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Keewaytinook Okimakanak, (KO), created the position of an energy expert for an initial period of one year, (January - December 2003), to raise awareness, build capacity, promote and assist in the deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects and programs among First Nation (FN) communities in Ontario, as outlined in the Federal Government’s Action Plan 2000.  This will provide a mechanism for First Nation communities to become, within a very short time period, more actively involved in energy and climate change issues that affect them.  

Its intention is to promote and implement appropriate renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies that help build local self-sufficiency, provide economic development opportunities, and develop indigenous capacity, all the while respecting local customs, traditions and beliefs.  From a First Nation’s perspective it is essential that renewable energy technologies and energy conservation measures promote self-sufficiency and be complimentary to local philosophies and beliefs.  The Assembly of First Nations believes this is not only the right thing to do, but it is also the best way to develop and implement practical solutions to local problems.

To reduce greenhouse gas production in the FN communities the energy expert will create awareness of energy production and use in global warming, the effects of using less energy more effectively and the mitigating effects of generating more of the energy needed for improved quality of life and economic development from renewable sources.  Developing First Nation capacity in renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies and techniques, identifying, facilitating and deploying  the knowledge is a priority.

The energy expert, Robin Hughes - Energy Advisor/Facilitator, will travel to many communities and to various Aboriginal meetings and functions to raise awareness of the issues involved.  He will use KO’s K-Net network and Tribal Council, technical and Band Council meetings to promote the objectives and progress of the program.  He will constantly review and modify proposed community approaches, activity plans and progress with elders, Band Councils, Tribal Councils and staff at KO to ensure that traditional knowledge, community customs and culture are respected and used to benefit the program.

When asked about the progression of the project Robin replied, “We have completed awareness presentations at North Spirit FN, McDowell Lake FN, Poplar Hill FN, Deer Lake FN and Keewaywin FN with Chief Council and many others. We’ve had a good response from the communities and the energy efficiency has their attention because it can save in their heating costs. They are very interested in renewable energy.”

One Aboriginal trainee, Collin Meekis - Energy Facilitator, has been selected to apprentice to Robin, to work on all aspects of the project. Collin was selected for follow-on work through KO in subsequent years, if project extension or other funding is determined.  When asked if he is enjoying his new job Collin responded, “Definitely, I’m enjoying it. What we would like to see happen is better awareness of the energy resourses we use on a day to day basis and put that knowledge to use.  Collin also mentioned, “I want everyone involved to be comfortable with calling me if they have any questions, if I can’t help them I will find someone who can.”        
          
This first year of project operation is a pilot effort.  It is not expected that Collin will be in a position to completely take over from Robin at the termination of this trial period.  It has been anticipated that over the next one to two years, Robins’ services will be required on a diminishing basis, eventually to an advisory role.  Robin, is key to the initial success of this proposal.  His job will be many-sided.  First he will have to initiate and give momentum to the program through integration of this renewable energy and energy efficiency Pathfinder Program into KO’s infrastructure and related activities.  It was important to acquire someone who is very knowledgeable in the field, who has experience working with First Nations across the region and who has the respect of community members, elders, Chiefs and energy and building stakeholders in the communities, in the Tribal Councils and in the region.  He will have general responsibility for carrying out most of the activities and specifically in training Collin who will  eventually take over the tasks and responsibilities.

Robin will provide, to all interested parties, information and documentation on Federal Government assistance and incentive programs. He will ensure provision of practical workshops and training to FN technical personnel and groups, interested community members and others on tools and the techniques and will  acquire or develop appropriate training materials, arranging for training venues and technical trainers when required and coordinating instruction and follow-up sessions to accommodate efficient training of technical and other persons from across the region.

The net will be cast wide in the identification process and will incorporate, for many communities, new energy-related projects such as building construction or renovations, upgrades or refurbishing of any power generation, heating and cooling equipment, potential renewable energy replacements for existing power generation and heating and cooling equipment, and any potential for co-generation with existing or new equipment.

