Category Archives: MODULE 3

I found this communications monitoring report from 2020 from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications commission which looks at both broadband and LTE (mobile) network coverage and availability in various communities.  The data appears to be from the 2019 report.

One statistic that stands out is the disparity in broadband access (50 Mbps download and 10Mbps upload with unlimited monthly data transfer) across various communities found that First Nations reserves have 34.8% while rural communities have 45.6%.

Also a big growth in the report from 2018 to 2019 was 5Mbps internet access in Nunavut growing from 49.7% to 99.6% of households.  Lots of data here to unpack..

They have a lot of reports on their operations available online

This is one project funded by the First Nations Technology Council

They have a description of their project lifecycle broken down into five stages:

1. Identify Communities in Need
2. Community Engagement
3. Construct the Broadband Network
4. Activation
5. Capacity Building

They seem very focused on the infrastructure and technical elements of delivery of broadband internet access. They mention a “Fully Integrated Technologies (FIT) Partners Working Group” which completed a 2007 study of the state of First Nations connectivity in B.C. Although they mention it is a “wide cross-section of First Nations and government technology, health, education and cultural groups” I am not certain what the specific criteria were for prioritizing access for communities..

They emphasize some of the benefits of broadband however after working through many of the readings in this course, I am left thinking a lot about how these opportunities are framed in ways that are actively decolonizing (or whether they are)

The First Nations Technology Council works in British Columbia with the following stated goals:

• Providing funded and accredited education programs to advance Indigenous peoples careers in innovation and technology.
• Participating in and leading community research projects that result in tangible benefits for Indigenous peoples.
• Creating strategies to advance equitable, affordable and sustainable access to technology in Indigenous communities.
• Advocating for better policy solutions for internet affordability and reliability in Indigenous communities.

They pride themselves in being Indigenous-led “with a board of directors representing Indigenous communities from all over British Columbia”

They look at digital equity and have a number of funding programs.

While it’s not specifically about internet access, they have a very interesting drone program looking at forestry, firefighting and search and rescue.

This article looks at the issue of low or inconsistent participation of some Indigenous communities in elections and voting stating that “Indigenous citizens participate in federal and provincial elections at levels that are among the lowest of any socio-demographic group in Canada”

They are examining some First Nations communities in Canada who are adopting Internet voting to facilitate greater participation in votes. They identified 5 key impacts:

• Building trust (risk of disrupting a fragile trust in government)
• Not a replacement (for in person voting and dialogue) but meant to supplement
• More than just participation (also a more efficient voting process)
• Cost (as a potential major barrier)
• Building community capacity

This article describes some of the positives of internet access, and TikTok in particular is helping Indigenous creators self-represent and foster supportive communities on the internet across physical distance. What is shared, and what I’ve also been reading more of is the benefit to Indigenous individuals to connect with other Indigenous Peoples and find commonality and a sense of shared experience and solidarity.

What struck me most in terms of self representation and self determination was the quote from the main focus of the article Nich Richie:

“Growing up we get told to contort ourselves in society and fit the mould of a ‘good, decent blakfella’ … I just want to show other blak queer kids that they don’t have to be ashamed of their identity.”

Room for optimism comes from language revitalization in New Zealand. They have been able to have Maori more regularly included in daily rituals (answering the phone and signing off emails), and the goal is to increase language proficiency by 2040, such that 20% of the population can speak the language. Some of the ways the country is helping with this is implementing the language into its schools and having it supported very openly by the country’s Prime Minister. The national radio broadcaster also has a morning show host who presents information in Maori first before doing the same in English. These steps to make the language more public have helped some Indigenous New Zealanders deal with discrimination and stigmas. There is still some pushback, but this seems to be a step in the right direction and some motivation for us that the Coast Salish languages can and will be revitalized.

Link to Article is the image: