Media.Knet.Ca

in Kenora for the criminal trial in the tragic death of Max Kakegamic in Oct. 2000.

Margaret and Isaac Kakegamic, Max’s parents, and his widow Karen have come to Kenora from North Spirit and Fort Hope at the request of the Victim/Witness office of the Ministry of the Attorney General for the duration of the trial by jury, which began Jan.13 and is expected to run until early March. So far the Victim/Witness Assistant Cheryl Horne has been the main support to the family, and others from Kenora have been stopping in once in awhile. The Kakegamics sit quietly every day at the back of the courtroom watching and listening. There is a noticeable absence of other First Nations people in the courtroom. They appreciate those who have dropped by or visited them, as this continues to be a challenging time in their lives.

Even though Mr. & Mrs. Kakegamic both attended residential schools here years ago (Cecilia Jeffery and St. Mary’s respectively), they don’t really know anyone in Kenora and are not familiar with resources we have to offer. They do not have a vehicle and get around by taxi. As well the Kakegamics have children with them - ages 2, 4, 11 – and two other family members to help with the kids. While the Kakegamics spend Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 at the courthouse, the children and their caregivers stay in the hotel room, with a lot of time and energy on their hands.

HOW WE CAN HELP . . .

Our visible presence in the courtroom throughout the trial will give strength to the family and express our concern as a community in justice for Aboriginal people. The usual daily court schedule is Monday to Friday 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with lunch from 1 to 2:15, but can vary.

• the family would probably enjoy being part of activities, community events, outings
• they could use some extra support to help out with child care, laundry/clothing, books, toys, games for the children

CONTACT:

Twenty-eight on-line games are now available at http://games.knet.ca for those people who want to relax and enjoy an innocent game of trying to better the scores of their friends and fellow Knetters (or is it Knerds, as some people refer to themselves). Jesse always threatened to create this site for everyone and it took one restless night to pull it all together.

After one day, it looks like this on-line arcade might get some people off the chat lines and into the games room. On its first day of operation it looks like this particular set of games were played 2860 times!

Have fun everyone ... BUT be sure to get your work done, eh ...

Write to Jesse Fiddler or sign the guestbook on the Games site with your suggestions if you find any other Public Domain games that you think people would enjoy.

The January 15 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:

• KO Chiefs speak about ICTs in their communities: Chiefs John McKay (Keewaywin First Nation), Jimmy Rae (North Spirit Lake First Nation) and Roy Gray (Fort Severn First Nation) take a moment from their busy schedules to reflect upon the impact and changes that ICTs and broadband connectivity have brought to their communities. As well, each leader shares their wishes and hopes for further developments that these communication tools can bring to the people and communities they serve. Read the story ...
• Great "Waboose" hunt leads to healthier relationships: Karen Kakepetum, the Healthy Babies, Healthy Children Program Coordinator in Keewaywin First Nation organized a rabbit snaring session with several mothers in her community. Click here to view the pictures that can be found on the Keewaywin First Nation web site. The session /workshop is creating some healthy spin offs for several families in the community. Read the story ...
• K-Net Showcase - contains photos from the Personal Homepage photo galleries at http://myknet.org. This week's issue is profiling the homepages of Angie Morris, Carol Terry, Blue Mason, Jeremy Sawanas and Angus Miles.

Rick Garrick is researching additional stories for future articles. If you have a story that you want to share about this project and the work that is happening in your community to get connected, please send us an e-mail.

Various newspaper articles are being scanned and stored for reference purposes in this photo gallery.