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Wapekeka First Nation will be hosting our 10th annual Survivors of Suicide "Healing our Spirit" conference on August 26- Sept 2, 2002. Workshops will include: Suicide prevention, intervention, ideation and post prevention. Sexual, Physical, Emotional and Spousal Abuse and other topics that have plagued and devastated our communities and families will also be discussed. At the end of each day there will be Healing Circles in which the delegates can share with each other, what impact these truamas have had in their personal lives. Any questions or if you are interested in attending, please contact Deputy Chief Donald Brown (807) 537-2315 or myself at (807) 537 2554 Meals and Accomodations will be provided.

On June 4 the staff from the Sioux Lookout Diabetes Education Program, Christine Penner Polle, along with the Diabetes Research team from Sandy Lake First Nation met in Thunder Bay to receiving training on the use of the new Diabetic Retinopathy camera. This camera was purchased for the region under the KO / NORTH Network Telehealth CHIPP project. The camera is used to take pictures of the inside of the eye. These pictures are then sent to an opthalmologist to look at. The Opthalmologist can determine if there is any damage to the eye, particularly from Diabetes, that might required corrective surgery. This camera is now in Sandy Lake where it will be until the middle of July. After that it will travel around for six months to the five KO First Nations with the Sioux Lookout Diabetes Educators. These nurses will be using it to send pictures to Dr. Schoales, an opthalmologist in Thunder Bay, who is working with the Telehealth team. This new and easy to use technology will help identify eye disease and help people get early treatment. It is a collaborative effort between the Northern Ontario Diabetes Research Project and the NORTH Network. For pictures of the equipment and the people working on this project, click here.

Ahki Pimadizewening Weecheewaywin Healing Centre is now accepting admission forms from NAN communities. The individuals we are targeting this intake must be 12 - 15 year olds, male or female. Ahki Pimadizewening Weecheewaywin Healing Centre provides holistic healing services to Nishnawbe Aski Nation youth who have become dependent on the abuse of solvents as a means to cope with life. The main focus of the Centre's services will be land-based, cultural appropriate healing activities. Youth who have behavioural and emotional problems will be assisted and counselled while in the program. Youth will receive contemporary clinical addictions treatment and counselling while being empowered with survival skills and traditional lifestyle perspectives through daily activities and teachings from traditional instructors and Elders. If you want more information contact our Intake / Aftercare Worker at (807) 347 - 2222.

Orpah McKenzie, KO's Health Director, and several members of her Telehealth team did a presentation to the Chiefs of the Sioux Lookout Health Zone in Thunder Bay on Wednesday, June 5. Copies of the information package that was sent out to all the First Nations and various health agencies was included in the Chiefs' meeting packages. The presentation included: * Brian Beaton provided background information about the Kuh-ke-nah Network Smart Demonstration project and the use of the network for telehealth applications by reading a prepared statement by Geordi Kakepetum; * An interactive video conference demonstration with Dr. Claudette Chase at the gathering in Thunder Bay working with Donna Williams and Gibbet Stevens in Balmertown using the hand held patient camera, the ear / throat scope and the document camera for x-ray viewing; * An interactive video conference between the Thunder Bay meeting and Lily Sawanas, the Deer Lake Telehealth Coordinator, sharing her views about the importance of this equipment for patient care; * A powerpoint presentation by Orpah McKenzie and John Rowlandson providing the chiefs with background information about the KO telehealth initiative (at http://health.knet.ca/telehealth/docs/SL-Chiefs-KO-Report.pdf; * A brief question and answer session with the Chiefs. A team of resource people, with representatives from several tribal councils, are now working together to complete the preparation of a business plan that will be presented to Health Canada by June 14 that will propose to develop telehealth services in each participating First Nation across the Sioux Lookout Health Zone. Letters of support and Band Council Resolutions from the First Nations and health care agencies are now being sought to include in this business plan. Additional information about this initiative can be seen at the KO Health site which has a link to the KO Telehealth web site.

