Smart First Nations get connected with broadband

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There was real excitement at the First Nations Connect Conference held Feb. 11 to 14 in Thunder Bay.

"The possibilities online are limitless," said Tom Wasaykeesic, a participant from Osnaburgh. "Nishnawbe-Aski Nation (NAN) can offer a lot around the world if it's done right. We can be leaders, trailblazers, for the Aboriginal communities around the world, or we can simply communicate more effectively within local communities."

The goal of the conference was to identify strategies to bring NAN communities together with broadband technology.

Improved health care, education, and commerce seemed to be on most people's minds. Many communities in the North have no doctors at their nursing stations. Neither do they have high schools or post-secondary education.

Remote nations rely on air travel or winter roads to conduct business. The conference was seen as an early step to plan a broadband network that will link communities via satellite and expand numerous opportunities.

The Kuh-ke-nah Network (Oji-Cree meaning everyone-together) of the Smart First Nations program was one component of the conference. The Smart Communities program is part of a federal initiative designed to help Canada move ahead in the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to provide economic, social, and cultural benefits for everyone.

Five First Nations in Northwestern Ontario are currently working together to take advantage of the information age in their own way. Deer Lake, Fort Severn, Keewaywin, North Spirit Lake, and Poplar Hill First Nations have tailored a common solution to meet their diverse needs. Each community customized how to use the common technology.

Some northern communities already have a fair amount of modern technology. Others are still thinking about it.

Hornepayne's Band Chief Laura Medeiros said her community has no technology yet.

"This is all new," she said. "This conference is interesting, challenging, and informative." Moose Factory has a hospital, schools, the Internet, and broadband technology, so Philip Sutherland felt his community might become a service provider for other centres.

Peawanuk's Sam Hunter said his community has done their own broadband initiative.

"I've been most interested to see its applications at work, such as for high schools," he said.

Keewaytinook Internet High School, that serves six Northern Ontario communities, is an example of modern technology used for education. It is the first Internet high school (Grade 9 and 10) in the province to be authorized by the Ministry of Education to grant credits leading toward a secondary school diploma.

Many people felt that their children would be the main recipients of the benefits of broadband technology. ICT is available to help preserve language and culture while opening doors to the world.

Demonstrations showed how doctors can diagnose medical problems and save patients trips to larger centres; teachers can reach students in remote areas and obtain valuable resource materials; students can continue their studies through distance education; businesses can advertise to the world and order online; and families can communicate from almost anywhere on the planet.

FedNor Telecommunications hopes to have 17 remote communities hooked up to the satellite system by summer and there is a training program in place to teach tribal councils to use the broadband equipment. For more information on the Kuh-ke-nah Network of Smart First Nations see the web site at http://smart.knet.on.ca