WINNIPEG, Manitoba, June 28 (UPI) -- Indian chiefs in Canada dissatisfied with the Assembly of First Nations could form a breakaway organization at an upcoming conference, they said.
The National Treaty Gathering will be held July 14-18 at Onion Lake, Saskatchewan, at the same time the Assembly of First Nations holds its annual conference in Whitehorse, Yukon, and conferees must choose which to attend, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Friday.
The agenda of the Saskatchewan event shows Grand Chief Derek Nepinak of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs will present the idea of a new group, tentatively named the National Treaty Alliance.
Nepinak said there is a general feeling of exclusion and a sense the Assembly of First Nations is not listening to grievances.
"Indigenous people across the country stand firm on recognizing that change needs to happen. We have to get past those political power vacuums that we've allowed to persist for too long, where very few people are allowed to share their ideas and their perspectives on what we need to do," he said.
"If the AFN is not stepping up and defending our rights, we have to," said Chief Delbert Wapass of Saskatchewan's Thunderchild First Nation.