Two days of high energy, sharing, learning – and some fun – were on the menu for the KO Telehealth Readiness workshops, held in Balmertown March 19th and 20th. The workshops brought together the entire telehealth team – representatives came from Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto, Thunder Bay Regional Hospital, Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre, Red Lake, Sioux Lookout, Timmins as well as Community Telehealth Coordinators, Community Health Nurses and Health Directors from the five KO communities. Clinical training on Tuesday was specifically for community telehealth coordinators from the KO communities of North Spirit Lake, Poplar Hill, Fort Severn, Keewaywin and Deer Lake. Training was presented at the KO Balmertown office by Donna Williams, Telehealth Informatics Educator and Christine Penner Polle, Regional Telehealth Coordinator who are both part of the KO Telehealth team located in Balmertown (see photo gallery). After a full day of training, it was off to dinner at the United Church in Red Lake where great food and fun was had by everyone who attended. During the dinner Sam Meekis from North Spirit Lake was presented with a bright, red wagon for his contribution in making telehealth demonstrations such a success (see photo gallery). The evening ended with John Rowlandson, Telehealth Project Manager presenting tie-dyed T-shirts and “goofie” awards from KO Telehealth. Are we ready to begin telehealth services in the KO Region? That was the question posed the following day to approximately 35 participants attending the "Telehealth Readiness Day" workshop at the Campbell Curling Club Lounge in Balmertown. It was roll out day for telehealth to discuss whether our KO communities are ready to begin consultations with medical specialists and other health professionals located in various hospitals throughout Ontario including the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg. Participants included our local community health directors, telehealth coordinators, nurses and representatives from NORTH Network in Toronto, Thunder Bay Regional Hospital, Sioux Lookout Zone Hospital, Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre and Red Lake?s Margaret Cochenour Memorial Hospital. Introduction and presentations were made in the morning followed by discussions in the afternoon (see photo gallery). The workshop was a success and resulted in answering the critical question of the day - are we ready? Telehealth coordinators from the KO communities are trained and ready to operate the telehealth workstations used to communicate with health facilities at a distance. Some of the tools currently used with the telehealth workstation are an otoscope, an exam camera and a document camera. In the near future, KO communities will also have access to a stethoscope. Digital x-ray equipment is also planned for Deer Lake and Fort Severn Nursing stations. The necessary network cabling has also been installed by K-Net and NORTH Network in order ensure secure, private communication possible between patients and doctors by mid-April. More importantly, KO communities and health professionals involved in this project are all on board to start medical consultations, telepsychiatry, and health education sessions. Family videoconferences have already begun in some communities. Poplar Hill just had one recently between a young boy who had surgery at Sick Kids’ Hospital in Toronto and his family from Pikangikum. Thanks to an enthusiastic team of KO community members and health professionals locally and abroad, KO Telehealth IS ready to begin telehealth services in the KO Region in the next few weeks! CHECK OUT THE PICTURES OF THE KO TELEHEALTH TEAM IN MEETINGS Gathering the Telehealth Team together SOME OF THE KO TELEHEALTH TEAM MEMBERS IN TRAINING

Deer Lake, Fort Severn, North Spirit Lake, Keewaywin and Poplar Hill now have telehealth workstations completely installed and operating at their clinic or nursing station! Community telehealth coordinators have been hired and trained to operate the workstations and will use cameras, telephones, and the workstations to improve community access to health care. The workstations will enable each community to communicate with doctors and other health professionals at distant locations such as the Sioux Lookout Zone Hospital, Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre and Thunder Bay hospitals. Telehealth services will also include family videoconferencing with relatives in hospitals, telepsychiatry, patient education programs, and continuing education for local health workers and health professionals. Telehealth is the first of its kind for the KO region and is a welcomed addition to other services made available under the Smart Communities Demonstration Project which is connecting northern communities to help improve personal and community well-being through the use of ICTs. For pictures of the equipment being used in: * Poplar Hill visit http://photos.knet.ca/telehealth-poplar; * Keewaywin visit http://photos.knet.ca/telehealth-keewaywin; * North Spirit Lake visit http://photos.knet.ca/telehealth-north-spirit; * Deer Lake visit http://photos.knet.ca/telehealth-deer-lake.

The Zone Hospital is now set up with the Adcom telemedicine suite in their renovated clinic / examination room and a videoconferencing unit located in their library. This equipment is presently connected to the K-Net Network so meetings and CME can be conducted using either unit. These units are part of the NORTH Network Telehealth Initiative that will provide a connection to the hospitals across Northern Ontario (including Thunder Bay Regional Hospital, the Margaret Cochenour Memorial Hospital in Red Lake, etc), as well as connections to the Health Science Centre in Winnipeg and Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto (and several other health programs and services) for a complete selection of telemedicine services. Funding for this $17 million project is coming from Health Canada (CHIPP), Industry Canada (FedNor), Northern Ontario Heritage Fund (NOHFC), the Ministry of Health, all the project partners and many other programs and projects across the province. During the installation (January 9, 10 and 11), the Adcom Technician (Gus) worked with Barbara Roche (the Zone Hospital's Telehealth Coordinator), John Moreau (K-Net Helpdesk Coordinator / Technician) and many others to test and troubleshoot the equipment. A number of pictures were taken of the equipment, the locations, the tests, the training and the people involved. These pictures can be found at http://photos.knet.ca/Telehealth. For more information, contact Barbara Roche at the Zone Hospital (737-3030), John Rowlandson (Keewaytinook Okimakanak's Telehealth Project Manager) or Christine Penner Polle (KO's Telehealth Coordinator) at 800-387-3740.

