Media.Knet.Ca

Keewaywin's Smart team members went over to the KiHS site to welcome our new Internet high school teacher Mandy Fry who hails from North Bay. From the looks of things she is getting some great support from the students, Keewaywin school staff and community members. Fourteen students started classes this past Tuesday. I believe there are a couple of more students that will be registering at our Internet High School. See pictures of the KiHS classroom and the group photo of students here.

The Keewaytinook Internet High School is putting on a new face this coming school year. This year there will be thirteen KiHS classrooms located in First Nations across the north (http://kihs.knet.ca/classrooms.html) The teaching staff of KiHS (http://kihs.knet.ca/staff) met in KO's Balmertown office last week to receive their orientation session before flying off to their respective communities. Last week, the First Nation classrooms were being set up by the Classroom Assistants who met the week before in Balmertown for their training session. Last school year, KiHS used WebCT as our on-line e-learning environment but we struggled with the learning curve for both the teachers and students. As well, the price for WebCT was just getting too high for our small school. So this past winter the decision was made to create our own e-learning environment. Margaret Fiddler lead the crew of two (Jesse Fiddler and Steven Zussino) in building this on-line open source e-learning space which can be seen at http://kihs.knet.ca (just write to get access to the guest account to see the various on-line tools being used). This new e-learning environment will be of interest to any teacher involved in teaching any high school course through distance education. It would be great if other groups in the region wanted to take this tool and adapt it for their own use. We are inviting other educators to identify ways that we can work together to share in this new resource.

The following is a Press Release from Calvin Skead, a father of four children from Wauzhushk Onigum Nation, outside Kenora, Ontario. He is walking to Ottawa to create awareness of past injustices inflicted on First Nation children across this land. A group of people including many children greeted Calvin as he arrived in Dinorwic Thursday, August 29, 2002 just after 1pm (see the pictures of this stop). “CREATING AN AWARENESS: RESPECT FOR OUR CHILDREN” Since time immemorial my ancestors secured for my great grandchildren and their great grandchildren the land base of Wauzhushk Onigum territory. It is the same vision of protection for those yet to be born that I am now walking to Ottawa. This journey began on the morning of August 22, 2002 from Pow Wow Island in Wauzhushk Onigum. I wish to create an awareness of past injustices inflicted on First Nations children by foreign laws designed to assimilate Aboriginal Nations. Many of us survived the ordeal of assimilation policies that were forced on us but many children did not. Hundreds of children succumbed to these injustices. It is those children’s lost lives that I am honouring on this journey. They are the ones that will prevent further destruction and assault on our Nations. They are the ones that will bring a constant reminder to what foreign laws can do. This journey will remind all people and governments that First Nations have traditional laws and structures that included a complex child welfare law. The past must be acknowledged because it is being repeated through the proposed Governance Act. My intent and focus is not the governance act itself but rather what it represents and signifies. The Governance Act will restrict our efforts in reviving our own laws regarding child care issues. This Governance Act will conflict with our own traditional child welfare laws and will ultimately decide the strength and continuance of our Nationhood. I ask all people to write messages denouncing the Governance Act and to support our traditional laws. It is important that these messages be wrapped in red ribbon to be picked up by me along my journey so I may deliver them to Ottawa. Our traditional people must be approached to help everyone understand the implementation of traditional laws as they were intended by the Creator. Our children need the hope for a better tomorrow. "RESPECT FOR OUR CHILDREN" Headquarters Contact Number 807-548-4106. Donations are greatly appreciated and can be made as follows: Respect the Children’s Fund Account # 1191136 Transit # 787 Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce 111 Main St. South, Kenora, ON P9N 1T1 Contact: Marina Meeks 807-468-8933 ext. 226

The Poplar Hill Tournament is now completed. It began on Thursday, August 22, 2002. There were four local teams, one team from Cat Lake, one team from Deer Lake and two teams from Paungassi. Three other teams planning to attend were not able to make the trip to Poplar Hill. The Winners were Poplar Hill WolfPac as the A-side Champs. Runner up was Paungassi team 1. B-side champs were Cat Lake with the runners up being the Paungassi team 2. Paungassi nearly did the same thing Poplar Hill did in the Deer Lake tournament where they won both A and B side. But after a shaky start both the Poplar Hill and Cat Lake teams prevailed and won their final games in their divisions. Even so, both the Paungassi teams played to the top of their games, giving the winners a good run for their money.

