Canada PM meets with hundreds of native leaders

The summit with the chiefs on traditional Algonquin lands is Harper's first since his Conservatives took office in 2006.

In a speech, the prime minister proposed replacing "elements of the Indian Act with more modern legislation and procedures..."

"Our government has no grand scheme to repeal or to unilaterally re-write the Indian Act. After 136 years, that tree has deep roots. Blow up the stump would just leave a big hole," he said.

"However, there are ways, creative ways, collaborative ways, ways that involve consultation between our government, the provinces, and First Nations leadership and communities ... to provide practical, incremental and real change."

Representing 170 chiefs at the table and about 400 more following the talks from several conference sites around Ottawa, National Chief Shawn Atleo said: "Today must mark the beginning of renewal -- the beginning of realizing our shared potential foretold in the visions of our ancestors.

"But the proof of our commitment will begin tomorrow, and in the weeks and months ahead, demonstrating that this time, this generation of leaders will not fail to make the changes we all know are urgently needed," he added.

Several chiefs earlier warned of an "aboriginal uprising" if talks fail their communities facing dire economic and social ills.

"We must do better. The honor of the Crown and the very integrity of Canada as a nation is at stake," British Columbia grand chief Stewart Phillip said in a statement ahead of the gathering.

He recalled violent confrontations involving natives in past decades, starting with a 1990 Mohawk blockade of a golf course development on their ancestral lands that led to the shooting death of a policeman.

Others expressed skepticism that the meeting with Harper and several of his ministers would resolve any of the health, education, employment and housing woes faced by many of Canada's 1.3 million aboriginals -- one quarter of them living on reserves.

Several chiefs also rebuked the prime minister for planning to cut short his participation in the talks in order to fly to Davos to represent Canada at the World Economic Forum.

The Crown-First Nations Gathering comes after a cry for help by the chief of the Attawapiskat natives in northern Ontario, where residents living in mold-infested homes and tents in November braced for a cold winter.

Soaring birthrates, poverty and health problems, lack of housing and education in some native communities are not new and go beyond the much-publicized plight of Attawapiskat's residents.

Canada's last auditor general concluded after 32 audits related to First Nations that quality of life conditions on reserves had worsened over the past decade.

Aboriginals remember an accord reached with the previous administration in 2005 that would have pumped $5.1 billion into native health and education over 10 years.

Harper nixed the so-called Kelowna Accord after sweeping into power the following year.

In its place, the prime minister at the talks Tuesday touted education as a panacea for many of the problems facing aboriginals.

The plan appears straight-forward: nearly 500,000 young aboriginals require jobs and skills-training, and Canada faces a looming shortage of skilled workers.

"Our goal is much increased aboriginal participation in the economy and in the country's prosperity," Harper said.

But greater access to education will not help aboriginals in remote communities with no road access where there are no job prospects or economic opportunities unless they relocate to urban centers, and leaving would mean giving up rights and benefits, and a traditional way of life.

Manitoba grand chief Derek Nepinak welcomed changing the Indian Act, saying it has left a "legacy of a lot of damage to our people." "We need to remove barriers" to participate in the economy, he added.

The Assembly of First Nations in a statement called for increased funding, new health and education programs, partnering on natural resources projects and resolving outstanding land claims.

According to government statistics, 1,000 land claims have been resolved since a 1763 royal proclamation codified a treaty process for obtaining access to native lands and resources.

At least 500 more are still being negotiated or litigated.