Media.Knet.Ca

There are INAC announcements of new schools and crisis management but the students in Fort Severn continue to work out of temporary spaces being provided by the band. Temporary portable classroom units are now being shipped and constructed in the hope of having them ready for January 2006 while the band and INAC continue to meet about getting a new school built ....

Toronto Star - Nov. 5, 2005. 08:47 AM

      School's out too often on native reserves Kashechewan pupils latest to lose classes - Mould, bad water common in North

      LOUISE BROWN, EDUCATION REPORTER

      On the northern edge of Ontario where the treeline meets Hudson Bay, the entire Grade 8 class of Fort Severn is repeating the year after a mould infestation shut down their school last year.

      Junior high is now taught in the restaurant.

      Down the coast of James Bay in Attawapiskat, an oil spill closed the school building five years ago. The 600 children are so weary of being scattered across 19 portables, with no fire alarms and 50 per cent more students than they were built to hold, that 30 families have moved away to cities so their children can attend proper schools.

      Up here above the 50th parallel - where schools often shut down for weeks, even years, at a time because of mould under the floorboards, dirty water in the taps, contaminated soil and hazards rarely seen, let alone tolerated, in schools elsewhere in Canada - the students of Kashechewan are just the latest victims of educational upheaval.

      At Muskrat Dam First Nation about 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, there has been no running water this week because of a filtration breakdown. All 56 students have had their school day shortened by nearly two hours to reduce the disruption of having to use outside port-a-potties. "The children are getting stressed out," says education director Roy Fiddler. "I don't know how much longer we can keep the school open without water."

      At nearby North Caribou Lake First Nation, all 140 students missed three weeks of school this fall while mould was removed from under the floors.

      And the displaced children of Kashechewan, who have been out of school for three weeks in a tainted water crisis that has seized the national spotlight, will face an uphill battle catching up, warns Grand Chief Stan Beardy of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), which represents 49 northern reserves, including Kashechewan.

      "When you're already behind, as our children are, it doesn't take many missed days of school to get completely lost. I'm worried some of our children might miss their school year," he said. 

      And with many native children already lagging three years behind in school, educators say school closings are the last thing these children need.

      "Our schools are in a crisis situation with health and safety, there's such a serious problem with mould, building structure, water quality and crowding," says former teacher Goyce Kakegamic, NAN's deputy chief of education.

      In Kashechewan, more than 700 people were airlifted last week to Sudbury, Cochrane, Timmins, Ottawa and Sault Ste Marie after the Cree reserve declared a state of emergency Oct. 14 after E. coli bacteria was found in its water.

      Some of the children hope to resume classes Monday in Cochrane, using an empty school donated by the local Catholic school board. But plans remain unclear for the other students.

      One Thunder Bay psychologist who has worked with northern children for 20 years found that by Grade 8, the average child on one remote Ontario reserve has missed the equivalent of almost two years of school because of school closings prompted by substandard conditions. Several northern educators say it is common for schools to be closed up to 30 days per year because of equipment breakdowns.

      "Even in the poorest neighbourhoods in Toronto, students don't have to deal with schools that routinely close down because there is no heat or clean water - and these factors absolutely have an impact on children's learning," said Mary-Beth Minthorn-Biggs.

      She measured Grade 8 pupils' reading levels in Fort Severn in June and found they had dropped by two grades since the school building closed in 2004.

      Why are northern schools in such disrepair?

      Many are old, the climate is harsh and the exploding birth rate among Canada's First Nations - twice the national average - leaves even new schools bursting at the seams, say educators.

      Too, an unlucky blend of conditions often leads to a "perfect storm" for mould that can cause respiratory problems and headaches, explains one engineer who tests northern schools for health hazards. Schools often are built on low-lying muskeg that floods heavily during spring thaw, causing humidity that gets trapped behind porous drywall and in damp crawl spaces beneath the floor, accelerated by poor air circulation and lack of maintenance.

      Often the community lacks the skills to maintain the school buildings and lacks the funds to fly in outside experts.

      Moreover, schools on reserves are federally funded at about half the level of provincially funded schools, leaving many scrambling to pay salaries with little left for upkeep, says Ontario NDP Leader Howard Hampton, whose northern riding of Rainy River includes about half Ontario's northern reserves.

      "There's an atrocious double standard in education funding on reserves that leads to Third World conditions in many schools," said Hampton.

      He cites Summer Beaver, a northern fly-in reserve that changed hands this summer from provincial to federal funding; its school budget was cut to about $1 million from $1.8 million.