The project will attempt to be pro-active in identifying areas of involvement.  He will follow-up on KO’s Technical Service’s housing assessment in Fort Severn FN by implementing either full or scaled-down versions of similar studies in several additional communities in the Treaty 9 and Treaty 5 areas.  Part of the  process will be project pre-feasibility analysis to determine if specific projects are viable.

Once potential projects are identified and other conditions are determined to be promising, he will make every effort to follow through on moving these projects towards completion by  searching out appropriate assistance in all areas of project development including funding, training and project implementation.  Projects that have been earlier identified in the Treaty 9 and Treaty 5 areas will be reviewed to determine their current feasibility in light of the current economic and energy situation in Ontario and new Provincial and Federal Government initiatives.

KO, primarily through the position of the Energy Advisor, but also using other staff, will track progress and provide input and encouragement where needed to facilitate successful completion. Once milestones have been reached, or projects have been completed or terminated, status reports will be prepared and submitted.  Throughout the duration  communities will be kept informed of upcoming plans and activities, the progress of  projects and  completed projects. This will be done through anouncements in K-Net, in Band and Tribal Council meetings and in public gatherings that are called for other reasons or for this specific task.

This Pathfinder Project is consistent with the direction of future training initiatives.  Robin has worked with members of the Seven Generations Education Institute out of Fort Frances, which is currently developing curricula for an Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Certificate Program.  Robin will work with Seven Generations to promote awareness of their curricula, to identify potential candidates for the Certificate Program from communities across northern Ontario, and to work to place graduates in suitable work positions. Seven Generations is considering offering their course as a web-based distance learning course.  A close working relationship between KO and Seven Generations would be beneficial in bringing their different expertise together to develop and provide the necessary on-line training services.

Ron Alward is a Technical Coordinator from the Ministry of Natural Resources Canada who assisted with the workshop held in North Spirit FN March 14-16 as a demonstrator (wind turbines and solar PV) as well as an observer. Over 60 people attended.   There will be at least three new northern Ontario renewable energy and/or energy efficiency projects underway by June 2003.  These projects will either be completed by that time, or will be well advanced. Also 6 potential projects will be identified and an evaluation report completed for each.

The success of this pilot project will be evaluated against achievement of the indicators at the completion of the trial period.  It is anticipated that a minimum of twenty people will receive the training to be renewable energy technicians including Collin, and will be able to complete a RETScreen Feasibility Analysis, R2000 as well as energy audits at the termination of the pilot phase.  KO wants to be a world leader in reduction of greenhouse gasses through the use of renewable energy, energy efficiency and construction of energy efficient homes.

KO is very aware of the climate change problems and is excited about being part of this Climate Change initiative.   Every year more problems are experienced moving fuels and supplies to isolated communities.  “This project would reduce some of the dependency on winter roads and fuel shipments while  reducing our input of greenhouse gas.  If objectives are being met, and funding resources are available, project extension is anticipated,” concluded Mr. Hughes.

Nishnawbe Aski Nation, in partnership with FedNor, is hosting NAN TECH 2003. This year's gathering is an opportunity to plan and obtain an update about technology and telecommunications developments in the NAN territory.

This event is planned for NAN First Nation community leaders and youths working in the area of technology and telecommunications for community development. NAN TECH 2003 is aimed at providing information to NAN First Nations and other interested parties to help advance NAN First Nations in using the power of telecommunications and information and communication technologies (ICTs) to their fullest potential.

The theme of the forum, 'Becoming A Connected Nation', reflects the vision to make Nishnawbe Aski Nation the most connected region in Canada. The 3-day event is being held June 18-20, 2003 at the Valhalla Inn, Thunder Bay, Ontario.

For more information please visit www.nan.on.ca/nantech2003

The May issue of Union of Ontario Indian's Business Information Bulletin contains lots of information about new opportunities for First Nation people to become involved in a number of initiatives. It is available on-line as a PDF file at:

http://knet.ca/documents/Business-Information-Bulletin-May2003.pdf

The production and sharing of this information is done as part of the Aboriginal Business Service Network Coordinator position with the Union of Ontario Indians.