just thought i would include a little news, or so... hey, who knows, maybe it might unveil some people... anyhow, til then, take care... always am, mario National chief of Canada's First Nations accuses minister of 'veiled threat' DURBAN, South Africa (CP) - National aboriginal leader Matthew Coon Come stood by his allegations of racism against Canadians on Saturday, adding that federal Indian Affairs Minister Bob Nault's demand for an apology was nothing more than a "veiled threat." "Over the years indigenous peoples in Canada have been told many times by Canadian governments that if we persist in telling our story internationally, or in court, we may suffer consequences," Coon Come said in remarks faxed to The Canadian Press. "Some government in Canada have then actually withheld social spending from our peoples," he added. "I fear that the Canadian minister of Indian affairs is now making such a veiled threat, using the vulnerability and dependence of our peoples on his government to try to silence me." Coon Come was responding to published remarks in Canada from Indian Affairs Minister Bob Nault who strongly rejected allegations of racism in modern-day Canada by the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations. "With this kind of language and talk, I believe Matthew Coon Come is going to set the agenda back for many years," Nault said in an interview Friday with the Toronto Star. "He's going to find it very difficult for people to do business with him if he's going to make those kinds of serious accusations, which we all take very seriously. People like myself ... are not just annoyed, we're just beside ourselves." In two well-attended sessions this week, Coon Come was reportedly applauded as told delegates to the international racism conference in Durban of "the oppression, marginalization and dispossession of indigenous peoples" in Canada. He described a "racist and colonial syndrome of dispossession and discrimination" and said First Nations are being "pushed to the edge of extinction." In one appearance, he shared the stage with South African Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and likened the challenge faced by aboriginals to the anti-apartheid fight which her former husband, Nelson Mandela, symbolized. Nault, speaking from his North Ontario constituency, said the attack was unjustified and that Canadians have every right to be outraged. "Quite frankly, I think Matthew Coon Come owes us an apology," he said. "There's no proof of this in modern time that the Canadian government and the general population are racist towards aboriginal people." He added that Ottawa has made native issues a priority and made strides in working with leaders to resolve differences. But Coon Come accused Nault and the Canadian government of "shooting the messenger" rather than acknowledging the "fundamental problem of our landlessness and dispossession and its practices of extinguishment of our rights and (the) social exclusion of our peoples." "Canada is one of the largest and richest countries in the world, and yet the UN Human Rights Committee ruled recently that there has been 'little or no progress' in addressing our situation and in implementing the official recommendations concerning our landlessness and poverty."

Bearskin Lake First Nation member Ophelia Kamenawatamin and other volunteers from different communites are doing a "Walk For Life". The walk started from Ontario/Manitoba border on August 6, 2001. The desired destination is to reach the Nation's Capital of Ottawa, Ontario. The "Walk For Life" is to raise funds for the dialysis equipment for the new hospital in Sioux Lookout. It is also intended to raise public awareness for adequate housing which dialysis patients desperately require for comfort, especially in a small town like Sioux Lookout, Ontario. Ophelia understands quite clearly that dialysis patients have to relocate to the South where the equipment is available, in order for these people to depend on these machines for life support. She is also aware due to the family and friend's separations, the closest home they can get to their home communities with these services is Sioux Lookout, Ontario. Ophelia herself has a thirty-two year old daughter who has been a dialysis patient ever since from her early teenage years. In order for her to make this special event to happen, she is pleading for your active support for this worthwhile cause. Within the next few weeks, she will need more volunteers to help in the walk and she will definitely need more financial assistance along the way. Any group members / individuals wishing to support the "Walk For Life" are now welcome to make pledges anytime. Your financial contributions can be forwarded to the First Nations Health Authority in Sioux Lookout, Ontario (Tel 807-737-4011). In addition, I would like to encourage everyone in the NAN area to make a pledge in support of the "Walk For Life".

The Keewaytinook Okimakanak First Nation Telehealth Coordinators' are meeting for the first time in Sioux Lookout. The First Nation Health Directors are also attending this workshop which is being coordinated by the KO Health Department staff. Check out the pictures at http://photos.knet.ca/telehealth1 to meet the new coordinators and the different participants who make up the KO Telehealth TEAM!