      But Indian and Northern Affairs Canada official Katherine Knott says she is "absolutely concerned about the disruption to students in Kashechewan ... The sooner we get started delivering the program, the better."

      In the short run, First Nation communities in Ontario's north say their schools need emergency funding from Ottawa to remove mould, improve water and expand buildings that are crowded and run down. They also need more funding for teacher training, special education and parenting programs.

      But in the long run, government handouts are not the answer, says Grand Chief Stan Beardy.

      As long as many First Nation reserves remain virtual welfare ghettoes - ranked by the United Nations at 63rd for quality of life on the international Human Development Index - native children will lag further behind.

      "We'll continue to be a burden to society as long as we're denied economic opportunity," said Beardy, who says private companies draw about $20 billion a year from NAN territory through mining and logging and tourism, yet First Nations receive less than 2 per cent back in transfer payments.

      He said Ottawa must enforce Section 35 of the Constitution and enable First Nations to share in the economic prosperity of the lands on which they live.

      "We're looking for economic participation," he said. "We're looking to share in resources, not more handouts."

      Meanwhile, Kashechewan father Gary Wesley has shipped his two sons to Timmins for school.

      Attawapiskat principal Vince Dumond braces for another winter of absenteeism from students getting sick walking between portables in wind and temperatures that plunge to -45C.

      Fort Severn father George Kakekaspan will continue to commute from Fort Severn, where he works as band manager, to Thunder Bay, where his wife now lives with their children.

"A lot of families up here have been torn apart because they move so their kids can go to school," he said. "We should be entitled to the same right as any other Canadians to have our children go to school in a safe, healthy environment."

A diesel generator, capable of ensuring the Kuhkenah Network (K-Net) is able to continue operating in case of local power outages, is being installed at the Keewaytinook Okimakanak building in Sioux Lookout. The building that will house this generator is now under construction.

Click here to watch the construction and installation of this new resource.

From INAC press releases - http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/nr/prs/s-d2005/2-02737_e.html

NEW SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION COMPLETE AT LAC LA CROIX FIRST NATION

LAC LA CROIX FIRST NATION, ONTARIO (November 16, 2005) - Ken Boshcoff, Member of Parliament for Thunder Bay-Rainy River, announced today on behalf of the Honourable Andy Scott, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians, the opening of a new $8.5 million school at Lac La Croix First Nation

“This new school provides the children of the Lac La Croix First Nation with the atmosphere they need to help achieve their academic goals,” MP. Boshcoff. “The Government of Canada believes that we all have a role to play in helping to foster success and will continue to invest in First Nation education, culturally appropriate learning, and social and recreational development.”

The project was completed through a partnership between the Government of Canada and the First Nation. The Government of Canada, through Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, provided $8.5 million for the project, while the First Nation managed planning, design and construction of the facility.

The new Kindergarten-Grade 12 facility is 1,545 square metres, and includes one Kindergarten room, six classrooms, a computer room, a multi-purpose room and a gymnasium. There is also a storage area and a staff and administration area. The space will accommodate up to 105 students.

“Our community is eager to implement its unique educational programming in a new facility where everyone can feel comfortable,” said Chief Larry Jourdain. “This new school is an investment in the future of our children, and our community.”

The Lac La Croix First Nation is located 220 kilometres west of Thunder Bay and has 1,000 members, 170 of whom live on reserve.

For further information, please contact:

Tony Prudori
Acting Senior Information Officer
INAC Communications
(807) 624-1531

Chief Larry Jourdain
Lac La Croix First Nation
(807) 485-2557

Various groups are working hard to share and capture the WSIS experience online. As the United Nation's World Summit on the Information Society concludes today, it is important that highlights and current developments that are taking place in Tunis are made available to everyone.

The Association for Progressive Communications (APC - Internet and ICTs for Social Justice and Development) is an international network of civil society organisations that is supporting an ongoing blog of testimonials from WSIS participants. Check out how different people from around the world are feeling about this WSIS gathering at http://www.apc.org/english/wsis/blog/index.shtml

The UNESCO team is hosting a series of live webcasts that are also archived for later reference. The webcast agenda of UNESCO events at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and the corresponding links follows:

16.11.2005 / 13.15 – 17.15 - On-demand - Workshop on ICT and persons with disabilities

16.11.2005 / 14.25 – 18.00 - On-demand - Case presentations: ICT and people with disabilities

17.11.05 / 10.25 – 12.30 - On-demand - Community Multimedia Centres

17.11.05 / 14.55 – 18.00 - On-demand - UNESCO High-Level Round Table on the occasion of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)

