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Jamie Ray, Computer Technician with K-Net's Helpdesk in Sioux Lookout and Aaron Hardy, KiHS Technician in Fort William First Nation are attending the 5 day Cisco Academy CCNA - Level 1 instructor training at Centennial College in Toronto this week. Support for this training is coming from Industry Canada's First Nations SchoolNet initiative.

As part of this instructor training, Jamie and Aaron are planning to once again work with Angus Miles to deliver the ITE1 and ITE2 Cisco Academy training for First Nation technicians starting this fall. Watch for more information about these training opportunities to obtain Cisco certifications in these courses.

This year we will celebrate the gathering and the 100th year anniversary of the signing of the Treaty.  We chose to acknowledge and honour the wisdom, vision, and spirit of our Grandmothers and Grandfathers who negotiated, signed, and honoured our Treaty with the Crown in good faith and good will. 

• Treaty Workshops
• Community Breakfasts
• Special Guests
• Arts & Crafts
• Treaty Commemorative Canoe & Paddlers
• Education Banquet & Awards
• Traditional Pow Wow
• Traditional Village
• Community Feasts
• Entertainment
• Family Activities

MOOSE FACTORY, ON

 August 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 2005

Deer Lake First Nation opened their offices and local health centre for two weeks to two medical students who accepted the challenge of piloting the new Northern Ontario School of Medicine's aboriginal community placement learning module. This pilot initiative provided NOSM with the opportunity to test their curriculum, their on-line delivery platform and the coordination of community placements for first year students. The Deer Lake coordinator for this pilot was Eliza Jane Meekis. During the placement Orpah McKenize, NOSM Aboriginal Liaison Director, was able to visit Deer Lake along with one of the professors delivering the curriculum content to understand the importance of this experiencial learning opportunity for both the students and the community.

Click here to read the NOSM press release about this pilot project.

Click here to watch the Thunder Bay television story (hold the CTRL button down when you click on this link if you pop ups blocked on your computer)

Click here to read the Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal article about this initiative. - Med school tests system - By Chen Chekki - July 03, 2005

The new Northern Ontario School of Medicine, scheduled to open at the end of August, is already starting to teach students, sort of.

And some of them have a few bad things to say about the medical program — but that was the whole point.

The school, set up by Lakehead University and Laurentian University in Sudbury, recently finished testing the part of the program that puts its students into aboriginal communities.

It plans to put its students in the month-long placements to emphasize Northern Ontario’s diverse cultures. A total of 28 aboriginal areas will host students during their four-year MD program.

So to prepare, the school sent 15 students who are not part of the new medical program to the placement for two weeks in June to see how well it works and gather student feedback to improve it.

School officials believe that if a test of a placement program doesn’t work, then it won’t work, period.

A medical student from Manitoba joined 11 other medical students from southern Ontario and four nursing students from LU in testing the placement in eight aboriginal communities. Some of the places are accessible only by air.

Each were sent to a specific community such as Deer Lake, Pic River, Moose Factory or Muskrat Dam and were asked to communicate with test students in the other places through online discussion boards.

They were also asked to tap into online lectures using laptop computers.

Luke Jagiello, a medical student from the University of Western Ontario, said his experience testing the placement program in Deer Lake brought him farther north than he has ever been.

He said the placements need better advance planning with participating communities. A nursing station he was required to attend during the program was not expecting his arrival.

Also, the workload at the beginning was overloaded and student computers had problems connecting online, Jagiello said.

Many of the problems with the placement were fixed quickly, Jagiello said. The 25-year-old said the program was a good idea.

“I think it will be very beneficial for the students next year,” Jagiello said.

It could also help encourage young aboriginals to pursue careers in medicine, said Margaret Kenequanash, spokeswoman for Shibogama First Nation tribal council in Sioux Lookout, which helped get Kingfisher Lake
involved as a site to test the placement program.