Equay-wuk (Women's Group)
is hosting a

Nishnawbe Women's Leadership Forum

May 13-15, 2003
Sunset Room, Sunset Inn
Sioux Lookout, Ontario

A gathering of women leaders who are Chiefs and Councillors in the NAN area. This leadership forum will consist of presentations and discussions by women Chiefs and Councillors about their experiences in running in band council elections and their experiences as Chiefs and Councillors on First Nations band councils.

See the Latest Agenda and the poster for this event.

The May 1, 2003 issue of Wawatay News contains two more news stories about the work being completed within the Kuh-ke-nah Network of Smart First Nations demonstration project. Rick Garrick continues to research stories about how First Nations and community members are using ICTs. He is interested in featuring stories about your work with ICTs 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.

This week's articles include:

• myknet.org is a unique on-line gathering place - Angie Morris and Willow Fiddler explain how they started creating their own web site and how they are now using this on-line resource to share stories and information with their friends across the region.
• Leaders forging the way for Kuh-ke-nah Netowork - Geordi Kakepetum, Executive Director of Keewaytinook Okimakanak describes how the First Nation leaders directed the development of the K-Net starting back in 1994.
• Kuh-ke-nah Network Operations - the side column features the on-line development and management tools that are used by the K-Net Technical team to monitor the network operations.

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

The month of April was a busy time on the five main K-Net servers with 10,955,522 hits recorded. These servers include:

• the main K-Net server linking visitors to the different sources of information about the work being done at Keewaytinook Okimakanak;
• the Mail server that provides users with e-mail services;
• the Hosting server that provides First Nations and organizations with access to their web sites and portals (including sites such as http://nan.on.ca, http://oshki.ca, http://keewaywin.firstnation.ca, etc;
• the KiHS server set up for the internet high school students and staff; and
• the Photos server that contains hundreds of photo albums with thousands of pictures of happenings across the north.

For more detailed reports about the user traffic everyone can visit the user monitoring pages and click on any of the servers and then the months to see the different growth patterns.

NAN Education Electronic Newsletter
Headline News

"New Special Education Dollars now in the hands of First Nations" says INAC

The long awaited new special education dollars are now supposed to be in the hands of the First Nations according to Departmental officials. The Department has processed the cheques for many of NAN’s member First Nations. All cheques were expected to have arrived by the end of April.

However, a separate cheque will not be made for the additional special education funding. Rather, the new funds will be written into the final wrap-up cheque for education monies owed to NAN’s First Nation for the fiscal year 2002-2003.

Unconfirmed reports indicated that some wrap-up cheques are in the hands of some NAN First Nations and others are not.

NAN Leadership to host luncheon meeting with Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor

The Nishnawbe Aski Nation executive will host a private luncheon with the Lieutenant Governor on June 2, 2003 from 12 noon to 1:30 o’clock in the NAN Boardroom. We expect to have no more than 15 NAN leaders in attendance in addition to the Mayor of Thunder Bay and the Lieutenant Governor’s entourage. We will confirm the exact number at a later date.

NAN has offered the Multicultural Youth Association the use of its main boardroom for their meeting with the Lieutenant Government later that day.

National Recognition for Keewaytinook Okimakanak

Keewaytinook Okimakanak is the Ontario Regional Management Organization (RMO) for Industry Canada's First Nation SchoolNet program. The services the RMO project provide include supporting First Nation schools across Ontario in developing high speed connectivity to the internet, providing some hardware and software support for the schools along with a toll free helpdesk service supporting the use of these resources.

Angie Morris and Barb Wong are the First Nations SchoolNet Administrators coordinating the delivery of this program and its support services for the schools. They can be reached toll free at 877-737-KNET (5638).

As part of the RMO project, Keewaytinook Okimakanak's proposal to connected the five other RMO sites into the Kuh-ke-nah Network and provide video conferencing services for these groups was also approved. The installation of the video conferencing equipment was completed in March 2003, creating a national First Nations video conferencing network. The sites are located in the RMO First Nation organizations located in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Quebec City, Thompson and Winnipeg, Manitoba, LaRonge, Saskatchewan and Vancouver, BC.

