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Fort Severn is presently 15th on INAC’s list to get a new school sometime within the next few years. The existing school was shut down in early June of this year due to severe mould contamination. In late August, INAC’s Regional Director met with Fort Severn leaders to recommend a "remediation strategy" as the solution to the existing school. The Chief and Council, using their own resources had determined that a temporary school facility would address everyone’s short and long term needs while the scheduled new school is planned and built. They require a decision from INAC immediately to be able to meet the scheduled barge delivery of construction materials for the temporary facility. The barge leaves Moosonee at end of September.

James Bartleman, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and NAN’s Grand Chief Stan Beardy witnessed the crisis first hand during a visit to the community last week. Later Mr. Bartleman, in the Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal newspaper, stated "right now they’re in bad shape". Grand Chief Stan Beardy in a CBC radio program described the situation as "depressing".

Additional structural and historical problems with the existing school prevent it from becoming useable again for the community. The September 9 issue of Wawatay also documents these problems. A study commissioned by the Fort Severn leaders found that parents will no longer send their children to this site even if it was remediated. Historically, INAC officials decided to build the school at the present location even though local elders told them it was not suitable due to spring water and graves sites located there.

Now that their children’s health has been compromised by the existing building, parents are demanding a different facility for their children to attend. They require assurances that the health problems that they saw their children experiencing this past spring will not reoccur. Eleven families have already been forced to relocate to other centres so their children can attend school. INAC officials are aware of this information and these reports but everyone is still waiting for their support to address this crisis.

Fort Severn leaders took it upon themselves to include in their request for tenders for the temporary school facility that the buildings be able to be converted to teacher living quarters once the new school is completed. Existing teacherages are also contaminated with hydrocarbons and are aging due to the harsh weather conditions in Fort Severn resulting in the need to be replaced. The multiple usages for a properly designed and constructed temporary school facility will ensure that this investment will result in continued use after their primary function as a school is completed.

Fort Severn leaders received estimates from the engineering firm that the cost for remediation and structural upgrades of the existing school has been estimated to be $3 million and will require the existing school to remain closed for an undetermined length of time. For this amount, the Chief and Council presented plans in August for INAC to fund their temporary school that would be in place by January. At the same time a new school can begin to be planned and built for the children of Fort Severn.

Carmen Sandiego is not the only traveller on the move via the computer ... KO's Jamie Ray is a globe trotter assisting First Nation schools to get better connectivity. Earlier this week, Jamie was in Wabigoon helping develop the local community network. Click here to see his pictures and story about this development.

Now in Bearskin assisting with the new KiHS classroom there. He also took some time to help improve connectivity and the computer network at the Bearskin elementary school.

He tested the videoconferencing unit in the KiHS classroom by calling Wesley McKay and Brian Walmark at the KO Research Institute.

Greg Ross, Assoicate Dean of Research with the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, met with KO's Brian Walmark to discuss opportunities to work together. Greg is interested in the various ICT applications that KO has developed in telehealth and teleeducation. He would also like to work with the KO Research Institute to improve the research capacity of First Nation communities in the North.

For more information, email Brian Walmark at KORI

Ron Fisher, Northern Aboriginal Education Circle (NAEC) Coordinator visited KO to discuss potential developments and learn about First Nations SchoolNet applications and opportunities.

KO's Wesley McKay gives Ron a virtual tour of the First Nations SchoolNet web portal. Fisher also participated in a videoconference linking the KO Research Institute with First Nations SchoolNet RMO in Sioux Lookout. He learned about a variety of applications that First Nations SchoolNet is providing to on-reserve schools.

Click here to visit the NAEC web site at Seven Generations. To see more photos, click here... To learn more about NAEC initiatives, email Ron Fisher...

Wild Country is contributing to the well-being of First Nation students by flying free of charge almost thirty boxes of books donated by a school in Toronto for the Keewaytinook Okimakanak First Nation schools north of Red Lake.

For more information and photos, click here...

Our friends from New Zealand that Keewaytinook Okimakanak has worked with in the past sent us the following announcement and invitation ...

Te Wananga o Aotearoa is pleased to announce that it will be hosting the World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education (WIPCE) from Sunday 27th November 2005 through to Thursday 1st December 2005 - www.wipce2005.com.

While Te Wananga o Aotearoa is the official host, the conference will be a collaborative effort between Te Wananga o Aotearoa, the University of Waikato and the Waikato Institute of Technology, the three tertiary institutions within the Waikato area. These three institutions will also work alongside the other two Wananga, Te Wananga o Raukawa and Te Wananga o Awanuiarangi and with Hapu (Sub-tribes), Iwi (Tribal groups), Kohanga Reo (Immersion Early Childhood Centres), Kura Kaupapa (Immersion Schools), Community Groups and National organisations to ensure a successful conference.