“It’s like a mentorship on both parts,” she said. Her group hopes to get three First Nations involved in the school’s actual placement program.

MEDIA RELEASE
LAURENTIAN UNIVERSITY, LAKEHEAD UNIVERSITY
Northern Ontario School of Medicine
Thursday June 30, 2005

Students experience the North through School of Medicine pilot project

How can a placement in an Aboriginal community make a better physician? Fifteen medical and nursing students from Ontario and Manitoba who recently returned from rural and remote Aboriginal communities across Northern Ontario can answer that question.

The students participated in a unique pilot project at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) where they helped to test the community placement portion of the NOSM curriculum by spending time in Northern First Nation communities. The four week pilot, which ended today, included one week of orientation, two weeks in community, and a final week of debrief.

Karen Ho, a Western University medical student, was one of the participating students. “The experience was awesome. I learned an incredible amount of information that just can’t be found in a textbook,” noted Ms. Ho.

Dr. Dan Hunt, NOSM Vice Dean, says that this is exactly the kind of response he had hoped for. “The purpose of this pilot was to ensure that NOSM students will walk away from community placements with not only a better sense of Northern health needs, but also a deeper understanding of the cultural diversity of the North,” notes Dr. Hunt. Dr. Hunt firmly believes that the more NOSM students are exposed to the vibrancy of Northern communities, the more likely they will choose to live and work here as practicing physicians when they graduate, “Medical knowledge and skills are not enough to thoroughly enjoy practicing in a remote or rural community. Individuals need to experience Northern life first-hand and appreciate the uniqueness that comes with each community”, says Dr. Hunt.

Frank Beardy Chief of Muskrat Dam agrees. His community (population approx. 350) was one of seven that welcomed two students for a two week period. “The students met with our elders and healers, interacted with members of our community, and now have a better understanding of both our culture and our health needs,” said Chief Beardy. Like Dr. Hunt, Chief Beardy believes that the future of health care in Northern Ontario resides in the deeper understanding of the uniqueness of remote and rural communities.

Prior to the pilot, many students had little knowledge of what life was like in a rural or remote Aboriginal community. Some had preconceived notions that were shattered by their experience. “I have learned a lot about a community’s way of life,” notes pilot student Meileen Joynt who spent her two weeks in Moose Factory. ”I gained insight into the residents’ diets, lifestyles, housing, and views of the world outside of this small community,” she explains. “Taking part in a community bar-b-que, a Sunday school picnic and a bridal shower taught me how to deal with language barriers and the importance of respecting different cultural beliefs of patients.”

Following the community placements, students and organizers met for a one week debrief. The feedback received will help to optimize the placement experience for the future NOSM students. The pilot demonstrated that:

• Technology, which is paramount to the success of distributed learning, is not a barrier.
• Most students indicate an interest in participating in a high number of clinical opportunities.
• The School is on the right track to further engage health care practitioners and other communities in the community placement portion of its curriculum.

Students undertook placements in Deer Lake, Kenora, Kingfisher Lake, Moose Factory, Muskrat Dam, Pic River and Wikwemikong. Each community provided outstanding support to the students and the School by facilitating the successful completion of the pilot.

In total, twenty-eight rural and remote Aboriginal communities will host medical students during the School’s 4-year MD program. Rural and remote Aboriginal communities wishing to participate as a placement community for NOSM students are encouraged to contact Martha Musicco at (705) 662- 7227.

Partial funding and ground support for this pilot project was generously provided by Health Canada.

The provincial government recently announced the formation of the Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs). LHIN 14 or the Northwest LHIN will serve from Kenora to Manitouwadge, and from Hudson Bay to the Ontario-Minnesota border. Ennis Fiddler, former chief of Sandy Lake First Nation and chair of the Menoyawin Health Centre in Sioux Lookout, was named as one of the eight members of this new organization.

