Media.Knet.Ca

Personal web pages at MyKnet.org continue to be the most popular on-line space for the Nishnawbe Aski to browse. In February there were over 44 million hits on this K-Net server (over 14 million more hits from the previous month)! The average daily hits on this server rose to over 1.5 million hits each day!

All together there were over 52 MILLION hits occurring on the five most popular monitored K-Net servers throughout February. Specifically, on these five servers with traffic graphs, there were a total of 52,734,926 hits made to these on-line services provided by Keewaytinook Okimakanak. The five servers generating this amount of traffic include myknet.org, knet.ca, webmail.knet.ca, hosting.knet.ca, highschool.knet.ca, and photos.knet.ca (just click on the server to see the traffic monitoring chart for each server). There were also a total of 719,063 visits made during this period to these five servers, indicating that people are exploring these sites more and more.

Most of the K-Net servers that are being monitored for hits, visits and usage statistics using the webalizer program again showed an increase during the month. But http://myknet.org rose by nearly 14 million hits to demonstrate the rapid take up of these communication tools among users across the north.

Please note:

• other on-line K-Net services, such as K-Net chat and the video streamer are not included in these numbers;
• server traffic monitoring information is located at http://tech.knet.ca/~tech/monitoring/webalizer

A collection of video clips is available for viewing on-line at http://smart.knet.ca/fednor_video_list.html

These clips were captured during the first week in December. George Ferreira, a graduate student at the University of Guelph, came to Sioux Lookout and then drove to Thunder Bay to get this footage. The plans include producing a short documentary about the work that teams from FedNor and Keewaytinook Okimakanak to help bring broadband connectivity and applications into this region.

Jesse Fiddler, K-Net's Multi-media Coordinator, travelled to Winnipeq on Thursday to work with twenty-two youth from Manitoba First Nations. He provided them with a workshop on creating and maintaining web pages using Post-Nuke.

Northern Development and Mines Minister Bartolucci visited the Keewaytinook Okimakanak office in Balmertown to announce nearly 1.1 million dollar investment to support the purchase of telemedicine equipment required to expand the KO Telehealth initiative into all the First Nation Health Centres across the Sioux Lookout Health Zone. The funding is coming from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund.

Click here to see the pictures and the story about this announcement.

Click here to read the ministry's press release.

Click here to read the newspaper coverage in the Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal.

The K-Net office in Sioux Lookout has a new telephone system that is operating entirely over the Kuhkenah Network. When anyone now calls the K-Net office using either our toll-free number (877-737-5638) or our local number (807-737-1135) they will be greeted by the new system and invited to either enter the person's extension or press 4 to go to the office directory. In the office directory, a caller only needs to enter the first three letters of a person's last name and then wait for a menu to get to the KO staff member's IP phone.

The telephone directory is available on-line at http://knet.ca/phone_numbers.html

One component of the KO First Nations SchoolNet project is to work with Dr. Ricardo Ramirez and his graduate students to identify strategies using video conferencing to establish areas of research and development in First Nation schools. Video conference meetings this week began this process.

Click here to check out the story on the First Nations SchoolNet web.

Monday's (February 23rd) Celebration of Technology was hosted by the Eel Ground First Nation school from New Brunswick.  The school celebrated their inclusion in SchoolNet's Network of Innovative Schools (NIS) by highlighting the students' and teachers' spirit of enthusiasm for education and technology.

Included in the event was a live video conference linking together a total of 10 additional sites from across the country. Students from 5 other First Nation NIS schools joined in the live videoconference which was webcast live by KNet. Students from Pelican Falls First Nations High School in Sioux Lookout joined this special event and showcased their innovation in the delivery a culturally appropriate technology and communication program for students. Students and staff participating in a wilderness dog sled adventure joined the event by satellite phone telling the audience about their work while a powerpoint presentation was scrolling by. The full archived webcast and live chat session is available for viewing by going to http://webcast.knet.ca/schoolnet and clicking on the "Replay Eel Ground FN Innovative Schools Video Conference" to replay this entire event.

