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Sudbury, Ontario Canada will host the inaugural Ontario Aboriginal Summer Games July 17th and 18th, 2004, to be held at the Laurentian University Track Facilities.  Aboriginal competitors from across Ontario will travel to participate in games which will be focusing on track and field for this very first event.  As the games grow, sports will be added with hopes in building participation and sport development for the North American Indigenous Games.

The event will gather some of the most talented young track and field athletes and yet offer provincial experience to many new athletes just starting out.  Competitors, families, volunteers and spectators will enjoy a day and a half of great competition, friendship and cultural sharing. The competition is open to Aboriginal competitors starting at the bantam age 1991-1992 to Senior events 1985 and older.  For special needs athletes who are 1990 and older there is an open Special  Olympic event.

The Ontario Aboriginal Sports Circle (OASC), an organization that is the provincial voice for Aboriginal Sport along with the Meet Directors, Janice Forsyth and Guy Shultz were Team Ontario medal winners at the 2002 North American Indigenous Games held in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Shelley Burnham-Shognosh, PR Manager of OASC anticipates this to be a great gathering and looking forward to it becoming one of the largest Aboriginal sporting events in Ontario.

To be included in this event is a small opening & closing ceremony which has a cultural component.

For more information for the Ontario Aboriginal Summer Games as a volunteer, spectator, Aboriginal Craft vendor or participant, visit the Ontario Aboriginal Sports Circle website, www.oasc.net or call at 1-866-247-0083. E-mail oasc@oasc.net

Growing Strong Rural Communities

• Consultation Paper
  Workbook
  View the Growing Strong Rural Communities Workbook Online
• How to participate online
  

Welcome to the consultation on developing Ontario’s Rural Plan.  

The McGuinty government is moving forward on an agenda for growing strong rural communities. Our government is delivering real, positive change in the priorities that we share with Ontarians.

As part of our government’s commitment to Ontario’s rural communities, the McGuinty government is developing a Rural Plan, which will articulate the government’s vision for rural communities and provide a co-ordinated approach to shaping policy and delivering the programs and services that rural communities need most.

We invite you to provide comments on our consultation paper by reviewing it and completing the online workbook.

We will be accepting comments until July 30, 2004.

Together, we can build a strong rural Ontario with a quality of life that is second to none.  

Thanks for participating in this important process.

Dan Pellerin, K-Net's Network Manager left Monday, June 21 to attend meetings with the Kativik Regional Government (KRG) in the Nunivik Region of Northern Quebec. Meetings are being held to discuss strategies for utilizing the existing NSI satellite bandwidth to serve the different applications in the 14 KRG communities. The Kativik Health Authority is also meeting with KRG and K-Net to determine how to access the bandwidth they require for their telehealth applications.

Travelling from Sioux Lookout to Winnipeg and then on to Montreal and finally up to Kuujjaq required one overnight in Montreal. While in Winnipeg, Dan met with the Manitoba government's Provincial Data Network (PDN) to discuss ways to partner with the Keewatin Tribal Council's efforts to connect satellite served remote First Nations into the Kuhkenah satellite network.

Raymond Pong, PhD, Research Director and Professor with the Centre for Rural and Northern Health Research at Laurentian University visited K-Net at the Sioux Lookout office of Keewaytinook Okimakanak on Wednesday, June 23. Dr. Pong is part of the team of researchers working with Keewaytinook Okimakanak to complete the evalution of the KO Telehealth project.

The day before, Dr. Pong, Orpah McKenzie and Mae Katt video conferenced from the class of graduate research students at Lakehead University with Darlene Rae at the North Spirit Lake Nursing Station. During discussions, Dr. Pong emphasized the importance of these connections with the northern communications to help both students and faculty understand the realites and challenges facing everyone in remote First Nations.