The conference will open at Turangawaewae Marae with an official powhiri on Sunday November 27th.  Conference presentations will be delivered from Monday through to Thursday 1st December 2005 at the University of Waikato. The finale will be on Thursday evening at the Waikato Stadium with a closing ceremony and cultural extravaganza which will be open to the public.

Te Toi Roa - The Overall Conference Theme

The overall conference theme for WIPCE 2005 calls for us to celebrate our stories and beliefs in our principles, our values and our histories, the quintessence of our uniqueness as indigenous people. It is these beliefs that enhance our experiences and knowledge to guide us to strive for excellence in education.

The themes flowing from Te Toi Roa are Leadership, Research & Development and New Horizons of Knowledge.

• Leadership - This theme calls for presenters to share stories about leadership, where it has come from, where it is going, how it is being effected, and what leadership is needed by indigenous peoples for the 21st century.
• Research & Development - This theme invites presenters to showcase approaches to and examples of research and development that will lead to significant advances for the development of indigenous peoples.
• New Horizons of Knowledge - This theme honours the role of indigenous thinkers and educators in perpetuating and innovating to produce knowledge and insights for future generations.

Submissions for Abstracts and Performances have now been loaded onto the website at www.wipce2005.com

Due Dates:

• Submission of Abstracts 31st December 2004
• Submission of Performances 29th April 2005

Key Dates for Notification of Acceptance of

• Abstracts - 28th February 2005
• Submission of Papers - 31st August 2005
• Notification of Acceptance  Performance - 30th June 2005

For further information refer to www.wipce2005.com which is being updated on a weekly basis.

Please do not hesitate to contact Aroha Te Kanawa (Project Manager) if you have any further queries (info@wipce2005.com or 027 276 4285 or 07 855 2723).Please feel free to forward this email onto others you think may be interested in attending WIPCE 2005.

KiHS began the 2004/2005 school year with a week of training in Balmertown with new and returning KiHS teachers. This orientation week was an intense but enjoyable week where valuable skills were sharpened and support established for the staff and students in the 13 KiHS Partner Communities.

It was great to be able to use the new Keewaytinook Okimakanak Centre of Excellence in Balmertown to deliver the training.  The building is home KO’s Telehealth program as well as KiHS. This building resulted from contributions made by Industry Canada through the SMART communities project. Click here to see some pictures of the session.

This year Bearskin Lake joins the KiHS program and we anticipate a great successful year there as we deliver the grade 9 program and also grade 10 courses to those interested.

The staff are from all parts of the country and are excited about the experiences that they are anticipating as they travel to the communities. They are also expecting to learn much from the people there as they help guide students to success.

During the week, training sessions focused on the following:

• Ministry of Education requirements and expectations that were presented in a teleconference session with the District Manager of the Ministry of Education in Thunder Bay, Carlana Lindeman.
• Training from Brian Beaton, John Moreau, and Jamie Rae of knet services in Sioux Lookout on the use of the technology that will be used such as videoconferencing equipment, IP telephones, network setup and maintenance, troubleshooting of common problems, software training, and much more.
• A session via video conference with Cal Kenny on the use and editing functions of digital video cameras.
• Training on the use of the KiHS e-learning platform, ZED, on how to migrate courses from traditional curriculum documents to online delivery while maintaining standards of excellence.
• and a whole lot more....

We are expecting a great year as applications continue to come from the Northern communities. This year we have a great selection of courses to better meet the needs of students with a new timing schedule for the terms as well.

If you are interested in taking a course at KiHS this year, please look at our website at www.kihs.knet.ca and contact us at the Balmertown office. We would love to help you decide how to earn the credits that you need to complete your OSSD while remaining in your home community.

Darrin Potter

KiHS Principal

Education organizations in the Treaty Three area are exploring the possibility of establishing an Internet high school inspired by KiHS ... the successful KO community-based high school model.

The initiative is being lead by Denise Bluebird, the education advisor for Anishinaabeg of Kabapikotawangag Resource Council. AKRC was one of KO's partners in the video conferencing pilot project last year as part of Industry Canada's First Nation SchoolNet program. They hosted one of the First Nations SchoolNet web site construction workshops at their office on Northwest Angle 39 First Nation near Sioux Narrows.

Dan Bird of Seven Generations at Couchiching First Nation near Fort Frances is working with Darlene on exploring this potential development. To get started, KO provided Denise with a copy of the original KiHS proposal and will host a video conference with participants from KO, AKRC and other interested parties.

If you are interested, contact Denise at 1-807-226-4445 ext. 235 or 1-888-436-1993 toll free... Her email address is: edunit@akrc.on.ca

Watch this page for the latest developments!