First Nations are more than just stakeholders and have rights to resource development that must be recognized, Shawn Atleo said Wednesday.

The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations says the chiefs who met with Prime Minister Stephen Harper Tuesday told him they have real rights through their treaties when it comes to pipeline and mining projects.

"Right now, government feels that through their actions and through their regulatory processes and licences that First Nations are simply stakeholders," Atleo said.

"That simply is not the case. The treaty relationship said that we would be full partners in designing and determining what would happen within our respective territories and that First Nations would benefit from the wealth and from the resources of the land."

Atleo pointed to the notion of having free, prior and informed consent over what happens in First Nations territories.