The Keewaytinook Internet High School is starting its third year of operation with its annual teacher orientation / training workshop in Balmertown the week of August 26 to 30, 2002. Thirteen KiHS teachers are gathering the tools and the information they require to travel into the First Nations that are hosting this year's KiHS classrooms. Check out their workshop pictures.

KO Telehealth is launched during Keewaytinook Okimakanak's 10th Anniversary Celebration in Balmertown on August 22. Geordi Kakepetum, KO’s Executive Director, welcomed everyone to the 10th Anniversary celebration and launch. He related how our telehealth initiative began about four years ago. Our Keewaytinook Okimakanak Chiefs were watching a videoconference between a physician at the Ottawa Heart Institute and a patient in the Northwest Territories. Since then telehealth has been part of the KO wellness strategy. Orpah McKenzie, Director of KO Health Services, acknowledged Keewaytinook Okimakanak’s Health Services work with health partners including the NORTH Network, Industry Canada/FedNor, CHIPP, Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, the Red Lake Margaret Cochenour Memorial Hospital, the Zone Hospital and others to create telehealth and keep it running. Orpah then introduced the telehealth coordinators in each of our KO communities: Lily Sawanas in Deer Lake, Jessie Mathews in Fort Severn, Mary Kakekagumick in Keewaywin, Julie Meekis in North Spirit, and Rita Wassaykeesic in Poplar Hill. Orpah introduced the KO Telehealth Project team of Dr. Aaron Feldstein, Dr. Claudette Chase and Dr. Mark Polle, the KO Telehealth’s Regional Medical Directors, John Rowlandson (Project Manager), Christine Penner Polle (Regional Coordinator), Donna Williams (Informatics Educator), and Gibbet Stevens (Communications Coordinator). This was followed by a ribbon cutting ceremony to launch our telehealth project. Carl Seibel from FedNor assisted Orpah McKenzie and Geordi Kakepetum in cutting the ribbon. A presentation, gift and award ceremony was made via videoconferencing to Starsky Suggashie at the Keewaywin E-Centre for being the first “telehealth consult.” James Kakapetum, Health Director for Keewaywin, accepted the award on Starsky’s behalf. Donna Williams, KO Telehealth’s educator/trainer then connected with coordinator, Julie Meekis in North Spirit Lake by videoconference. Along with Julie’s grandson, Samuel and Laurie Rae, the Prenatal Nutrition worker, they helped to demonstrate some of the telehealth equipment for the audience. Julie used the exam camera to check Samuel’s feeding and breathing tubes and then used the otoscope to look inside Laurie’s ear. It was a very successful launch and for everyone who made it possible – THANK YOU and CONGRATULATIONS! See the first photo album of the launch and also in the second photo album

Deer Lake Celebrated KO's 10th anniversary along with North Spirit, Poplar Hill, Keewaywin, Fort Severn and Balmertown through our Video Conferencing connections. The Celebration took place at Deer Lake's E-Center. Community Members were invited to come to the celebration. Snacks and Refreshments were served. See the pictures here.

Oshki-Pimache-O-Win Education and Training Institute is currently accepting resumes for the positions of Computer Skills and Web Development Instuctor, Project Team Leader and three Assistants for the Canada's Aboriginal Digital Opportunities program. For more information , please visit our website at www.oshki.ca

North Spirit Lake celebrated KO's tenth year anniversary at the local e-Centre. Several community members showed up for this event. The food along with refreshments were enjoyed by all. You can see the pictures here.

Keewaytinook Okimakanak Telehealth was in Sandy Lake on Monday August 19th and Tuesday August 20th to talk about the KO Telehealth Initiative . Sandy Lake First Nation, Health Director, John McKay, invited KO Telehealth so that people in his community could learn more about telemedicine services. On Monday evening, KO Telehealth Project Manager, John Rowlandson, lead a discussion about telehealth services with resident and visiting clinical staff. On Tuesday morning, Rowlandson, presented to Elders and the Sandy Lake Band Council. Nurses and physicians who attended Monday night were enthusiastic about the ways that telemedicine could be used in a remote First Nation like Sandy Lake. They were interested to hear about how it was working in other KO communities and what was involved in delivering and supporting telemedicine services. Similarly, Elders and Council members said they enjoyed the presentation and that they had a better idea about what telehealth is and how it might work in Sandy Lake. Broadband services -- such as high speed internet and videoconferencing are now being implemented throughout the community.