Prime Minister Paul Martin delivered a videotaped congratulatory message and AFN National Chief Phil Fontaine and Mi'kmaq Grand Chief Ben Sylliboy joined the group in person along with many other special guests.

Click here to view some of the pictures taken from the site in Sioux Lookout and of the live webcast.

And with all of the excitement about the Oscars, let's not forget about the Ochre Awards!  Click here to see the Atlantic RMO Helpdesk light-hearted approach and method of thanking all of those who made the Eel Ground Celebration of Technology such as a positive and historic event.  Wela'liog!

The agenda for this event follows:

• Master of Ceremonies: Roger Augustine
• 2:00 p.m. Honour Song, Emerson Francis & Chester Martin
• Opening Prayer, Joyce Paul
• O' Canada, Students directed by Marion Vicaire
• Welcoming Address, Chief George Ginnish, Eel Ground First Nation

Guest Speakers

Phil Fontaine, National Chief, Assembly of First Nations
Elijah Harper, Former Federal MP
Shawn Graham, Liberal Opposition Leader
John Bernard, President, Donna Cona
Percy Barnaby, President, Abenaki Associates
Ross MacLeod, Industry Canada Representative

Congratulatory Messages

Ben Sylliboy, Grand Chief, Mi'kmaq Nation
Dougal MacDonald, Associate Director General, DIAND
T.J. Burke, MLA, Fredericton North
Paul Martin, Prime Minister (via video)

Live Video Conference

Network of Innovative Schools Participating:

Xit'olacw Community School
Mount Currie, British Columbia
www.lilwatnation.com/index.php

Sally Ross School
La Ronge , Saskatchewan
www.geocities.com/sallyross2002

Otter-Nelson River School
Cross Lake, Manitoba
www.CLEA.mb.ca

Kitigan Zibi School
Manikwaki, Quebec
http://www.kza.qc.ca

Eel Ground First Nation School
Eel Ground, New Brunswick
www.eelgroundschool.ca

Pelican Falls First Nation School
Sioux Lookout.Ontario
www.nnec.on.ca

Ulluriaq School
Kangiqsualujjuaq, Quebec
http://www.kativik.qc.ca/ulluriaq

NEWSPAPER COVERAGE

02/24/04 
Publication: NB - New Brunswick Telegraph Journal 
Source: CED - All Cedrom Publications 
 
BY DERWIN GOWAN Telegraph-Journal 
Students at the Eel Ground Arrowhead School took a trip across Canada on Monday afternoon.

They did via a cross-country video conference in the gymnasium to mark the school's status as a member of SchoolNet's Network of Innovative Schools - with broadband/high-speed Internet and video conferencing access.

Eel Ground Arrowhead School has 84 students from kindergarten to Grade 8, all Mi'kmaq from Eel Ground First Nation on the Northwest Miramichi River.
 
Principal Peter MacDonald and his staff set up a computer laboratory in the school several years ago and, in 2001, won the silver award in the International Schools Cyberfair competition sponsored by lightspan.com. 

Getting broadband and joining the SchoolNet network builds on this work.

The video conference Monday allowed the crowd in the school gymnasium to visit other aboriginal schools across Canada including Sally Ross School at La Ronge, Sask., Xit'oclacw Community School in Mount Currie, B.C., Kitigan Zibi School in Manikwaki, Que., Ulluriaq School at Kangiqsualujjuaq in the Arctic region of northern Quebec, and Pelican Falls First Nation School at Sioux Lookout, Ont.

The students at Pelican Falls First Nation School took the visitors from across the country to a winter camping trip by dogsled - making the link  with satellite telephone.

Those on hand in Eel Ground heard a recorded message from Prime Minister Paul Martin, delivered from Ottawa.

