The National Chief for the Assembly of First Nations Shawn Atleo told the country's 630 chiefs on Tuesday that it is time to move away from the Indian Act.
Atleo laid out a plan calling on all First Nations to carve out their own paths toward self-determination. He was speaking on the opening day of the AFN's 32nd Annual General Assembly in Moncton, N.B.
"I believe there is both tremendous potential and urgent pressure on us all as First Nation leaders to facilitate, support and create real change in our communities," Atleo said.
Atleo made a similar call for the Indian Act to be replaced when the Assembly of First Nations met last year in Winnipeg.
In Atleo's view, both the Indian Act and the federal department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada could be replaced with legislation and entities that support self-determination and a government-to-government dialogue.
For example, one recommendation would see the federal department replaced with a department of aboriginal relations that would include a crown-treaty office that had the responsibility for implementing treaty obligations and a Department of Indian and Inuit Services.
There have also been calls for a First Nations auditor general and a First Nations ombudsperson as a way for First Nations to be held accountable.
Atleo also said the federal government should work with First Nations on key priorities such as education and funding to programs delivered to First Nations.
"We're looking for a federal Crown partner who is looking to work with us to implement the spirit and intent of treaties ... so that it's no longer about a minister in Ottawa dictating the education lives of our young people," Atleo said in an interview on CBC's Power & Politics with Evan Solomon.
The federal department's bureaucracy is "absolutely ballooning" at a time when conditions on First Nations reserves are getting worse, Atleo said.
Last month, the AFN and the federal government agreed to a Canada-First Nations Joint Action Plan but in his opening speech, Atleo said it was the responsibility of First Nations "to hold the government to account."
"We don't want a lot of talk. Now is the time to act," he said.
To that end, Atleo also called on the federal government to make good on a commitment to consider a meeting between First Nations leaders, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and key federal government representatives to be held later this year.
Michelle Yao, a spokesperson for Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan, said the government "is strongly committed to addressing the challenges within the Indian Act," including looking at legislation."
NDP critic Linda Duncan is in Moncton attending the AFN's Annual General Assembly but was unavailable for comment late Tuesday.
Meanwhile, interim Liberal Leader Bob Rae, who is also in Moncton, said "the status quo is not working. The Indian Act is clearly a relic of our colonial history. I commend him [Atleo] for his courage."