For more information, check out Industry Canada's press release that is posted on K-News.

Medical School expected to announce site of Aboriginal Curriculum Workshop

Rodger Strasser, the Founding Dean of the Northern Ontario Medical School (NOMS) will announce the details of the promised Aboriginal Curriculum Workshop over the next few days. Bruce Beardy, workshop planner presented the top three proposals to the advisory committee. The top three proposals included: Wauzhushk Onigum Nation (Rat Portage), Batchewana First Nation and Whitefish Lake First Nation. A reference check has begun the process. Once the reference check is made the invitations can be issued.

Confirmed speakers for the workshop include:

• Dr. Gayle Dine Chacon is an Assistant Professor at the University of New Mexico Medicinal School. A specialist in Family Practice, she is the Director, Center for Native Health.
• Dr Elizabeth Erasmus is a graduate of the University of Alberta Medical School. She is a NAN member from Constance Lake First Nation.

NAN is expected to send a delegation of forty people to the workshop, the largest group.

NAN Artist teams up Oskhi-Pimache-O-Win to develop Traditional Curriculum

The Great Rivers Project is a pilot project that Aroland, Long Lake #58 and Ginoogaming First Nations have undertaken to promote and preserve traditional history and culture. NAN artist, John Ferris, founder of the project, says the project will have many spins offs, including inspiring of other communities to collect and write their histories. "One of the goals of this project is to create curriculum for elementary, secondary and post secondary institutions," he said.

Ferris has been developing this concept with grassroots leaders and members of the Matawa, Mushgegowuk and Wabun tribal areas for the past few years. Aroland, Long Lake #58 and Ginoogaming have reiterated their enthusiasm and overwhelming support with band council resolutions (bcr’s) indicating that they want their communities to participate in this pilot project.

NAN Deputy Grand Chief Goyce Kakegamic supports the Great Rivers Project. "I am impressed that this will be a grassroots-driven project where Oskhi and the Great Rivers Education Project will work with community leaders and teachers, elders, youth and women to develop an accurate and comprehensive history of the participating First Nations." He says this is an excellent example of a partnership between NAN’s post secondary institute and a grassroots community-driven team.

There have been a number of meetings between members of Oskhi and the Great Rivers Education Project to forge a partnership that will best serve the needs of the members of Aroland, Ginoogaming and Long Lake #58.

"I applaud your collective efforts," Kakegamic said, "to develop a classroom curriculum that will speak directly to our students. NAN needs projects such as this one to explore our historical backgrounds and traditional customs that have strengthen our people for generations."

This project blends the efforts of our artists and writers with those with technical expertise in academics, telecommunications and computer technology. It promises to further NAN efforts in the capacity-building process that First Nations communities require to compete in the mainstream economy.

NAN Leadership questions the "suspension" of NAPE

Grand Chief Stan Beardy and Deputy Grand Chief Goyce Kakegamic met with Fred Gilbert, President of Lakehead University to discuss the impact of the suspension of the Native Access to Engineering Program (NAPE). NAPE has provided Aboriginal students with the necessary academic upgrading, counseling and mentoring to succeed in a rigorous and demanding program such as engineering. Unlike other access programs at LU, funding for NAPE was raised entirely from the private sector, funding which the LU President said had dried up. The NAN leadership was told that private funders were not satisfied that NAPE had produced a large group of Aboriginal engineers and engineering techs. The University is exploring a variety of options to revive the program, including offloading the program to Oskhi-Pimanche-O-Win or Confederation College.

Chief Franklin Paibomsai of Whitefish River disputes this allegation. An engineering graduate from Lakehead, he says the program was successful and is worthy of special funding to continue but is concerned that the program is not suspended but cancelled. "The damage is done," the Chief said, "I find it odd that Lakehead would pull a stunt like this. I never would have graduated had NAPE not existed."