18.11.05 / 9.45 – 10.15 - Round Table on the Role of UNESCO in the Construction of Knowledge Societies through the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme

 18.11.05 / 11.25 – 13.30 - Technologies for Communication

The current UNESCO event can be followed at: Live Webcast

As well, Angie Fiddler from Sandy Lake First Nation who is attending this event with a delegation of Aboriginal youth from Industry Canada's First Nations SchoolNet program is sharing her experiences on her personal web site at http://angiefiddler.myknet.org

The Final Study report from the Nuclear Waste Management Organization is now available online at http://www.nwmo.ca ... "Choosing a Way Forward: The Future Management of Canada's Used Nuclear Fuel" (451 pages, 11.9 Mb - NWMO Final Study - NWMO_Final_Study_Nov_2005_E.pdf).

Everyone is invited to order their own paper copy that is available free of charge. They still have a space online for leaving comments about their "study".

This organization that is funded by the producers of this deadly by-product of the nuclear industry claims ... "After a comprehensive three year study that engaged specialists, stakeholders and citizens from all walks of life, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization has recommended Adaptive Phased Management for the long-term care of used nuclear fuel. The Government of Canada must now decide on an appropriate approach."

Basically, the disposal of this nuclear waste material will be done in a number of stages that include parts of the original options presented to people during NWMO's "information sessions". The end result is still the same where the industry hopes to create nuclear waste sites deep in the Canadian Shield. This plan was what was presented 25 years ago and is still their long term strategy, only now they have spent millions more dollars producing this "report" that is suppose to represent the opinions of Canadians.

On page 105 of the "study" under the heading "Siting" ...

"There was general agreement that a willing community should be sought to host the waste with the caveat that any willing host community must also be proven to be technically appropriate. ... There was some belief that an area could be found that is sufficiently remote to not be in anyone's community. Participants in Aboriginal dialogues suggested, with their traditional territorities in mind, there is no such place. ....

Reports from Aboriginal dialogues underline the high level of concern which many Aboriginal peoples have that their territory and traditional way of life will be impacted by any site that is selected, and that this impact will not be appropriately recognized, factored in to decision-making and addressed."

Another notice of importance on their web site, they are forced to acknowledge ... "On page 81 of the Final Study: Choosing a Way Forward Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) should be included in the list of Aboriginal organizations which argue that the NWMO Aboriginal Dialogues "are not 'consultation' as required by their interpretation of the law." 

From Gateway Foundation press release, click here for original release

New Web Portal Connects People in Developing Countries to Course Materials from Universities Worldwide Hewlett Foundation Announces $900K Grant to African Virtual University for Teacher Training Program

The new OER portal can be found at http://topics.developmentgateway.org/openeducation

TUNIS – A new Web initiative launched today at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), will connect anyone with Internet access and the desire to learn to a world of free, high-quality open educational materials. The Development Gateway Foundation’s “Open Educational Resources” portal aims to equalize access to education and help people in developing countries improve their chances for a better life.

The portal features free course materials and other educational content offered by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Chinese Open Resources for Education and other institutions around the world. The initiative is launched in partnership by the Development Gateway Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

While content on the Open Educational Resources portal is particularly geared to educators, students and selflearners in developing countries it is available for everyone. The portal will also facilitate communication among the growing online community of providers and users of free, online educational resources.

Alan J. Rossi, Chief Executive Officer of the Development Gateway added, “Our goal with this new portal is to encourage more citizens and universities in the developing world to tap into the wealth of free, educational resources available online so more people have a shot at improving their lives and their future.”

The Hewlett Foundation also announced a $900,000 grant to support the Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (TESSA) initiative, an “open content” resource bank of educational materials to train teachers in basic curriculum areas including literacy, numeracy, science and life and health skills. TESSA is a consortium of African and international organizations. It is led by the African Virtual University (Nairobi) and the Open University (UK).

“We launched the teaching the teachers program to directly address the enormous challenge of educating and training the millions of teachers needed in sub-Saharan Africa,” said Rector Kuzvinetsa Peter Dzvimbo of the African Virtual University, which is the hub for a network of African universities working together to support open, distance and eLearning initiatives via 57 learning centers in 28 African countries. TESSA will initially be implemented in Tanzania and South Africa.

Funding for the new Open Educational Resources portal and for TESSA is provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. The Foundation supports a wide portfolio of Open Educational Resource initiatives, including MIT’s OpenCourseWare to publish course materials from virtually all MIT courses and Widernet eGranary to improve digital access in developing countries.

