** Idle No More, Leadership Crisis? ** Trillion Dollar Coin ** Australia's Climate Change Skepticism ** Hixploitation: Southern Reality TV ** Native Land and Private Ownership **

While AFN Chief Shawn Atleo sat down with the Prime Minister on Friday in a highly contentious meeting at Langevin Block, other First Nations leaders and grass rooots supporters took to the streets. Many objected to the meeting, some taking their cues from Chief Theresa Spence who set conditions that were not met by the crown.

As the Idle no More protests highlight native issues, native leadership appears to be divided. What does it mean for Atleo, elected leader of the Assembly of First Nations, that Ontario and Manitoba chiefs called for a boycott of the talks he had on Friday?

And what will leaders do on Wednesday to mark their grievances in a national day of protest?

We go to Ontario Chief Stan Beardy for answers. 

Trillion Dollar Coin

A one-trillion coin, it is said,
Could be minted and shipped to the Fed,
In order to pay
What the US of A
Might be forced to renege on instead.

It all started with the debt ceiling debate in the U.S. in the Summer of 2011. A threat from congress to renege on U.S. debt rather than approve an increased limit on spending shook markets and moved agencies to lower the U.S. credit rating.

Now the debt ceiling debate looms again and some think President Obama should have a bold- perhaps even foolhardy- gambit to counter Congress' threat to default on the debt.

Enter the trillion-dollar coin. Strike a platinum coin worth $1,000,000,000,000 and put it in the treasury. Problem is solved.

Some economists like the idea, others say it's farcical. And some Republican lawmakers like my guest are livid.

Hixploitation

Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, Duck Dynasty and Buckwild- The latest wave of reality TV invites viewers to laugh at American southerners, mocking lower-class whites. Critics are calling it "hixploitation".

So why are the subjects always Caucasian?

Some say the contempt these shows have for their underclass subjects is the final frontier of acceptable bigotry. Others find redemption in the values of family and southern hospitality.

We talk to three southerners about what southern reality TV gets wrong about the south.

Australia Sizzles

Summer has hit Australia hard. Record temperatures are baking the continent, wildfires rage.

But many Australians are resistant to the idea that global warming is an issue. They resent the carbon tax brought in by Prime Minister Gillard last year, and may be becoming more skeptical of global warming.

Tim Flannery is the chief commissioner of the Australian Climate Commission and an acclaimed scientist, explorer and conservationist. We talk to him about what's happening in Australia.

Property Rights and Native Prosperity

In Canada, individual ownership of land on First Nations reserves is generally ceded to the authority of the band. Individuals have been prevented from holding title to property, and some think that should change.

If mortgages are held, markets become available and it's a swift route to the prosperity that's been so elusive for so many First Nations people.

Others see individual ownership as a threat. They say there's a finite amount of reserve land and that land defines First Nations and the arrangement they have with the crown. Losing land would be analogous to losing sovereignty and identity.

The discussion over land use and private ownership is a big part of the contentious dialogue unfolding in the country right now. We invited two voices from both sides of the debate.

Dr. Christopher Alcantara teaches political science at Wilfrid Laurier University and co-author of Beyond The Indian Act: Restoring Aboriginal Property Rights. And Grand Chief Joe Hall is with the Stó:lō Nation in the Fraser Valley in British Columbia.

That's it for this week. Next weekend we're back along with NHL hockey which hasn't been around for six months now. It'll be a late season, and this year's playoffs could very well happen in a heatwave.

Hope you have a great week.

Brent Bambury, @cbcday6

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