First Nations activists could target the 2010 Vancouver Olympics for protests similar to the pro-Tibetan demonstrations surrounding the upcoming Games in Beijing, AFN National Chief Phil Fontaine said Thursday.

Speaking in Ottawa, the Assembly of First Nations chief said native leaders will use any opportunity to highlight aboriginal poverty and could follow the lead of pro-Tibet groups who have disrupted the torch relay in Europe and San Francisco for the upcoming Summer Games in Beijing.

Top native chief Phil Fontaine said Thursday that First Nations protesters could target the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
(CBC)

"We find the Tibetan situation compelling," he said.

Fontaine said the government doesn't seem concerned about problems facing aboriginals.

"We’re ignored. Our proposals are dismissed. They're not taken seriously. Our efforts to establish a healthy respectful relationship with this government obviously are not compelling enough.

"In fact we don't have much of a relationship."

Day of protest slated for May 29

Also Thursday, Fontaine called for a peaceful day of national demonstrations on May 29 to raise awareness of aboriginal issues, such as poverty and land claim disputes. 

He said a similar day of action last June, involving rallies and protests across the country, was a great success.

On June 29, Mohawk protesters in eastern Ontario erected a barricade on the CN Rail line near Belleville, Ont., while another went up on Highway 2 west of Kingston, Ont. The protests prompted CN and Via Rail to suspend service between Toronto and Montreal and Toronto and Ottawa.

Otherwise, the day was mostly peaceful across the country.

With files from the Canadian Press