“These two innovative activities will provide access to high quality content drawn from throughout the world,” said Marshall Smith, Educational Director of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. “This is critical in areas such as Africa, where lack of infrastructure and the high cost of education prevent millions of people from raising the quality of life in their communities.”

BACKGROUND NOTES and CONTACTS:

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation has been making grants since 1966 to help solve social and environmental problems at home and around the world. The Foundation concentrates its resources on activities in education, environment, global development, performing arts, philanthropy, population, and makes grants to support disadvantaged communities in the San Francisco Bay Area. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s list of grantees in open educational resources and further information can be found at www.hewlett.org/grants ... Contacts:
Eric Brown, in California +1.650.234.4500, ebrown@hewlett.org
Cathy Casserly, at WSIS +1650.868.3258, CCasserly@hewlett.org

The Development Gateway Foundation puts the Internet to work for developing countries, helping improve lives by enabling more effective development worldwide. Bringing hundreds of partners together with information-sharing tools, services and related grants, the foundation acts as a catalyst, enhancing aid effectiveness, improving government efficiency and building local enterprise. The Development Gateway is a public foundation based in Washington, DC, with activities in 60 countries.

For more information visit www.developmentgateway.org ... Contacts:
Allison Scuriatti, in Washington +1.202.572.9232, ascuriatti@dgfoundation.org
Karen Lynch, at WSIS +1.202.299.6745, klynch@dgfoundation.org

The African Virtual University focuses on enhancing the capacity of African universities to increase access to their own programs and those of educational institutions around the world. It is an independent inter-governmental organization based in Nairobi, Kenya, with over 57 Learning Centers in 28 African countries. For more information visit www.avu.org ... Contacts:
Peter Bateman, in Nairobi Kuzvinetsa + 254.20.271.2056, pbateman@avu.org
Peter Dzvimbo, at WSIS + 254.733.624.439

Wesley McKay and Franz Seibel travelled to Ottawa to join other researchers at the National Aboriginal Health Organization's conference this week.

The focus of the meeting was Aboriginal Health Research and was highlighted by the the release of NAHO's Regional Health Survey (RHS).  The principals of OCAP (Ownership, Control, Access and Possession) are the cornerstone of NAHO's community-based research agenda.

The survey consists of community-based and owned research. Data Warrior was a term coined to describe those dedicated to protecting First Nations Information and upholding the First Nations Principals of OCAP. The Minister of State (Public Health), the Honourable Carolyn Bennett PC, MP spoke of a health care system that was not a repair shop for sick people but that health consits of living a healthly life, helping your neighbor and building strong communities. The presiding elder spoke of looking to your left and right to greet and love your neighbor. Willie Ermine discussed Ethical Space, a space between two individuals that needs to be considered when two people meet, whether it be for research or other purposes. That space needs to be filled with respect, friendship and a reciprocal relationship when conducting research. 

Jim Dumont discussed how a standard has been created to rate the health of First Nations in a western fashion. However he suggested that an aboriginal standard of health be created which includes physical, mental, cultural and emotional health. He also coined the phrase "indigenoscity". Other sessions included the experiences of the RHS on establishing a research model, ethics committee and best research practices. A workshop discussing research in Elsipogtog FN, NB echoed the best practices of the RHS committee and added many others. 

During the gathering, Wes and Franz manned a display booth celebrating the work of KO, especially K-Net, KOTH and KO Health. Wes and Franz are expecting a series of follow up meetings between KO and other First Nations health organizations. To see pictures from the conference click here

The IP telephone business case produced by the Keewaytinook Okimakanak Research Institute (KORI - http://research.knet.ca) for K-Net's IP Telephone project is now available on-line. This IP telephone project is supported with funding from Industry Canada's FedNor program. Click here to see the entire IP telephone business case (PDF - 1.9Mb).

The K-Net Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) telephone network is an internal telephone system linking data telephones across the region. The IP telephone network was developed as a result of community demand, the community broadband network, band and tribal council leadership initiative and funding through a number of partners. It is an application built on the existing Kuhkenah Network (K-Net). The long-term objective of K-Net is to support a wide-area network (WAN) of local community networks linked across the country to other networks that share and distribute broadband services and programs benefitting local communities. See http://phones.knet.ca/ for more information about how this service works and for IP telephone contact extension numbers.

