Archive - 2003
November 29th
Resiliency Workbook for Residential School Survivors Available at K-Net
November 29, 2003 - 1:52pm | by AnonymousThe Resiliency Workbook for Survivors of Residential School (PDF document, 143K) is the publication produced for the survivors attending the gathering at Pelican Falls in May 2002. Sunset Aboriginal Women’s Circle sponsored the project with funding support from the Anglican Church and the funding groups that supported the gathering.
The development of this workbook came from all the stories that everyone shared during this event. There is a lot of discussions surrounding the concept of resiliency of residential school survivors. The workbook uses some of the information from the stories told by the conference participants during the large sharing circles at this gathering.
The workbook puts these stories and experiences together into a format that can hopefully be used by survivors of residential schools to assist everyone to develop their own resiliency story. It provides Residential School survivors with another tool to use on their healing journey.
Everyone is invited to complete each of the four exercises contained in the workbook. Exercise #4 provides an opportunity to submit your completed resiliency story to be posted on-line and shared with other residential school survivors. These resiliency stories are being gathered and posted so they can be shared with others who are still working on their own healing and development. This workbook and the resulting stories will be used to support Native families in their efforts to raise healthy children and build their communities from http://raisingthechildren.knet.ca web site.
November 27th
Nishnawbe Gamik Friendship Centres launches Anokeewin Wiichiiwaawin Web Site
November 27, 2003 - 10:29pm | by AnonymousThe Sioux Lookout Nishnawbe Gamik Friendship Centre launched the Anokeewin Wiichiiwaawin Employment Centre web site with a ceremony and feast honouring the nine youth selected as the first role models for their new portal. The web site is located at http://workhere.ca
K-Net staff (Jesse Fiddler and Cal Kenny) worked with Anokeewin Wiichiiwaawin Employment Centre staff members (Melisse Wilson and Nadine Arpin) to create this web site. The celebration included a live video conference link with the Keewaytinook Okimakanak Thunder Bay office where two of the role models are able to join the ceremony (see the news story posted at http://firstnationschools.ca).
Each role model was recognized with a short biography read by Nadine Arpin with a gift being presented by the Friendship Centre's Executive Director, Laura Wynne. The on-line video clip containing a few words of wisdom from each role model was also viewed by the guests in attendance at this event. Afterwards a feast was hosted by the Friendship Centre for everyone in attendance.
November 26th
INAC Minister Nault announces Telehealth initiative in KO's Balmertown office
November 26, 2003 - 9:47pm | by AnonymousOn Thursday, November 27, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada Minister Robert Nault announced Health Canada's $3.4 million dollar contribution towards the expansion of the KO Telehealth initiative. The project will support all 24 First Nation Health Centres in the Sioux Lookout Zone to develop telemedicine resources over the next 2.5 years. The announcement took place in Keewaytinook Okimakanak's Balmertown office. It was webcast live on K-Net with the KO First Nations linked into the event via video conference.
Everyone is invited to watch this event on-line. Click here to watch the archived web cast.
November 2003 KiHS Newsletter now available
November 26, 2003 - 7:47am | by AnonymousKeewaytinook Internet High School November Newsletter is now available on-line.
November 25th
Community ICT planning workshops; Aboriginal Smart Fair in Wawatay
November 25, 2003 - 5:07pm | by AnonymousThe November 27 issue of Wawatay News contains three more news stories about the work being completed within the Kuh-ke-nah Network of Smart First Nations demonstration project.
This week's issue of the
Kuh-ke-nah page in Wawatay News include the following articles:- Workshops lead to each community’s ICT goals : Over the past three years a series of community engagement workshops have been held in each of the KO First Nations to review and plan for the use of ICTs in each of the major service sectors. Raymond Mason, Keewaywin’s e-Centre Manager and Darlene Rae, North Spirit Lake’s e-Centre Manager share their experiences and the information about these workshops.
