The First Nations Information Project is designed to provide a mechanism to share knowledge, interests, and effective practices connecting the Aboriginal community from around this expanse country and the world.

The site consists of the following main sections:

• FIRST NATIONS
• NATIVE BUSINESSES
• CULTURE
• NEWSPAGE
• NATIVE LINKS
• FN ORGANIZATIONS

Some sections are more up to date than others but I found a lot of great information under “First Nations” you will find contact information for many First Nations groups.  The “Native Businesses” section was very interesting as it gives a break down of Native focused businesses by province.  Lastly the “cultures” link puts you in touch with Native Friendship centers and cultural organizations by region.

Overall this site is great for contact and organizational information.  I have never seen such a complete list of organizations, bands and Native companies in one resource before.  It is definitely worth a look if you require this type of information.

Still on the hunt for some aboriginal blogs I came across RedWAY BC News E-zine; a free on-line electronic magazine connecting 8,400+ international subscribers

The biline reads: “Harnessing Technology to Honour, Inform and Connect Urban Aboriginal Youth to Services, Opportunities, the Community and Each Other.”

This online publication seems like a well put together site with up-to-date information. Some of its contents include:

• Smoke Signals
• RedWAY BC News Team
• Events Calendar
• JPEN – Job Postings
• From the Street – Youth Voices
• Business, Entrepreneurship & Ec. Dev.

It looks like a fairly good source as long as those who are the intended audience(aboriginal youth), have the access to the material.

The links to up-to-date topical news items to be of most value as a means to inform a generation of the issues that should be of great importance to them. The site is built and maintained by aboriginal youth in a group called the AYM Team. You can see a video on the groups at: www.youtube.com/redway99


As of June ’09, they have published +80 issues of RedWAY BC News. Over 70 Aboriginal Youth contribute to RedWAY stories highlighting thousands of initiatives, programs, job postings and events.

You can subscribe to their free newsletter and their YouTube channel

White House Blog

Today was the White House Tribal Nations Conference. The link I have provided is actually the White House blog which includes transcripts of President Obama’s opening remarks at the conference. Today he signed a memorandum indicating that there would be stronger ties between 564 federally recognized tribes and the White House. I’m not sure if this is simply more lip service to the indigenous people of the US but I found it very interesting that President Obama has directed each and every government agency to have a detailed plan of how they intend to improve meaningful consultation and collaboration between the federal government and the Indian nations. I guess we wait and see.

Links include live streaming to interactive discussions with Obama, tribal leaders and agency officials.

First Nations Voice (On-line News and Media Center)

In Partnership with the Winnipeg Free Press

Description & Relevancy

One of the strong themes that run through the course and this module in particular is the need for First Nations people and communities to tell their own stories. To get an authentic and accurate understanding of issues related to First Nations people research on any level via print, film, print-news, radio broadcasts and other forms of media must be conducted through a First Nations perspective. This news publication was conceived to achieve such a goal and to act as a means to educate First Nations people themselves and the general public from a First Nations Perspective.

Links

http://www.firstnationsvoice.com/

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/

Asian Art

This web site is an on-line journal for the study and exhibition of the arts of Asia.  It is a fairly simple, no frills website, but offers a lot of good resources such as the following.

Associations – A list of associations, institutions and projects.  Many of these are interested in the preservation of certain art forms.

Exhibitions – Asian art exhibitions from museums, galleries and universities.

Articles – Articles written by scholars, experts, students and lovers of Asian art.

Galleries – Galleries and private dealers of Asian art and antiquities.

Letters – Asianart.com Letters Department, where visitors can post comments, reply to other letters, and access the latest letter from the editor.

Forum – The Asianart.com Forum, where visitors essays, long letters and reviews of travel or exhibitions are posted as separate pages.

Calendar of events – A calendar of upcoming events worldwide: Exhibitions, Auctions, Seminars and Conferences. Events can be posted here.

Links – This is where you will find an ever-expanding list of other interesting websites. There are other sites specializing in the arts of Asia, other sites on Asia in general and other interesting places in other categories.

Asianart.com Bookstore – Order Books directly from the vast lists at Amazon.com.

About Asianart.com – An article that tells you something about the journal, its editors and its philosophy. Updated very occasionally.

http://www.mediaglobal.org/article/2009-05-29/indigenous-tribe-uses-technology-to-re-create-traditional-community-support-system

This recent media article examines an initiative that uses the power of technology to assist in problem resolution. Many Indigenous groups are looking for ways  to restore the “community mentality” that has been damaged through assimilation.

As such, this website explains how the Blood Tribe Health Department has created the Indigenous Peoples Wellness Management System (IPWMS) with the goal of  creating a digitally linked web of communication between agencies to ensure support for troubled youth.

The hope is that the IPWMS will make it easier for service providers to work together, thus improving people’s quality of life. This iniative is a clear example of how technology can help Indigenous people improve their community reality.

http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~vlibrary/edres/pathfinders/ajohnson/pathfinder.html

This website offers an overview, and links for  further research, into how technology is being utilized by Indigenous groups around the world. I found this to be a great starting point for our Module 1 focus on the global and local in Indigenous knowledge.

There are resources posted in response to six key questions, covering topics such as:

• a general overview of how technology affects Indigenous people
• beneficial uses of new technology
• problems created by the “digital divide”
• using new technology to promote history and culture
• how technology has changed communication
• encouraging utilization of technology in Indigenous communities