The objective of the IP telephony network is to compliment the analogue network with IP phones using data lines in locations where the majority of calls are made to locations within the network. Calls made to Sioux Lookout, Dryden, Wabigoon, Balmertown, Cochenour and Red Lake are now considered local calls. Also a call made from one network registered data phone to another is a local call. Using data lines for these calls significantly reduces long distance costs and increase usage and viability of the community network’s data service. This new telephone network is now operational in five of KO’s affiliated communities and Slate Falls First Nation. See Appendix A for a case study of the new Slate Falls IP telephone network and their local Application Service Provider that was created to manage it and the other data connection applications. Telephone network access is now available in all the major service centres in the KO affiliated communities and in KO’s administrative offices. In October 2005 there were over 230 registered phones and over 100 voice mail accounts.

The IP telephony network infrastructure, and management structure was created as a result of Industry Canada’s FedNor Demonstration Project to provide Internet Protocol Telephone over a private network. Some of the key deliverables within this project includes:

• Install 30 IP telephones in the various community programs each of KO’s 5 First Nations and 60 phones in KO administration offices of Sioux Lookout, Thunder Bay and Balmertown.
• Compare long distance telephone usage and costs to those of the same period the previous year, for a sample of First Nations and the KO offices in order to identify savings.
• Train a community technician to install, maintain and provide local technical support to the local IP telephone system and its users.
• Produce a business case and model IP telephone deployment plan to be shared with neighbouring First Nations and agencies to assist them in assessing the merits of using IP telephone services.

The purpose of the business case is to outline the development process of creating and maintaining sustainable community IP telephone local area networks (LAN). It is now being posted on-line so interested First Nation communities and their service agencies might evaluate the benefits of establishing and utilizing an IP telephone network and other broadband applications made available through local community data networks.

Keewaytinook Okimakanak Research Institute (KORI) and Community Network Technicians (CNTs) collected the Bell Canada long distance telephone bills of the three main service centres in five KO affiliated communities. The data suggests that between 2003 and 2005 the use of the LAN demonstrated an average cost savings of 30% in long distance charges. The savings can be attributed to lower long distance rates and the use of the broadband network as staff can now use e-mail, videoconference and IP phones as a substitute to using an analogue phone line. Because the new IP telephone service is still under development it is unclear what portion of that savings can be attributed to the IP telephones. However by calculating the substitution rate, (the current number of analogue long distance calls that could be made between data phones) it can be determined what long distance savings can be expected as the network is fully utilized. The average substitution rate for KO’s communities is 85% for the clinic, 40% for the band office and 45% for the school.

From the Timmins Daily Press

School finally coming

Tayo Adesanya - Local News - Monday, November 14, 2005 @ 07:00

After a five-year struggle, students in Attawapiskat will finally get a new elementary school, that will be up to the same standard as the rest of the province.

MP Charlie Angus (NDP — Timmins-James Bay) and MPP Gilles Bisson (NDP — Timmins-James Bay) announced Friday a new elementary school will be built in Attawapiskat.

Bisson said Indian and Northern Affairs Canada has given the Attawapiskat education authority and band council the go-ahead to begin construction.

“You should have heard the kids,” said Chief Mike Carpenter. “I went to the school, I told the students by announcing it on the radio. They were all yelling.

“One of the teachers told me one of the kids had remarked, ‘Gee, now I’ll be able to graduate with a new school.’”

The fight for a new school began five years ago when the old school was closed after thousands gallons of diesel fuel spilled due to errors in construction of a fuel oil pipeline .

Since 2000, the students have been studying in up to 19 portables, said education consultant and former director of the Timmins Board of Education Bill Blake.

“It’s not a good situation at all,” he said.

“I don’t think there was any dispute over the need for the school. The students in Attawapiskat needed a school built to provincial standards, and it looks as if they’ll get that now.”

Bisson and Angus said the federal government had previously promised a new building, but those plans never came to fruition.

“This has been a five-year fight … five years since the families pulled their kids out of the condemned school,” Angus said.

Angie Fiddler, KO's Youth Employment Coordinator, is in Tunis attending the United Nation's second World Summit of the Information Society. Jesse Fiddler attended the first WSIS gathering in Geneva in December 2003. Angie is documenting her experience on her web site at http://angiefiddler.myknet.org.

Industry Canada's First Nations SchoolNet requested proposals from Aboriginal youth from across Canada to attend this event and the Global Forum of Indigenous People. Angie submitted her proposal which was accepted along with five other First Nation youth from across Canada.

For more information about the World Summit of the Information Society visit their official site at http://www.itu.int/wsis