From the Ontario government press release ... "Local Health Integration Networks are local health organizations designed to plan, integrate and fund local health services – including hospitals, community care access centres, home care, long-term care, mental health, community health centres as well as addiction and community support services – within a specific geographic area."

Click here to read the entire gov't press release about the LHINs.

Click here to read the announcement for the formation of the Northwest LHIN.

Click here to read the Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal coverage of this announcement.

New look for health care: Planning will take place in the region under LHIN

By Ward Holland - The Chronicle-Journal

June 29, 2005

The way health care is managed in Northwestern Ontario is about to change.

Provincial Liberal MPPs Michael Gravelle and Bill Mauro announced Tuesday that the government has created 14 Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs), one of them for this region.

“My first thoughts are that I’m pleased that health planning is now taking place in the region,” said Maurice Fortin, executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association.

The LHINs will plan for, integrate and fund local health agencies, such as hospitals, community care access centres, home care agencies, and mental health and addictions agencies.

“We believe they are going to dramatically change how we do health care in Ontario,” Gravelle (Thunder Bay-Superior North) said at a news conference in Thunder Bay.

Currently, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care oversees local health agencies.

“We are creating LHINs because local health services are best planned at the local level by people familiar with the needs of the community,” Health Minister George Smitherman said in a statement.

“You can’t micromanage a $33-billion health care system from an office in Toronto.”

John Whitfield, a former mathematics professor at Lakehead University, was introduced as chairman of the region’s LHIN.

The Northwestern Ontario LHIN will begin operating in early September, he said.

Gravelle praised Whitfield as “a true gentleman who certainly knows how to work with people.”

Two other board members have also been named. Janice Beazley, vice-chairwoman, is a health executive from Fort Frances; and Ennis Fiddler, is a teacher and CBC radio broadcaster.

The other six board members haven’t been selected and Gravelle said they will be chosen on merit.

Gwen DuBois-Wing was introduced as chief executive officer of the LHIN. She is a registered nurse with more than 15 years experience in health care management.

“She’s smart, she’s organized and she’s a system thinker,” Whitfield said.

“The status quo isn’t good enough anymore,” DuBois-Wing said. “Changes are needed. And that’s what we’re here for.”

DuBois-Wing was director of the Northwestern Ontario District Health Council from 1998 to 2005. The council disbanded in March.

She said the LHINs are “substantially different” than health councils which gave advice. LHINs will determine health needs and where dollars will go.

The boundary of the Northwest LHIN will extend from Kenora to Manitouwadge, and from Hudson Bay to the Ontario-Minnesota border.

Fortin said the Canadian Mental Health Association is part of a large region that extends from Parry Sound to the Manitoba border.

The Ministry of Health’s regional office is in Sudbury.

“I think that people have felt like we’re poor cousins,” Fortin said. “We’re less connected.”

Attawapiskat community members voted on June 30 to support the development of the DeBeers' Victor diamond mine on their traditional territory. Chief Mike Carpenter summarized the community’s decision in this way, “We see this IBA as strengthening the existing relationship with De Beers Canada to create a longer-term partnership which will be beneficial to both our community and the company. We are hopeful that the project and the benefits it will bring will help us address the many challenges we have in our community.” Click here to read the completed press release.

Click here for more information about the Victor diamond mine (from the DeBeers web site).

CBC on-line reports that "The agreement sets out how the aboriginal group will be compensated for use of its traditional lands.

For more than five years, people have been debating whether a diamond discovery in their backyard spelled opportunity or a threat to the reserve's traditional way of life and culture.

The newly ratified Impact Benefit Agreement attempts to settle that debate; it promises the First Nation jobs, training and money.

The CBC has obtained a confidential copy of the agreement, in which DeBeers and the First Nation have set targets for the number of local people employed at the mine.

During the construction phase, the mine is expected to employ about 600 people. De Beers is guaranteeing that it will hire about 30 people from Attawapiskat.

The company has agreed to invest in training programs and give Attawapiskat businesses priority for contract work.

