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Aboriginals will risk another Oka for real input on governance, says top chief By SUE BAILEY HALIFAX (CP) - If "drastic measures" are needed - including another crisis like the 1990 Oka standoff - for real input on Indian Act changes, so be it, says Canada's top chief. "We lived through Oka, we lived through Ipperwash, we lived through Burnt Church," Matthew Coon Come, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said Thursday. "And we're here to stay. We're not going to go away. We're going to continue to push the government for our issues. They'll have to deal with treaties. They'll have to deal with aboriginal title. Because it's in the constitution. Because the courts (have) recognized those rights." Crippling poverty, substandard housing, social chaos and rampant joblessness on First Nations are fuelling frustration, Coon Come said. Protests like the Oka fight over a Quebec town's plans to extend a golf course on native-claimed land; the 1995 Ipperwash land claims clash in Ontario; and last year's lobster wars at Burnt Church, N.B. could take other forms across Canada, he suggested. "I think there are some people that are willing to take drastic measures. If you've got nothing, you've got nothing to lose. You've got no job, your land is taken away, you've got no future." Talk of road blockades and other disruptive peaceful protest is very real, he added. And the assembly, Canada's largest native advocacy group representing about 700,000 of 1.4 million aboriginals, will support such action, he said. "I can't dictate what young people and chiefs and councils can do, if that's the avenue that they take. "I think the reaction will depend on the federal government that hasn't listened to First Nations or respected the Supreme Court or constitution recognizing aboriginal rights and how to implement them." Three hundred chiefs gathered for the meeting this week voted Wednesday to give Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault an ultimatum. They've given him 30 days to abandon ongoing consultations with aboriginals this summer on how to revamp the 1876 Indian Act. The chiefs have boycotted the process, saying it's too rushed and narrow to allow real input on legislation expected to be introduced this fall. Should Nault refuse to include the assembly's 633 chiefs in a broader, longer-term consultation, an "aggressive strategic plan of action" has been promised across Canada. Nault has offered to meet with the assembly to discuss its proposal, but has said talks with other chiefs and aboriginals will continue. http://ca.news.yahoo.com/010719/6/7n9f.html