The Little Salmon-Carmacks First Nation has voted to permit Eddie Skookum to finish his term as chief.

At a special general assembly held Saturday in Carmacks, members cast secret ballots on whether Skookum should continue in his job.

In the end, votes were 109 to 40 in favour of keeping the long-time chief.

The community has been divided since Skookum was charged in Haines, Alaska with severely beating his 21-year-old girlfriend in July 2010.

He was originally charged with felony assault and impaired driving after the young woman was found bloody and beaten in a hotel parking lot.

The felony charges were eventually dropped in exchange for a guilty plea to the lesser charge of reckless endangerment.

In November 2010, elders in the community voted 14-9 in favour of letting Skookum keep his job, which he has had since 1996.

That decision led to outcry from women's rights groups as well as many community members who called on Skookum to resign.

Late last year, a group of LSCFN members asked the Yukon Supreme Court to conduct a judicial review of that decision, claiming the first meeting did not follow the LSCFN's constitution.

They also claimed their appeal of the decision was not being heard in a timely manor.

Saturday's special assembly did follow the constitution and the group will no longer be pursuing a judicial review, spokesperson Joy O'Brien said today.

The most recent gathering was a chance for people to voice their concerns and feel like they were being heard, she said.

"That's what we were fighting for from the beginning. It wasn't that we were trying to string anyone up; we were just trying to give everyone a voice.”

O'Brien said the meeting, which ran for nearly eight hours, was an emotional healing experience for everyone involved.

"It was kind of like a healing circle, where we sat together and everyone got a chance to express what they were feeling,” she said.

The special assembly, which was open to adult members 18 and older, was attended by many young people, O'Brien said.

Topics of discussion included alcohol abuse and violence.

"It was important that our youth had a chance to speak out too,” O'Brien said. "They are going to be responsible for changing the community in the future.”

The elders council also reconsidered and reaffirmed its previous decision not to remove the chief.

Despite the stress and anxiety the situation has caused, O'Brien said that given the opportunity, she would do the same thing again.

"I think it was important; I think that if you see something going on that you think needs to be changed, you need to speak up.”

Skookum could not be reached for comment this morning.

The First Nation released a written statement today.

"LSCFN exercised its responsibilities under our constitution. Our citizens had the opportunity to come together and discuss their views as a part of our self-government,” deputy chief Leta Blackjack said in the statement.

"We have made a decision and we will now move forward — together.”