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Sachigo Lake First Nation

26th Annual Men's Baseball Tournament

August 11 - 14, 2004

Championship - $10,000 Guaranteed

$800.00 Entry Fee

For more information call 595-2577

Chief Darby Harper wants to see his community get connected to other communities outside of their small remote First Nation. He is working with Industry Canada's First Nations SchoolNet's Regional Management Organization to expand the use of their local school's two-way satellite internet connection to connect the other houses in his community to the internet. Click here for pictures and the story about the installation of Koocheching's new wireless hot zone.

Koocheching is still without a community wide hydro and telephone service. Local generators provide the power required to operate the computers and the equipment. A new water service is being installed this summer that will include an innovative solar system to provide power for this service with the capacity to power their local telecom system.

In 1998, the old Koocheching School was first connected to the internet using the combination MSAT / DirecPC system. The outbound MSAT satellite route provided a 4.8K connection to the internet via the Education Network of Ontario service out of their Ottawa office for the networked computers in the school. The return data was received using the DirecPC connection that was first provided by Telesat Canada and later transferred to Bell Canada. A 12 minute video produced by the First Nations SchoolNet program in 1998 documents the set up in Koocheching and what the internet means to them. Click here to watch the video (requires Windows Media).

In 2002, Koocheching began working with Windigo to approach FedNor to obtain the necessary funding to establish a broadband connection into the Bell network north of Red Lake. Then their community was included in the Windigo application to Industry Canada's Broadband for Rural and Northern Development (BRAND) program. But they were not included in the funding that has been given to Windigo to establish the connections in Muskrat Dam and Slate Falls. So as an interim solution, Chief Harper is working with the available connections and their own resources to connect the homes in his community.

Mishkeegogamang Ojibway Nation 1st Annual Intertribal Pow Wow
Lake St. Joseph, Mishkeegogamang, Ontario
“Regaining Our Culture”
August 13, 14 & 15, 2004

Community Host Drum:

Swamp Lake, Mishkeegogamang, Ontario

Visiting Host Drum:

Wolf Trail, Gleesun, Alberta

Masters of Ceremonies:

Murphy Thomas, Ponemah, Minnesota
Gilbert Smith, Northwest Angle, Ontario

Head Male Dancer:

Bill Constant, Constance Lake, Ontario

Head Female Dancer:

Karen Neekan, Mishkeegogamang, Ontario

Arena Director:

Mark Meekis, Ottawa, Ontario

Invited Drums:

• Lake of the Woods, Kenora, Ontario
• Thunder Mountain Singers, Thunder Bay, Ontario
• Lac La Croix Traditional, Grand Portage, Minnesota
• Wild horse, Aroland, Ontario
• Stanjikoming Traditional, Stanjikoming, Ontario
• Ojibway Cree Singers, Ottawa, Ontario

Dance Specials:

• Men’s Traditional
• Men’s Grass
• Women’s Jingle
• Ladies Fancy

All drums and dancers invited. $4000.00 drum split for drums with minimum of four singers registered. Honorarium payout for dancers in full regalia only. Space for vendors booths available @ $50.00/ day.

Camping will be made available on site. Breakfast and Supper will be provided on Saturday and Sunday for out of town visitors. For more information, please contact the Pow Wow Committee @ 807-928-2030 Raven Neekan (day and evening) or Jeff Neekan @ 928-2414 (during work hours)

Pow Wow Committee is not responsible for problems beyond its efforts to facilitate a safe and healthy gathering.  Alcohol and drugs will not be tolerated on the premises.

This event is co hosted by the Canadian Rangers and Junior Canadian Rangers.

The KO Telehealth project is contracting a consortium of partners to develop a comprehensive evaluation strategy that includes conducting and reporting on a number of research topics.

Dan Pellerin, K-Net's Network Manager travelled to Muskrat Dam and Slate Falls this past week to meet with community leaders and band staff. Discussions about the installation and operation of their local community broadband network took place. As well the team, including Bill and Ivan Blair from Blair Electronics, toured the communities to determine the best hub location and construction requirements for their local community cable system.

Windigo First Nations Council applied to Industry Canada's Broadband for Rural and Northern Development program (BRAND) on behalf of Koocheching, Muskrat Dam and Slate Falls to develop a broadband connectivity solution in these communities. Funding approval was received to develop these essential services in Muskrat Dam and Slate Falls.

Each of the First Nations are hiring local staff to support and manage this local economic development initiative on an ongoing basis. K-Net Services is contracted to be the Project Manager for this development with Dan taking the lead role on this work. Blair Electronics will be the contractor doing the installation. Windigo First Nations Council is providing the project administration.

Luis Barnola, Senior Program Specialist with the Institute for Connectivity in the Americas - ICA, hosted a video conference meeting between the Executive Director of E-Panama along with other officials from Panama and the KO Telehealth evaluation team and K-Net staff.

This office is Panama's office dedicated to connectivity and development. The Panama team was interested in learning about how Canada is deploying tele-medicine and tele-health strategies so they can adjust their own e-plans.  As well, E-tourism (eco-tourism) in small islands inhabited by indigenous people (Kuna Nation) is also an important development for them so meaningful connectivity strategies can be deployed in these areas to support sustainable development of such pristine  environments.

Feedback from all the meeting participants was positive. The evaluation team with reps from the universities of Guelph and Laurentian expressed their pleasure at being able to meet with these guests from Panama.

Luis wrote in a follow up e-mail ... "My warmest gratitude for your time and interest on their "visit".  They/we were most impressed by what they saw ...".

Dan also wrote ... "The video conference went well from our end.   We learnt a couple of items from the outside such as the high importance placed on the economics of connectivity.  We also got a chance to try to explain ourselves and the program to a different audience (good sales practice) and how to work together better as a team."

The Ontario Native Education Counselling Association is leading an effort to reverse the federal government's decision to begin taxing Aboriginal students' post secondary student support funding as their income. Included in this income is tuition, book allowance and living allowance, scholarships, bursaries and travel dollars.

ONECA's Taxation Action web site contains information that can be used as back up information and actions that individuals, organizations and communities can taking, including:

• Your individual petition. (To be submitted by ONECA on your behalf)
• A printable petition form to collect signatures in your community or organization. (Just print the page that opens)
• "Letter to the editor" from President of ONECA Kimberly Smith-Spencer
• "Letter to President Bernard (Cambrian College) from Kimberley Smith-Spencer"
• "Third National Survey of First Nations On-Reserve on Education and Culture ".
• "The Impacts of the Taxation of Post Secondary Support Fund"
• "Briefing Note To The National Chief, AFN Education"
• "Motion put forth by the Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Assembly"

North Caribou Lake First Nation's
9th Annual Men's Invitational Baseball Tournament
Weagamow Lake, ON
July 29 - 31, 2004

Championship -    $7000.00 GUARANTEED

Entry Fee -     $800.00 per Team

For more information contact:

• Danny Kanakakeesic - (807) 469-1343 (H), (807) 469-5191 (W)
• Harry Kenequanash 
• Lloyd Sakakeep - (807) 469-1513 (H)
• Jason Roundhead 

KO Chiefs tour new Water Treatment Training Facility in Dryden during this week's chiefs' meetings.

Following the tour, the Chiefs are receiving reports from SLAMMB and NAPS... To see photos, click here.