First Nations Innovation - Publications

Conference Papers and Proceedings
#13 (2009)

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Publication #13 2009, May - Communication in Place: Videoconferencing for First Nation Community Development

Reference: Milliken, M., O'Donnell, S. (2009). Communication in Place: Videoconferencing for First Nation Community Development. Presented at the Canadian Communication Association Annual Conference (CCA 2009), Carleton University, Ottawa, May.

Abstract: One definition of globalization suggests that the social relations traditionally associated with specific territorial locations have been transformed, and that physical distance is less of an impediment to communication and exchange than it used to be (Held, McGrew, Goldblatt, & Perraton, 1999). However, when the costs associated with travel to and from remote and rural First Nation communities are calculated, social and geographic relations still restrict opportunities for face-to-face communication and access to resources. Technology such as videoconferencing has been a powerful tool for overcoming these barriers; it enables people to stay where they are “from”, and still engage in face-to-face audio and visual communication with people at one or more locations anywhere in the world.

Remote and rural First Nation communities are using videoconference facilities and networks to overcome isolation as well as access and share resources. Our research partners - K-Net, Keewaytinook Okimakanak (KO) in Sioux Lookout, Ontario; Atlantic Canada’s First Nation Help Desk in Membertou, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia; and the First Nation Education Council in Wendake, Quebec - initially set up these networks for educational and health purposes. Now these networks are being employed for a wide range of cultural, artistic and community development activities using a relationship-building model. This paper draws on interviews with the technical and administrative staff of K-Net and the Atlantic Canada’s First Nation Help Desk to explore the ways that videoconferencing between two or more sites has facilitated local community development.