Elijah Harper, MP who stopped Meech Lake Accord dead at 64

Former Manitoba MLA and MP Elijah Harper has died at the age of 64.

Harper was instrumental in stopping the 1990 Meech Lake Accord by famously holding an eagle feather in the Manitoba legislature and saying "No" in his refusal to support the accord while the clocked ticked down. Scuttling the accord blocked the amendment package negotiated to gain Quebec's acceptance of the Constitution Act of 1982.

Harper protested that the proposed accord was negotiated in 1987 without the input of Canada's Aboriginal Peoples.

The accord required ratification by all 10 provincial legislatures and Parliament, and Harper's action prevented Manitoba from doing so before the deadline.

Newfoundland followed by cancelling its free vote in the legislature.

[ Related: 'No:' Elijah Harper, who scuttled Meech Lake, dies at age 64 ]

Harper was the first status Indian elected to the Manitoba legislature where he served from 1981 to 1992. That included a two-year stint as minister of native affairs in former NDP premier Howard Pawley's cabinet. Harper's duties were interrupted briefly when he sought counselling for drunk driving.

Harper resigned from the legislature in 1992 and a year later left the New Democrats to run for the Liberals federally. He won a seat representing the sprawling northern Manitoba riding of Churchill.

Harper fell ill in the fall of 1994 when he was struck with a mysterious malady that doctors and native healers were at a loss to explain.

Following his active career in public service, Harper spent much of the rest of his life visiting First Nations, meeting with indigenous leaders across North America, working with charities and doing international humanitarian work.

"Elijah will also be remembered for bringing aboriginal and non-aboriginal people together to find a spiritual basis for healing and understanding," his family said.

(With files from the CBC/Canadian Press)