Native Networks is a project by The Film and Video Center of the National Museum of the American Indian. The website aims to showcase some of the multimedia currently being produced by Native Americans, as well as provide support and connections to native “media makers.”

The site contains a comprehensive list of videos shown by the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. While videos are not necessarily available for download on the site, each listing contains the title, year, and a brief description, which still serves as a valuable resource. The listing can be found here: http://www.nativenetworks.si.edu/eng/orange/index.htm. Users can either browse the entire list, or sort by title, director, region or tribe.

The site also features “close-ups” with figures who are currently contributing to Native American film. After a brief introduction to each person, users can click for a full interview. The close-up feature can be found here: http://www.nativenetworks.si.edu/eng/rose/index.htm.

The site also contains links to a number of integrated social media tools, including a Facebook page, and Twitter, Myspace, and YouTube accounts.

http://www.nativenetworks.si.edu/frameset_flash.html

While the website does not contain a ton of content, this national organization appears to be doing some excellent work. The National Inuit Youth Council (NIYC) formed in 1994 and remains committed to language/culture, education/training, and suicide prevention. According to the site, over half of the Inuit population are considered youth, so these are timely and relevant goals.

The site contains a list of available opportunities, including the popular Katimavik program (now with a northern-specific curriculum) and Impossible2Possible, an adventure based leadership program. The list can be found here: http://www.niyc.ca/opportunities/list. Additionally, it runs a blog-style home page with latest news, and an annual Youth Summit (http://www.niyc.ca/summit/index).

More information may be available to members once logged in, but in either case, the organization and its website provide another perspective on issues facing indigenous youth in Canada.

http://www.niyc.ca/

British Columbia’s Urban Native Youth Association was formed to assist aboriginal youth as more and more left reserves and started living in the cities. Recreation programs are offered for youth, as well as personal support, residential programs for youth struggling with drug or alcohol dependency, and plans for a native youth centre in the downtown east side of Vancouver once enough capital is raised.

A number of resources and publications have been created (http://www.unya.bc.ca/resources) for youth or people who work with aboriginal youth. These include health, nutrition and GLBTQ information written from an aboriginal perspective. This site is applicable specifically to youth and issues in British Columbia.

http://www.unya.bc.ca/home

The Honouring Life Network is a project by the National Aboriginal Health Organization. Its purpose is to prevent suicide amongst aboriginal youth and support those who have lost a loved one to suicide. The site is divided into three sections: an area for youth, an area for youth workers, and an area with resources.

The site includes a FAQ and statistics section on suicide, personal stories from people affected by suicide, and resources for youth considering suicide as well as youth workers. A up-to-date listing of organizations able to help in each province (http://www.honouringlife.ca/directory/all) as well as a crisis information page (http://www.honouringlife.ca/en/site/thinkingAboutSuicide) are among the services the site offers.

http://www.honouringlife.ca/

Path of the Elders is both a visually interesting site and one that contains a variety of information. At first glance, I thought I had stumbled upon the latest Disney-Pixar project, but upon closer inspection I discovered the site was actually an interesting source for information on a particular treaty in Ontario. It tells the story of the Mushkegowuk and Anishinaabe Peoples of North-Eastern and North-Western Ontario (and the signing of Treaty #9). The site features a number of multimedia options, as well as an interactive game.

• Knowledge Quest Interactive Game: http://www.pathoftheelders.com/index.php
• Videos: http://www.pathoftheelders.com/videos
• Audio: http://www.pathoftheelders.com/audio
• Photos: http://www.pathoftheelders.com/photos?func=viewcategory&catid=1

A teacher’s page exists where educators can download Teachers Guides that have been prepared for every grade between grade 4 and 10 http://www.pathoftheelders.com/teachers). In addition, it features a variety of Web 2.0 sharing tools, such as links to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Digg and Del.icio.us.

As I mentioned earlier, the visually appealing design of this site really sets it apart from many other sites, which might help to engage more students as they learn course content. It’s worth checking out just to see the unique, innovative design.

http://www.pathoftheelders.com/index.php

The Union of BC Indian Chiefs website is full of interesting information and further resources. Formed with the goals of being stronger when working together, being the voice of their peoples, and of sharing information, the organizations website seems to indicate they have been successful. I would recommend checking this site out as it focuses entirely on issues facing aboriginal communities in British Columbia, which makes the information both timely and relevant.

