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WINNIPEG – Elijah Harper, who became a symbol of power for Canadian aboriginals when he helped scuttle the Meech Lake constitutional accord, has died.

Harper’s family says he died this morning of cardiac failure due to diabetes complications.

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Harper, who was 64, was a politician and aboriginal leader for much of his life, and was best-known for his role in blocking the accord in 1990.

“Elijah was a wonderful man, father, partner. He was a true leader and visionary in every sense of the word,” the family said in a statement.

“He will have a place in Canadian history forever for his devotion to public service and uniting his fellow First Nations with pride, determination and resolve.”

The soft-spoken former chief of the Ojibwa-Cree Red Sucker Lake Indian band in Manitoba was an NDP opposition member of the legislature when he prevented the accord from being ratified by Ottawa’s deadline.

He said the deal, crafted to win Quebec’s signature on the Constitution, ignored aboriginal rights. Last-minute scrambling by federal officials failed to appease Harper and other native leaders.