Aboriginal communities looking to log on

Page 13

Over the past few years, concerns have been raised that the majority of Aboriginal communities in Canada have yet to embrace the unlimited advantages that computers can offer.

So Dan Martel, who works for Lesser Slave Lave Indian Regional Council, took it upon himself to organize the Information Communication Technology forum held in Edmonton on Dec. 8 to 10.

"This ICT forum is a fact-finding opportunity for the delegates to move ahead in this important field," he said. "Gathering the interested parties together and getting the governments to recognize that there is a particular issue of concern as to Aboriginal people and communities not being involved in ICT-and it has been identified there is a need for this kind of connectivity and linkage to happen. This is a first-step approach to invite the technical end to start flushing out the issues of concern, what is needed in each community, so we as partners can step forward to advance to more productive seminars and community sessions for each region."

A total of 110 delegates from First Nations, Metis and other Aboriginal communities, and from the provincial and federal governments, registered for the forum. They came to discuss key initiatives and strategies as they relate to enhancing Aboriginal opportunities in the area of ICT. It was also a time to build positive relationships, discuss the opportunities and issues associated with ICT development in Alberta, and set technological directions for Aboriginal communities.

Each day a different theme was addressed with delegates forming break-out groups to discuss topics and themes such as Aboriginal community connectivity, ICT training, education and support, and building the Aboriginal economic/ICT community.

Martel explained he is hoping that a gap that currently exists between First Nations people and the majority of the population in Alberta will soon be minimized.

"We have information technology (IT) in the schools, but we don't have the connectivity for those computers to be used in some administrative centres and in residential environments," said Martel. "So we're trying to bridge connectivity and find an avenue to make this happen."

Organizers and delegates are hoping that solutions like Alberta Supernet will help solve some of the problems. Alberta Supernet is a high-speed, high-capacity network linking more than 4,000 government offices, schools, health-care facilities and libraries in some 422 communities. It's a system that lets government, educators and health care workers share and deliver information and services provincially quicker than ever before. It means that just about wherever you are in Alberta, you'll be able to reach out globally.

E-Learning is a new technique that some Aboriginal organizations have adopted. E-Learning is essentially 'virtual classrooms' that tear down the education barriers in order to benefit rural Aboriginal communities. Through high-speed links like Supernet, remote communities throughout Canada can have access to education tools through the Internet. Instructors can send lessons over the Internet, and if students miss a lesson or fall behind with their studies within their programs, they can easily go back to that module on the computer.

"Through our research, some of the southern First Nations like Tsuu Tina and Tall Cree First Nation from the north are very engaged with information technology," said Hamish Macaulay of Aboriginal Affairs Alberta. "The schools and education systems are leading the way, as you may expect, but computer use still lags far behind with the rest of the province. Also First Nation governments and their staff are also behind with the use of ICT."

In a 2001 Alberta census, research found that about 60 per cent of adults in Aboriginal communities used a computer within a 12-month period, compared to 80 per cent of Aboriginal adults within urban centres like Calgary. According to the census less then 50 per cent used the Internet, hile nearly 70 per cent did within the urban centres (Calgary).

Statistics from the census showed that 53 per cent of adults from Siksika Nation used a computer, while only 36 per cent used the Internet.

Organizers and delegates think it's time for Aboriginal communities to start looking at the technology and introduce it to their workplace, and assess where it fits in with their priorities. It's a matter of how each First Nation and the Aboriginal community is going to use it, in terms of training, education, healthcare and economic development.

Jodi Arrowsmith, a delegate from Kehewin First Nation with an applied bachelor degree in telecommunications management, thinks Aboriginal people are not informed and aware of what is out there.

"We don't have the people resources, and if we do have the hardware, we don't know how to keep our own maintenance and keep it self-sufficient and running," Arrowsmith added.

Organizers announced the next ICT forum would be held sometime in February 2004 in the Treaty 7 region with the Treaty 7 Tribal Council acting as hosts.