Fort Severn First Nation work highlight at Telecommunications Policy Research Conference
Press release
Fort Severn First Nation’s Achievements with Broadband Technologies Celebrated
Fort Severn First Nation in Ontario is featured today at an international conference in the United States. A paper co-authored by Chief Matthew Kakekaspan will be presented by Brian Walmark, Research Director of the Keewaytinook Okimakanak Research Institute (KORI) in Thunder Bay.
The paper - How the Washaho Cree Nation at Fort Severn is Using a “First Mile Approach” to Deliver Community Services – describes how the community has taken a leadership role by developing community-led and supported services using broadband networks and information and communication technologies (ICT).
“Working with our team from Keewaytinook Okimakanak, we were able to construct and begin using a satellite connection service in 2000 to do video conference meetings, access high speed Internet services and begin developing other on-line services such as Telemedicine and our Internet high school,” explained Chief Kakekaspan. Over the past decade, his community has expanded its use of technologies and is a recognized leader in the use of ICT.
The Telecommunications Policy Research Conference (www.tprcweb.com) is hosted by George Mason University School of Law, Arlington, VA (Washington, DC).
“Fort Severn is an excellent example of a remote First Nation community using advanced technology in innovative ways. I think many people attending the event will be surprised to learn how a small community, with limited resources, has been able to work with strategic partners to develop and manage technology to meet its needs,” said Dr. Susan O’Donnell, Adjunct Professor at the University of New Brunswick and a co-author on the conference paper.
Fort Severn First Nation recently published a comprehensive Technology Showcase on its website to document its achievements with technology: http://fortsevern.firstnation.ca/tech_showcase
The conference paper was produced by the research team of the VideoCom project, with partners Keewaytinook Okimakanak, the First Nations Education Council, Atlantic Canada’s First Nation Help Desk, and the University of New Brunswick. The full paper is available from the VideoCom website: http://meeting.knet.ca/mp19/mod/book/view.php?id=1722&chapterid=1441
Contact: For further information or to schedule an interview, contact Chief Matthew Kakekaspan (mkakekaspan@knet.ca) or Brian Walmark (brianwalmark@knet.ca).
Fort Severn First Nation: http://fortsevern.firstnation.ca
Keewaytinook Okimakinak: www.knet.ca
VideoCom project: http://videocom.firstnation.ca