation is based in Montana, has not seen any major changes.
The
proposed constitution would have established separate executive, legislative and judicial branches.
Read More on the Story:
Blackfeet tribe rejects new constitution in historic vote
(The Missoulian 6/28)
Blackfeet Tribe Rejects Constitutional Reform Measure
(Montana Public Radio 6/28)
Blackfeet nation votes on changing tribal constitution
(KFBB 6/27)
Blackfeet Nation To Vote On Repeal, Replacement Of Tribal Constitution
(Montana Public Radio 6/26)
'The system was set up to fail': tribes try to regain control of their land and futures
(The Guardian 6/24)
Join the Conversation
Related Stories
Blackfeet
Nation membership criteria still a matter of huge debate (August 19,
2016)
Blackfeet
Nation citizens still talking about constitutional reforms (February 10,
2016)
