The three projects, announced Wednesday, aim to connect students from different First Nations to the Web so that they can follow their schooling remotely and access online resources in mental health, details the press release.
The initiatives concern the 49 communities of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), the 5 communities that are members of the Anishinaabeg Resource Council of Kabapikotawangag and the 8 communities affiliated with the Institute of Seven Generations Education.
During Keewaywin’s annual conference, which was held concurrently with the funding announcement, the head of the NAN, Alvin Fiddler, highlighted the challenges of broadband and Internet connectivity in many remote First Nations. Challenges amplified during distance education due to the pandemic.
The NAN and the Kabapikotawangag Anishinaabeg Resource Council will be able to purchase and install Starlink Company connectivity kits to connect to low-orbit satellites.
The Seven Generation Education Institute will install satellite dishes in six of its communities and connect fiber optic cables to the other two.
The press release does not specify a deadline for these three projects. Of the total announced amount of $ 14 million, Ontario is participating to the tune of $ 2 million.
High-speed Internet is available to only 31.3% of Indigenous people living on reserve, compared to 85.7% of Canadian households, according to Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission data released in August 2020.
With information from Logan Turner, CBC News
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