OTTAWA - Leaders of the troubled Attawapiskat community have asked the United Nations to intervene in their crisis, saying the move would force Prime Minister Stephen Harper to explain to the world why he is not living up to his international obligations to respect aboriginal people.

"We have a right to go abroad to international people to say, 'look, this is what's happening in Canada,"' Grand Chief Stan Louttit said after chiefs from across the country passed a resolution to ask the UN for a special rapporteur.

The housing crisis in Attawapiskat -- where families live in uninsulated shacks as winter sets in -- has turned into a political crisis that pits First Nations chiefs against the federal government.

Some of the chiefs spontaneously took to the streets of Ottawa on Tuesday during a break in their annual meetings. They're furious the federal government responded to Attawapiskat's declaration of emergency by ordering yet another audit, and removing the band's power over its finances.

"There seems to be an impasse here," Louttit said.

But the band's chief, Theresa Spence, says she is trying to find a way out of the escalating conflict.

Her band members ordered a government-appointed third-party manager to leave the reserve Monday, mainly because he had given no notice and did not have a plan to present, Spence said.

But she said she is working on her own plan to present to the government, and wants to discuss with her band council how they could work with the third-party manager in future.

"We're hoping things will work out," she said.

The decision to impose third-party management has nothing to do with resolving the short-term housing crisis on her reserve, she said, and will only make matters worse. She says she is bracing for funding cuts and delays, as the government appointee cracks down and takes control.

"It's not right, that picture," said Louttit. He acknowledged the band had audit problems in the past, but has made improvements.

Neither he nor Spence are opposed to the government asking for another audit.

But the measures by the federal government will do nothing to alleviate unhealthy living conditions that currently plague the community, they said.

In a unanimous resolution passed Tuesday, First Nations chiefs asked the United Nations to appoint a special rapporteur to determine whether the federal government is meeting its obligations under Canadian law and international treaties.

"We must go together and tell the government: this is our land, this is our life," Spence told dozens of fellow leaders at the Assembly of First Nations' annual meeting.

"We need to say 'enough is enough.' Respect our treaty and follow our treaty, as we did."

The resolution was a last-minute addition to the agenda at the meeting, where anger and disbelief run thick over the government's handling of the housing crisis in Attawapiskat.

It also demands that the federal and provincial governments respond quickly to communities lacking basic needs.

And it instructs the Aboriginal Affairs minister to stop imposing measures and instead work with chiefs and their councils.

A spokeswoman for Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan says the government is committed to working with the chief and council to find ways to give the people warm and dry places to sleep.

But chief after chief accused the minister of being disingenuous, saying his decision to respond to Attawapiskat's cry for help by removing the band's power over its finances shows a lack of respect and understanding.

"That's not going to work," said Grand Chief Stan Beardy of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation.

He said placing a third-party financial manager in charge of Attawapiskat is a throwback to the colonial era. It comes as First Nations leaders and Harper have agreed to talk about defining a new relationship that would eventually lead to self-government.

"This is the Indian agent being imposed on us," Beardy said in an interview.

Duncan says Ottawa still holds decision-making power over the band's money even though the third-party manager was kicked out.

"His message is, 'if you make noise, we're going to send in a third-party manager to take control'," Spence said. "They impose the Indian Act and take control of our lives."

Key First Nations chiefs are planning a summit with Harper at the end of January, in part to discuss how to move beyond that act, which both sides consider antiquated.

Although some chiefs say Harper has shown no goodwill in recent days, National Chief Shawn Atleo said the public attention and the outpouring of donations focused on the problems in Attawapiskat give First Nations a big boost.

"It's our time," he told the chiefs. "By this, we mean that the pain and the suffering ends right here, right now, in this generation.

"Together we can close the chapter of a very dark period of our history and turn the page to write a new chapter filled with hope and promise for our children and their children to come."

Aides passed an open blanket around to collect funds for Attawapiskat, and raised almost $6,000 in an hour.

Spence said she was grateful for the donations and for the help of the Red Cross, but it's a pittance compared with what her community needs for housing, schooling and health care.

"Winter is here," she said. "And we've been living like this for more than three years. We have to stop it."

In Attawapiskat, five families are living in uninsulated wood-frame tents with no plumbing and dozens of families are crammed together in temporary shelters. Tuesday daytime temperatures were reported at -14C, with a forecast of -12C overnight.

The reserve is only one of dozens experiencing severe housing shortages -- prompting many chiefs to call for better funding arrangements and a full discussion with Ottawa on how to fix the persistent problem.