Concerned Aboriginal leaders and grassroots people have been meeting to discuss strategies to revive NAPE. For more information, contact Dilbert Horton, the Executive Director of Seven Generations at (807) 274-2796 or Chief Franklin Paibomsai at (705) 285-4335. Without outside funding, the program was suspended for one year and no new students will be admitted for the upcoming academic year.

NAN Developing Strategy to Increase Recruitment and Retention of Aboriginal Medical Students

Deputy Grand Chief Goyce Kakegamic is meeting with Lakehead University President Fred Gilbert and Dr. Roger Strasser, the Founding Dean of Medicine of the Northern Medical School, to discuss ways to ensure that NAN members will have the opportunity to enter and to succeed as medical students. There are no plans to offer neither an Aboriginal pre-med program nor an Aboriginal medical school access program at NOMS. Kakegamic is working with Oskhi-Pimanche-O-Win and other Aboriginal post secondary institutes in the North to develop programs that would address the needs of Aboriginal people interested in careers in medicine.

NAN appoints Working Group to establish a Native Elementary School in Thunder Bay

At the last NAN Chiefs Assembly, a resolution was passed that supported the creation of a Native Elementary School in the City of Thunder Bay. A number of questions need to be answered and the NAN Education Unit is seeking the thoughts and concerns about this initiative from grassroots First Nations people in the Lakehead. A working group has been appointed by Deputy Grand Chief Goyce Kakegamic to implement the Chiefs Resolution.

Deputy Grand Chief Goyce Kakegamic welcomed everyone and outlined some of the background on this initiative since the NAN Chiefs passed a resolution supporting the creation of a Native Elementary School in Thunder Bay. He said the current boards of education are not serving the needs of Aboriginal elementary school students in Thunder Bay. In order to bridge the "grade gap," he said Aboriginal elementary school students need to be taught in a culturally appropriate learning environment that emphasizes the teaching of traditional languages, culture and history. He says he welcomes the opinions of those in attendance and expressed the hope that the participants would form a working group to set priorities, gather statistics and conduct research. He wants more participation by the other PTOs including the Union, Robinson Superior and Grand Council Treaty #3. He cautioned the participants to expect a battle with those who have a vested interested in protecting the status quo.

Each was given the opportunity to introduce themselves, tell about their backgrounds and offer their opinions about the creation of the proposed school. Some of the ideas included the following:

• The proposed school must be a center of excellence for the elementary education. It cannot be a "dumping ground" for the boards of education. The goal of the school is to meet or exceed all provincial standards in education and equip its students to live productive lives in both traditional and mainstream societies.
• The proposed school must create a positive learning environment for the students, teachers, administrative and support staff in sharp contrast to the systemic racism faced by our students in the mainstream system.
• It is critical to support initiatives such as this one, which are part of the on-going process to create our own institutions.
• There is no need to "reinvent the wheel." There are many Native elementary schools currently in operation in Canada and the United States. Much can be learned from schools operated by other minority and religious groups. Examine such programs as "Walking in Beauty."
• The students should not be "guinea pigs." The proposed school needs to be well researched, well planned and well executed in order that the first intake gets just as good an education as future students in the school.
• Statistical data must be collected and analyzed that will support this proposal. A database containing the names, addresses, emails, and phone numbers of as many urban Aboriginal people living off-reserve in Thunder Bay must be created. The Deputy Grand Chief is writing a letter to all NAN Chiefs asking them to provide a list of their band members who are currently living in Thunder Bay.
• Collect letters of support from those who have offered support.
• Communication must be effective to strengthen support for this initiative, including newsletters and brochures.