Today, Dr. Pong, along with Nancy Grieves (Service Migration Coordinator for the KO Telehealth project) and Brian Beaton, participated in a number of informal meetings including:

• a video conference with Guy MacLaren from Health Canada's Primary Health Care Transition Fund, Kevin Houghton (KO Telehealth Project Manager) and Penny Carpenter (KO Acting Health Director and Finance Manager)
• a demonstration of the teleradiology equipment and meeting with Craig Legros at the Menoyawin Health Centre
• meeting with Dr. Dermot McLoughlin, radiologist at Menoyawin
• meeting with Carol Wood, Telehealth Coordinator at Menoyawin
• meeting with James Morris, Executive Director of the Sioux Lookout First Nation Health Authority
• meeting and demonstration of the available on-line communication tools with members of the K-Net team (Jamie Ray, John Moreau, Jesse Fiddler, Cal Kenny, Ruth Ann Beardy, Jeannie Carpenter)
• tour of the different components of the Sioux Lookout K-Net connections.

Guy MacLaren, Senior Program Officer with the Primary Health Care Transition Fund is visiting the KO Telehealth Program located in Balmertown, Ontario. The purpose of the meeting is to review the 2 1/2 year Contribution Agreement in which is primarily operational funding including a requirement for a detailed evaluation report to be submitted at the conclusion of the funding. Click here to see the news story on the KO Telehealth web site.Guy and the KO Telehealth team will be visiting Deer Lake on Thursday June 24th to see the equipment operational in the community. Lily Sawanas- Deer Lake CTC will be hosting the team and illustrating its uses within the community.For pictures of Guy's visit, please visit the photogallery.

Rather than closing its doors to celebrate National Aboriginal Day, the KO sub office in Balmertown flung them open for area elementary school students...

Lakehead University Dean of Education impressed with KiHS and other KO ICT applications...

The June 17 issue of Wawatay News contained the story, "Pikangikum ready to share knowledge through education" ... forming the Whitefeather Forest Research cooperative with three universities, Sault College. The entire story can be read on the Wawatay News web site (click here).

The development of another community based Research group complements Keewaytinook Okimakanak's Research Institute which the Chiefs of KO established over the past year with the support of various partnerships. As more First Nations and First Nation organizations develop their research teams, KO looks forward to increased interest from institutions and corporations to develop new partnerships and relationships that benefit the Nishnawbe Aski.

KO Telehealth's team travelled to Thunder Bay to provide Health Canada and the Cancer Care Summit with information about their work with the First Nations across the Sioux Lookout health zone. Two new reports, containing the presentations to these groups, can be found on the KO Telehealth web site.

The two reports can be accessed by clicking on the titles below:

1. Cancer Care Summit Presentation
2. KO Telehealth Present to Health Canada

Darren Rae from Deer Lake First Nation has been selected as the KiHS student of the year for his academic successes in all his high school courses. Darren was recognized for having the Best Average in at least 6 credits, highest academic achievement in Science, Native Studies and Language, and Mathematics. He also was selected for making the "best academic effort" in his community KiHS classroom.

The Awards of Excellence page congratulates all the participating KiHS students. Everyone who signs up for KiHS courses are winners because they are able to develop new and important academic, technical and social skills. Being able to remain in their home communities with their families and friends, even for an extra year or two provides an important support for everyone, especially the community. Those KiHS students who are successful in completing high school credits from their home community are proving that they can be successful in any learning environment.

Other KiHS students recognized for their academic achievements this year include:

• Cat Lake - Marlene Crane, Bianca Crane
• Deer Lake - Darren Rae, Amanda Meekis
• Eabametoong - Wanda Atlookan, Robby Jacob
• Fort Severn - Hilary Gray, Bernadette Kabestra
• Fort William - William Solomon, Terry Landry, Sabrina MacLaurin
• Keewaywin - Katie Anishinabie, Leslie Pascal
• Lac Seul (Kejick Bay) - Celeste Rickard, David Sutherland
• North Spirit Lake - Geraldine Rae, Raylene Meekis
• Sachigo Lake - Tanya Barkman, Keith Barkman
• Weagamow - David Beardy, Lyndon Williams
• Webequie - Travis Spence, Vincent Jacob, Kerina Wabasse