"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 First Nation in Manitoba was an NDP opposition member of the legislature in 1990 when he prevented the accord from being ratified by Ottawa's deadline. Harper said the deal, designed to win Quebec's signature on the Constitution, ignored aboriginal rights.

Elijah Harper was first elected to the Manitoba Legislature in 1981, and was appointed to cabinet in 1986.