| Abstract | Our research is working in partnership with three First Nations organizations - KNet,Keewaytinook Okimakanak 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 - that have set up videoconferencing networks linking First Nations communities spread out over large geographic areas. Initially set up for educational and health purposes, the application, reach and scope of these communication networks have expanded since the mid-90s to include cultural, social, and community development activities. Qualitative data collected in fifteen in-depth interviews with technical and administrative staff at K-Net and Atlantic Canada’s First Nation Help Desk reveal how both their relationship-building approach to networking, and their repurposed applications of videoconferencing, have supported development in the First Nations communities they serve. |
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