A number of questions and concerns were raised by the Working Group including the following:

• The Deputy Grand Chief presented various school models that currently exist in Winnipeg and the Sioux Lookout area. Unlike DFC, the school should be a partnership with one of the two school boards in Thunder Bay in order that the teachers can access all of the secondary and tertiary services that the students require to succeed. The D/GC is very impressed with the progress made at the Native elementary school in Winnipeg.
• The proposed school must be a center of excellence.
• Qualified and accredited Aboriginal teachers should teach the students. Elders must play a central role in the education of the students.
• The participants discussed the pros and cons of establishing a partnership with one of the two boards of education in Thunder Bay.
• The curriculum must be conceived, developed and taught by Aboriginal people. This does not mean that the curriculum must be created specifically for the proposed school. Components can be "borrowed" from other successful programs currently in operation.
• The proposed school must be centrally located and easily accessible. The students, teachers and parents must feel "ownership" over the Native elementary school and feel welcome.
• The proposed school must promote diversity and the variety of cultures that are embraced by Nishnawbe Aski Nation. The Medicine Wheel should be used as a model.
• The proposed school should hire Aboriginal teachers who will act as positive role models for the students. Non-Aboriginal teachers, even if their hearts are in the right place, do not always understand the culturally issues associated with the lives of urban Aboriginal people living off-reserve.
• Thunder Bay is lagging behind other communities such as Winnipeg and Timmins in terms of Native-controlled Aboriginal education.

Deputy Grand Chief Kakegamic has written to the NAN Chiefs requesting their assistance in developing a contact list of urban NAN members living in Thunder Bay who may wish to send their children to the proposed Native Elementary School.

Dean of Medicine impressed by KO's achievement's in Tele-Medicine and Tele-Education

The Founding Dean of the Northern Ontario Medical School (NOMS) had an opportunity to see first hand the innovative telemedicine and distance education solutions that one of NAN's tribal councils is implementing to overcome some of the obstacles to providing quality health care and schooling in Ontario's far north. During a two-day visit over March 31 and April 1, Doctor Roger Strasser, MD and two of his staff, along with representatives of Nishnawbe Aski Nation visited Keewaytinook Okimakanak (KO) in Balmertown and then toured the nursing station in Deer Lake First Nation.

"The achievements of Keewaytinook Okimakanak's K-NET, Telehealth and Keewaytinook Internet High school (KiHS) initiatives are remarkable," the Founding Dean of the Northern Medical School said. "NOMS can learn much from the experiences of KO with regard to the operational platform and educational framework of the Keewaytinook Internet High School, as well, KO’s expanding telemedicine capacity within telehealth."

Geordi Kakepetum, the Executive Director of Keewaytinook Okimakanak said he was impressed with the sincerity and objectivity of Dr. Strasser and his staff. "Roger came here to listen and learn, he asked many questions and was really interested in how our KO First Nations and partners have developed local solutions to regional problems that confront all NAN communities. We look forward to working with him."

During their visit to Deer Lake First Nation the representatives of the Northern Medical School toured the nursing station and observed a real-time telehealth demonstration, which included the examination of a patient in nearby North Spirit Lake First Nation. "This is exactly the kind of experience that our medical students will require if they are going to fully appreciate the opportunities and challenges of practicing in remote and isolated communities in the North," Dr. Strasser said after the tour.

Mayor Duncan Wilson of Red Lake praised both KO and NOMS as leaders who are making a great impact on the lives of all Northerners. "KO has demonstrated how much a group of dedicated people can achieve in just ten short years, when their hearts and minds are focused on the common good. I see the medical school as another force that will improve the quality of life in the north. It’ a great day when good people like you can come together to work toward a better future for all of us."

Deputy Grand Chief Goyce Kakegamic of Nishnawbe Aski Nation  believes that a bridge has been built connecting the Northern Medical School with KO.

"What we are seeing here today is the kind of opportunity that exists when we all work together toward a common goal. We all want better health care and better educational opportunities for our children. Working together, KO and NOMS can become a model of cooperation for all people, Native and Non-Native in the North."

Kakepetum, the Executive Director of KO, thanked his staff in Balmertown, Deer Lake and North Spirit Lake for all their hard work and cooperation in making the NOMS / NAN visit a memorable one. "Everybody pulled together just the way they always do. I’m proud of our family here." The KO Executive Director also thanked Bearskin Airlines for their consideration with regard to the flights to and from Thunder Bay and the charter to Deer Lake.

