WINNIPEG -- Two former Manitoba First Nations chiefs appeared on Iranian television Sunday to praise that nation's government while making wild claims Canada is attempting to "exterminate" aboriginal people.

In an interview Sunday on Press TV, Iran's state-run broadcaster, former Manitoba chiefs Terry Nelson and Dennis Pashe described reserves as "concentration camps" and claimed every barrel of oil sold in Canada is "stolen" from aboriginals.

The pair also gave credibility to a theory presented by the interviewer that 600 murdered and missing First Nation women in this country is tied to Canada's alleged efforts to wipe aboriginals from the population entirely.

"It's part of the ongoing effort by the Canadian government to exterminate us," said Pashe, the former chief of the Dakota Tipi First Nation, located near Portage la Prairie, Man. "We are a race of people who are endangered."

The Harper government dismissed the comments, noting it has taken several steps to create conditions for healthier, more self-sufficient First Nation communities since taking power in 2006.

"We're disappointed that Mr. Nelson has allowed himself to be used as a pawn by the Iranian regime in yet another PR stunt to distract from their own record," a spokesman for Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan said Monday.

Both Nelson and Pashe travelled to Tehran late last week at the invitation of the Iranian regime in an effort to expose what they say are Canada's continuing human rights abuses against aboriginals. They did so in defiance of the Harper government's recent decision to close Canada's embassy in Tehran and suspend all diplomatic relations with the rogue nation, citing Iran's horrendous human rights record and its ties to terrorism.

On Sunday, Nelson went so far as to praise the Iranian government for responding to his request for help in bringing the issue to light.

"We have tried very hard to open up human rights issues and we have sent lots of documentations at various embassies," said Nelson, the former head of the Roseau River reserve, who was identified repeatedly by Press TV as Canada's top aboriginal chief. "The Iranian Embassy was the only embassy to respond."
-- With files from Nicole Dube