- Aboriginal Smart Fair will highlight K-Net’s ICT successes : Keewaytinook Okimakanak is hosting a special 1 day showcase to demonstrate and share the work and information about the different initiatives being undertaken in the Smart Communities project. Industry Canada and First Nations reps from across Northern Ontario, Manitoba and elsewhere are invited to participate in this Smart Fair (for more information http://smart.knet.ca/fair).
- K-Net Showcase - contains photos from the K-Net photo gallery at
Various newspaper articles are being scanned and stored for reference purposes
in this photo gallery.Pee Wee and Bantam Hockey Tournament in Sandy Lake
November 25, 2003 - 2:46pm | by AnonymousSandy Lake 1st Annual Invitational
Pee Wee & Bantam
Hockey Tournament
January 15, 16, 17, 2004
Host Teams
Sandy Lake Skyfalcons
Sandy Lake Ice Wolves
ENTRY FEE: $500.00
Trophies and Medallions will be presented.
For further information contact:
Ozzie Kakepetum
Sandy Lake Recreation Office
(807) 774-5445
or
Harvey Kakegamic
(807) 774-1309
November 24th
Turning Point Volunteers attend Caux conference in Switzerland
November 24, 2003 - 10:59pm | by AnonymousThree Turning Point volunteers: Victoria Freeman, Mary Alice Smith, Dorothy Christian and a colleague, Jessie Sutherland, were invited to attend the Caux conference by Initiatives of Change Canada. Ms. Sutherland had attended Caux for five weeks in the summer of 2002 as a ‘Caux scholar’ and recommended Turning Point volunteers as speakers and delegates to the August 12-17 , 2003 conference. The conference provided an opportunity to share lessons learned in working with K-Net and the Turning Point web environment.
See the report from the conference written by Mary Alice Smith.
Ms. Freeman and Smith are founding coordinator/moderators. Dorothy Christian was invited as an Advisor to the Turning Point website, at its inception, and has been the main volunteer moderator of the Talking Circle for the past year. After visiting the website in January 2003, Jessie Sutherland contacted us to explore our shared interests in reconciliation between indigenous and settler peoples in Canada.
The conference host, Initiatives of Change, was founded as the ‘Moral Rearmament’ movement in the 1930’s. It is a global network of "people of different faiths engaged in the every-day process of ‘remaking the world’". IOC , maintained largely by volunteers and donations with a minimum of structured organization, "helps people to become agents of change, using their homes, through conferences, seminars, training courses, publications, music and stage productions, or some other action to address a need in their community or country. " (see attached appendices/handouts from IOC for further background).
The conference theme for the week that we attended was ‘Conflict Prevention through Human Security" responding to the 1993 UNDP Development Report. Over fifty countries were represented - "a very eclectic mix of peoples from diverse cultures, faiths, nationalities and age groups."
The invitation letter outlined the theme as follows:
- Understanding peoples’ fears and needs, and preventing outbreaks of violence can break the vicious cycle of insecurity and violence. Prevention depends on many things, including acknowledgement of past wrongs and current fears, addressing root causes, rectifying serious imbalances in the quality of life experienced, and improving environmental sustainability.
- The significance of this theme in Caux is to express how personal experience and insight can help to further the notion of human security. Central to this is the necessity for interaction amongst conference participants, and between speakers and their audience.
November 22nd
IT Directors from NOMS, Lakehead and Laurentian U. visit K-Net
November 22, 2003 - 1:28pm | by AnonymousOn Thursday, Nov 20, Kevin Pashuk (NOMS IT Director), Bob Angell (Lakehead U. IT Director) and Bill Sandblom (Laurentian U. IT Director) drove with Tom Hibbs (Corporate Accounts, Enterprise Solutions, Nortel Networks) to Sioux Lookout to meet with K-Net staff and learn about the Kuh-ke-nah Network. The team is touring Northern Ontario to meet with different community-based networks to learn about the existing infrastructure and resources available across this vast region. Check out the pictures of this crew
The role of partnerships and the sharing of resources and opportunities is one of the most important outcomes from all the work with these communication tools. This meeting provided another opportunity to see how institutions, corporations and organizations can work together to support the development of infrastructure and the access to resources so everyone benefits.