Ojibway and Cree Cultural Center Highlights

Working together in education is one way of maintaining the language and culture of the NAN area. To help the NAN schools in their attempts to develop successful programs the Ojibway and Cree Cultural Center has been producing curriculum support materials and resources to meet their language and culture needs. Recent materials include Anishininiimowin Stories (2) a Grade 2 reader for Oji-Cree and Northern Ojibway immersion and language classrooms. Anastasia Weesk created the stories while Bart Meekis from Sandy Lake provided the illustrations. This Grade 2 reader is also available in Cree as Omushkegowuk Stories (2). These readers contain ten stories based on the good way of life or milopimatesiwin. This way of life derived from living on the land and obtaining food from it, kept the Oji-Cree, Northern Ojibway, and Cree people strong, happy, and healthy.

In addition, a unit profile has been developed for Book 1 —Us found in Omushkegowuk Stories (1)/Anishininiimowin Stories (1). This unit provides language teachers with an integrated approach to presenting the material found in Book 1 and ideas for presenting the other books in this reader. A similar unit profile will be produced for material found in Omushkegowuk Stories (2)/Anishininiimowin Stories (2) in the future.

To assist NAN schools in developing a challenging and rigorous curricula the Ojibway and Cree Cultural Center has undertaken extensive research on Native language and culture programming. In partnership with Omushkego Education, a Cree language workshop was held with language teachers from the Mushkegowuk communities along the James Bay coast to develop language expectations for the schools in this area. Jim Etherington and Greg Spence of Omushkego Education facilitated this workshop. The results of the language workshop included the production of The Omushkego Language and Culture Curriculum, Early Childhood Education to Grade 3, Cree Language document. Future workshops will involve using the knowledge of the elders to develop cultural expectations to complete this document.

Furthermore, to ensure that high standards are met when implementing the Cree Language document, writing examples for Grade 1 to 3 were created at a workshop at the Great Moon Gathering held in Moose Factory. Three writing examples, in syllabics for each grade, were developed by Cree elders and language teachers from the James Bay coast.

On Thursday, April 24, 2003, the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, Ontario Chapter awarded a major grant to local social scientist Dr. Bruce Minore, Centre for Rural and Northern Health Research in partnership with Oshki-Pimache-O-Win Education and Training Institute and Northern Ontario Breast Screening Program for A Research Study on Breast Screening and Northern Ontario Aboriginal Women.

The presentation was held at Oshki-Pimache-O-Win Education and Training Institutes 107 Johnson Ave. office in Thunder Bay.

The study will focus on the perceptions and decisions about breast screening among Northern Ontario Aboriginal women and will record the knowledge, understanding, beliefs and attitudes about breast cancer held by women in the age groups of highest risk. Ten of the 32 remote communities that have had access to mammograms through the Ontario Breast Screening Program every two years will participate in the study.

Pictures of the presentaion can be viewed at http://photos.knet.ca/albun23

The Ontario Hospital Association hosted their Region 1 Northwest Subregion Spring Conference in Thunder Bay on April 23 to 25, 2003. A presentation showcasing the work being done by the Keewaytinook Okimakanak's Smart First Nations Demonstration project was part of the first morning's panel discussion. The panel members shared their experiences and information concerning the use of ICTs to support the conference theme, "Building Bridges Toward Integrated Health Care in Northwestern Ontario".

Keewaytinook Internet High School (KiHS) invites applicants for the 2003/2004 school year. We will be looking for teachers to fill positions in Science, Math, and English. If you are looking for an innovative, cutting edge approach to education, KiHS may be the place for you. Our classrooms are located in 13 communities around Northwestern Ontario, most of which have only fly in accessability. The teacher will live in one of the 13 partner communities, and tutor/mentor students while delivering two courses throughout the year to the remaining students in the other communities, using our Internet platform.

If you are interested in applying or finding out more information, please email your resume to the following:

Principal: Darrin Potter
darrinpotter@knet.ca

or

Guidance Counselor: Lynda Kakepetum
lyndakakepetum@knet.ca

For More Information about KiHS, please visit http://kihs.knet.ca