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Spence, in a rambling but defiant statement, decried the devolution of power in Canada from the Crown to the prime minister, and suggested the news media were misleading Canadians. A spokesperson said she would continue her protest.

A number of aboriginal leaders are siding with the protesting chief and planning to boycott the Friday meeting between Harper and the Assembly of First Nations, as unrest grows among aboriginals and relations with the federal government continue to sour.

Protests were planned across Canada Friday as part of the Idle No More movement to coincide with the AFN’s meeting in Ottawa with the prime minister and a couple of cabinet ministers — following a day of drama Thursday among First Nations chiefs and a week that has catapulted aboriginal issues onto the national stage.

Questions also continue to emerge about Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo’s leadership, with a number of chiefs saying they stand with Spence in refusing to participate in Friday’s meeting with Harper unless Governor-General David Johnston also attends.

“The Assembly of (First Nations) as a great organization hangs in the balance. More critically, lives are at stake,” one northern Ontario chief, Isadore Day, wrote in an emotional letter to Atleo.

“I implore you to stop this meeting with the PM.”

“We need to meet with the Prime Minster and Governor-General of Canada together and ensure that fairness at the table. The attitudes and treatment towards our Indigenous Peoples needs to change with this current government. We can no longer have a paternalistic relationship and be dictated to,” Spence said earlier Friday in a statement.