An aboriginal uprising is inevitable’ if Harper doesn’t listen, chief threatens

Canada could face an Arab Spring-style “uprising” if Prime Minister Stephen Harper doesn’t give a clear indication in his meeting with aboriginal leaders here Tuesday that he’s prepared to take their concerns seriously, a B.C. native leader warned Monday.

An estimated 400 chiefs from across Canada, including 47 from British Columbia and 22 from Alberta, have gathered here for their first face-to-face meeting with Harper since the Conservatives formed government in 2006.

That legislation, enacted in 1999, allows reserves to opt out of land-related sections of the Indian Act to have greater control over their land and natural resources.

The announcements underscore the Harper government’s messaging that the best route out of aboriginal poverty is economic and resource development instead of social program spending.

But Stanley, the AFN’s Alberta chief, said First Nations on the Prairies have little interest moving away from the Indian Act.

“We’re not ready to go in that direction,” he said.

“The chiefs are saying, ‘What are we going to replace it with? We’ve already lost everything.’

“This is the reason we’re here, to protect” those rights, he said.