The cliche "Putting some meaning into the C that is in the middle of ICT" is the challenge that everyone faces with these new tools. It is COMMUNICATION that provides the important link between Information and Technology; it is the "glue" that makes this work worthwhile for the people and the communities. If we do not have meaningful and effective communication that helps build practical, efficient and respectful relationships then we just have a bunch of machines being used to toss a lot of information at each other and being "managed" by IT Directors and technicians located in far away places.
One important outcome of this meeting was the agreement to work together to identify strategies and access the necessary resources to support the development of adequate distance learning facilities in all the communities across Northern Ontario. This effort will require the partnership of every community and government agency to ensure equitable and affordable solutions are created. Being able to accommodate students from NOMS or Lakehead or any institution is a major challenge that will create employment in both the development of these facilities and then in the ongoing maintenance and operation of these distance learning spaces including the residential component.
The innovative communication tools and infrastructure required to provide an environment where students and community members can share and create new opportunities for everyone will position Northern Ontario as the place to be doing business. We will be able to boast full employment and healthy communities across the region by levering and sharing these resources with everyone. The Northern Ontario Medical School and our two post-secondary institutions provide a great opportunity for every community in Northern Ontario to be creating a healthy socio-economic environment for all residents!
FedNor Officials met with KO Smart Team members by video conference
November 22, 2003 - 1:24pm | by AnonymousThursday morning (Nov 20), Carl Seibel (FedNor's Telecom Officer) brought Jacques Hains, the FedNor Liaison Officer from Ottawa over to Keewaytinook Okimakanak's Thunder Bay office for meetings with different members of the KO Smart team from across Northwestern Ontario. Brian Walmark, KO's SchoolNet Special Projects Coordinator hosted the meeting from his office on the fourth floor at 135 N. Syndicate Avenue that he shares with Conduit Technologies and Northern Nishnawbe Education Council.
First stop on the virtual tour was the KO office in Sioux Lookout, where Carl and Jacques met with K-Net staff to discuss the work that has been completed to date as well as the socio-economic opportunities that the FedNor investments bring to the region and especially the remote First Nations in the far north. Then Dan used the video conferencing bridge to bring in the Fort Severn Smart team at their e-Centre in their community. Later Dan dropped in on the North Spirit Lake e-Centre and Darlene joined the discussions about the impact they are witnessing that these communication tools are having on their communities.
Check out the story that Brian Walmark posted on the http://firstnationschools.ca portal
K-Net team receives training and development for IP Telephony
November 22, 2003 - 1:07pm | by AnonymousDan Brabrand traveled from Richmond, Virginia to Sioux Lookout on Sunday, Nov 23 to work with the K-Net team in setting up an IP telephone system that will serve Keewaytinook Okimakanak and our partner communities and organizations. Dan works with Kevin Gerber out of their Virginia office. Kevin has worked with K-Net for a number of years starting when he was in Toronto working with the Education Network of Ontario.
The team spent time setting up the Call Manager so it can route the calls from the IP phones to their proper locations across the network and to their proper gateways. Some time was also spent setting up the conferencing system so conference calls can also be facilitated over this network. Check out the pictures of the training and the equipment.
IP phones are now located in the K-Net office in Sioux Lookout with single phones located in each of the other Keewaytinook Okimakanak offices across the network. This includes KO offices in Balmertown and Thunder Bay and each of the KO First Nation e-Centres in Deer Lake, Fort Severn, Keewaywin, North Spirit Lake and Poplar Hill. The roll out plan to expand the number of operational IP phones will be implemented over the next couple of months as everyone becomes comfortable with supporting these new services and opportunities.