Two First Nation tribes from northern Quebec want the Iron Ore Company and Rio Tinto to compensate them for what they call 60 years of exploitation.

The chiefs of the Uashat mak Mani-utenam and Matimekush-Lac John bands, along with several tribe members, were in Montreal Wednesday to deliver a pair of giant stones to the offices of Rio Tinto Alcan, saying the rocks are all they have received as payment for their land being used by the company.

“They broke our culture and our relationship to the sacred land,” said Jean-Claude Pinette, director of the Land and Rights Protection Office, explaining that the iron ore mines and facilities stopped the communities from practicing their traditional way of life.

The Stones were placed in Uashat mak Mani-utenam and Matimekush-Lac John in 1970 to mark the 100th anniversary of discovering iron ore near Schefferville.

Now called the Stones of Shame, the Innu bands returned the stones on Wednesday.

The Iron Ore Company and the corporation that is now Rio Tinto Alcan began mining operations on the territory in northern Quebec in 1954.

The Innu bands say they have already reached agreements with four other companies, but have been unable to come to deals with these two companies.

"It's not just the chief's concern," said Chief Real McKenzie of the Matimekush-Lac John band. "We talk about the people, the people still using the land instead of the mining production doing on our land.

"The people are really not happy and they say if they're not going to listen to us we're going to stand up and do what we have to do."

McKenzie and his fellow chief delivered a letter to Rio Tinto Alcan on Wednesday morning.

Rio Tinto spokesperson Claudine Gagnon responded later in the day, saying they’re in constant communication with representatives of the Innu First Nations.

“The letter was delivered and we'll make some follow ups with the chiefs but… we won't comment on the details of the discussions in public,” she said.

The Innu say are not opposed to mining practices, as long as there is cooperation and compensation.

“We know in our hearts that we are the first owners of this land and that's what we have to demonstrate to the government but mainly to the industry,” said Pinette.