A meeting between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Assembly of First Nations chiefs is in question amid demands that the Governor General be present at the gathering.
Questions over who will attend the meeting - and new demands about where it should be held - created confusion on the eve of the gathering called to discuss concerns about the relationship between the federal government and First Nations.
Chiefs gathered at a meeting at the Delta hotel in Ottawa on Thursday evening, with some saying they will attend the meeting with the prime minister, but "many" saying they won't, Evan Solomon, host of CBC News Network's
Power & Politics, reported via Twitter.
"The meeting is up in the air," another Solomon tweet said at about 9:30 p.m. ET
As chief after chief got up to announce support for Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence's stance that the Governor General must attend, Atleo eventually took the microphone to plea for unity. He admitted he had made mistakes and that the membership of the Assembly of First Nations was divided. What he left unsaid was whether any meeting with Harper would take place at all, or how he would proceed.
"This is not a perfect organization and I am not a perfect person. I accept a share of responsibility and I have responded to criticisms from last January," Atleo told a rowdy crowded room of chiefs and delegates.
"We need to continue to stand united - chiefs, delegates.... If we are to be divided at a moment like this, the governments will see that."