And, many dignitaries attended the event itself at Eel Ground. They  included Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine, Manitoba MLA Elijah Harper, New Brunswick Intergovernmental Affairs and International Relations Minister Percy Mockler, provincial Opposition Leader Shawn Graham - who delivered a few words in Mi'kmaq; and two successful aboriginal businessmen: John Bernard, a Maliseet from Madawaska First Nation who founded the technology company Donna Cona in Ottawa, and Percy Barnaby, a Mi'kmaq from Eel Ground with Abenaki Associates.

Abenaki Associates, founded in 1984, provides First Nations financial management systems, professional training, communications and automation and other services across Canada. The company has offices in Ottawa, Winnipeg and Eel Ground.

The youngsters in Arctic Quebec demonstrated traditional "throat singing." Mr. MacDonald, the principal at Eel Ground, said a few words to them in Inuktitut. (He taught in the Arctic in the past).

Mr. Fontaine recognized the importance of young people learning to use tools like high-speed Internet. "We're living in interesting times," he said. "There's a lot of talk about change and renewal . . . the radical transformation that's needed in Canada for First Nations people to assume their rightful place.

"I would be the last to minimize the accomplishments we are witnessing here today - wonderful," he said.

The day wrapped up with a traditional feast at the band office following the official ceremonies.

Reach our reporter tjmira@nb.aibn.com

Gilles Matthews
Media Monitoring/Press Clippings - Room 273D
947-5203

Bad weather, slippery highways and even a chemical spill could not stop the First Nations SchoolNet Web Construction Workshop at the Northwest Angle #37... For regular updates, see the First Nations SchoolNet web portal!

Keewaytinook Okimakanak is the Ontario Regional Management Organization (RMO) for Industry Canada's First Nation SchoolNet program. One of the many deliverables being made available to First Nation schools across Ontario is a series of travelling web site development workshops using Post Nuke. This week, members of the RMO team traveled to Moose Factory and Ginoogaming First Nations to work with representatives from different First Nation schools in the region to produce new web sites that will then be used by the staff and students at their school to share their information with others on-line. Click here to view the pictures from these workshops.

As the RMO for Ontario, the KO team and our partner organizations, a wide menu of support services are being provided for the First Nations schools across the province. Web site development workshops, web site and e-mail hosting services are just a couple of these services. Be sure to visit the Ontario First Nations RMO web site to learn about all the exciting opportunities be made available supporting First Nation schools in getting on-line and accessing broadband connectivity solutions.

Industry Canada's Saskatchewan Smart Communities Demonstration project, the Headwaters Project, invited an interested group of people to meet via video and telephone on Feb 18 to discuss research opportunities and partnerships. Representatives from groups from coast to coast joined the meeting to share their thoughts and developments.

Video conferencing sites included FNESC (Vancouver), Headwaters Project (La Ronge), Industry Canada (Saskatchewan office), K-Net (Sioux Lookout) and Smart Labrador (Forteau). Industry Canada SchoolNet (Ottawa) and Michael Gurstein (New Jersey) joined the meeting by telephone.

Discussions began with the host site (Saskatchewan) presenting information about the Mid Canada Research Institute (MCRI) and Dr. David Malcolm reviewing their business case to develop an institute serving the communities and regions in the Boreal Forest region from coast to coast. Each of the other meeting participants shared their own work in research and upcoming opportunities for collaboration. Michael Gurstein spoke about the CRACIN initiative that his team is leading to examine community networking initiatives across Canada (including a case study about K-Net).

The meeting ended with an agreement to continue sharing information on-line within a list serve being hosted by MCRI. Everyone is welcomed to join this list serve by sending an e-mail to discussion-subscribe@mcri.ca. For more information about this mailing list, please visit the MCRI website at www.mcri.ca. Information about this mailing list can be found in the Communications section. A streaming media file with the recording of today's videoconference will be posted shortly in the History section.