I was particularly impressed with the Resources and Resource Centre links on the page. The Resource Centre (http://www.ubcic.bc.ca/department/library.htm) allows users to access a library catalogue and digital collections. The Resources section (http://www.ubcic.bc.ca/Resources/) provides links to organizational reports and publications, as well as historical timelines and conference information. The site also includes a Policy and Legislation section (http://www.ubcic.bc.ca/issues/) which focuses on current issues facing aboriginal communities in BC.

http://www.ubcic.bc.ca/

IsumaTV is a multi-media website that focuses on Inuit and indigenous content. The main focus seems to be on video clips. In this respect, the site functions somewhat like YouTube. Users can view recent videos, or search by keyword. For example, I was able to search for “Elders” and “Youth.” The search returned over 300 results for elders and nearly 450 for youth. Although it seems many of the videos are non-English, it’s fairly easy to sift through the results. The site is a good resource for multi-media information on Inuit and indigenous culture.

http://www.isuma.tv/hi/en

A similar site is IndigiTube (http://www.indigitube.com.au/), which focuses on indigenous peoples in remote areas of Australia. IndigiTube does not seem to be as well developed or used as IsumaTV, but does provide an additional resource and additional media for information on Australian indigenous issues.

Eye on the Arctic is an interesting website that has information on all of the northern Arctic countries. It is produced in partnership between various organizations in Canada, Denmark, Finland, Greenland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States of America. In addition to news articles and blog posts, the site includes a number of videos, audio clips and special reports.

What I found interesting as I surfed through this site is the perspective it offeres. The total focus on what is happening in the arctic around the world is an interesting one, as it is not something that generally gets much news coverage on a regular basis. The Eye on the Arctic site is up-to-date, well-written, and includes information on a variety of issues, including geopolitics, culture, society, the environment, and business.

You can sort any of these issues by the country you are interested in learning about. The site also includes an RSS feed option, and links to both Facebook and Twitter accounts. I think this site provides good context for discussing the ongoing, and increasingly important, issues in the Arctic.

http://eyeonthearctic.rcinet.ca/

This website focuses on bringing sexual health education to native youth across North America, and after our discussions on issues such as peer pressure, I was curious to see what resources were out there on those issues. This site states that information is peer-based, which is part of the reason I thought it might be valuable. It appears that the peer-to-peer standard is prevalent throughout the website. When I clicked on “About our Founder” (http://nativeyouthsexualhealth.com/aboutourfounder.html) I learned that the organizations founder is quite young herself, which likely accounts for such an appealing, accessible site for youth.

The page contains information on current programming and collaborations by the organization, as well as free downloadable resources that have been made available for anyone working with aboriginal youth. One such project is a youth photo project (http://nativeyouthsexualhealth.com/youthphotoproject.html) which resulted in a free poster campaign.
I thought it was a good idea to empower aboriginal youth to learn about their sexual health through a website, as it may seem more accessible to them. Since this site was created by aboriginal young people in North America, is also provides a cultural lens that traditional public schools cannot.

http://nativeyouthsexualhealth.com/index.html

This is the website of the National Aboriginal Health Organization (NAHO). This Canadian not-for-profit organization aims to “advance and promote the health and well-being of all First Nations, Inuit and Métis through collaborative research, Indigenous Traditional Knowledge, building capacity, and community led initiatives.” The organization is funded through Health Canada, and publishes the Journal of Aboriginal Health.

The site is well organized, and includes a variety of publications, presentations and multi-media features which focus on the well-being of indigenous peoples in Canada. In addition, it features links to a number of social media websites (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube), as well as 10 separate blogs.

• Publications: http://www.naho.ca/english/publications.php
• Multi-Media: http://www.naho.ca/english/tk_Media.php
• Blogs: http://www.naho.ca/english/socialMedia_blogs.php

I thought this site was interesting, as healthy living (through exercise, diet, and prevention) is something I value in my personal life. This site, and the organization behind it, looks like a great resource for indigenous people in Canada.

http://www.naho.ca/english/