The First Nation will get yearly financial payments from De Beers. Neither party will say how much."

Click here for the entire CBC news article. - Ontario First Nation signs diamond mine agreement - Sun, 03 Jul 2005

August 19 & 20, 2005

$10,000.00 in prizes

Registration fee $75.00 by August 12, 2005

$100.00 after August 12, 2005

On this special day everyone needs to be finding creative ways to support the efforts of Sir Bob Geldof to reduce the debt burden of impoverished African nations through Live8 (www.live8live.com).

Just some examples of the power we place in the hands of the G8 leaders (http://www.live8live.com/whatsitabout/index.shtml)...

• Smallpox was wiped out by just over US$100m worth of targeted aid. Polio is also close to being eliminated.
• Mozambique's economy grew at an astonishing 12 per cent in the 1990s when aid constituted 50 per cent of its income.
• In Tanzania, debt relief enabled the government to abolish primary school fees, leading to a whopping 66 per cent increase in attendance. As a result, 1.6 million more children now attend school.
• Debt relief helped kick-start Mozambique's impressive recovery from civil war and terrible floods and enabled its government to vaccinate 500,000 additional children.

NOW IS THE TIME, THIS IS THE YEAR - OUR LEADERS HAVE THE POWER TO END POVERTY - BUT WE HAVE THE POWER TO MAKE THEM USE IT!

In Canada, everyone interested in seeing what they can do about this effort is invited to visit the MAKE POVERTY HISTORY website at  http://www.makepovertyhistory.ca/e/home.php. Sign the petition to Prime Minister Martin and your MP so they can be a part of doing something about poverty at the upcoming G8 meetings this coming week.

From the CBC.ca news story ... "former South African president Nelson Mandela drew even more applause than the musicians performing.

"I formerly announced my retirement from public life and should really not be here. However, as long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality exist in our world, none of us can truly rest," Mandela said. "While poverty exists, there is no true freedom."

"History and the generations to come will judge our leaders by the decisions they make in the coming weeks. I say to all those leaders, do not look the other way. Do not hesitate," he continued. "It is easy to make promises but never go to action. We ask those leaders to demonstrate their commitment and not engage with hollow promises. We want action."

Mandela, who was frequently forced to stop because of cheering from the audience, added a message for those watching the Live 8 concerts worldwide.

"Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that generation," he said, urging people to help end poverty. "Let your greatness blossom."

On July 1st, 2nd and 3rd, 2005 Pastor Bobby Linklater will be hosting a gospel jamboree in Thunder Bay.  Three nights of the word of God, singing and testimonies. Sevices will begin at 7:30 each night. 

The Ontario Human Rights Commission released a new human rights policy to modernize the struggle against racism in Ontario  from their Toronto office yesterday.

“It is time organizations and institutions acknowledge the reality of racism and be prepared to act against subtle and sometimes subconscious prejudices and stereotypes that too often result in discrimination”, said Keith Norton, Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission today as he announced the release of the Commission’s Policy and Guidelines on Racism and Racial Discrimination.

The backgrounder for the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s Policy and Guidelines on Racism and Racial Discrimination contains the information about the process used to develop this new policy guideline. The entire table of contents for the new policy guidelines provides a wealth of information for everyone.

• Part I - Setting the Context: Understanding Race, Racism and Racial Discrimination
• Part II - the Policy Framework
• Part III - Guidelines for Implementation: Monitoring and Combatting Racism and Racial Discrimination
• Appendix - Workplace Policies, Practices and Decision-making Processes & Systemic Discrimination

Some of the papers used in helping to formulate its policy on racial discrimination and race are very relevant in this region. They include:

• Systemic barriers to racially representative law enforcement agencies
• Stereotyping and its consequence for racial minority youth
• Racial Discrimination and Mental Health: Racialized and Aboriginal Communities
• Racial Inequality in Access to Health Care Services