One of the foremost non-Indigenous advocates working on behalf of the Indians in British Columbia and alongside the Allied Tribes was A. E. O'Meara. A controversial character, he provided legal advice to the Indians during their ongoing dialogue with the Federal and Provincial governments from the beginning of the Royal Commission through to the carrying out of its recommendations. O'Meara was a founding member of the Society of Friends of the Indians of British Columbia which raised money for Indian political activity and sponsored public talks on issues related to the Indian land question. While this activism was well-intentioned, it has been argued that it was fixed in a paternalistic framework. The Federal government, also thinking that First Nations activism required non-Indigenous guidance, assumed that after O'Meara's death, agitation would simply fade away.