Keewaytinook Okimakanak Council (Oji-Cree

Oji-Cree language

The Severn Ojibwa or the Oji-Cree language is the indigenous name for a dialect of the Ojibwe language spoken in a series of Oji-Cree communities in northern Ontario and at Island Lake, Manitoba, Canada...

:ᑮᐌᑎᓅᐠ ᐅᑭᒫᐦᑳᓇᐠ (Giiwedinoog Ogimaakaanag), unpointed ᑭᐌᑎᓄᐠ ᐅᑭᒪᑲᓇᐠ, which means "Northern Chiefs") is a non-political Chiefs Council in northwestern Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, serving its six member-First Nations. The council was organized in November, 1991.
The organization is directed by the Chiefs of the member First Nations who form the Board of Directors. Like many of the regional tribal councils in northwestern Ontario, Keewaytinook Okimakanak is a member of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation

Nishnawbe Aski Nation

Nishnawbe Aski Nation is a political organization representing 49 First Nation communities across Treaty 9 and Treaty 5 areas of northern Ontario, Canada...

.

Departments

• Administration
• Office Support
• Finance - provides assistance and advice to the First Nations as well as accounting support for Keewaytinook Okimakanak.
• Health Services - support community efforts to access funding for local health promotion initiatives.
• Telemedicine (ᐦᑌᓫᐊ ᒪᐡᑭᐦᑭ, Tela-mashkiki; Unpointed: ᑌᓫᐊ ᒪᐡᑭᑭ)
• Public Works
  • Technical Training & Development
  • Community & Capital Planning
  • Policy & Housing Inspection
  • Operation & Maintenance
  • Project Management
  • Capital Projects
• Economic Development - provide assistance to First Nations and individual band members from Keewaytinook Okimakanak in areas of business, training and proposal development to enhance self-sufficiency.
• Keewaytinook Okimakanak Education - provides advisory services and assistance to member First Nations in a variety of ways.
  • Keewaytinook Internet High School (KiHS) was created for Aboriginal youth who live in small isolated First Nation communities in Northwestern Ontario. KiHS is the first Ontario school to offer accredited secondary school courses using the Internet as a mode of program delivery. With its traditional face-to-face classroom setting meshed with internet course delivery, KiHS capitalizes on the ability to share resources and personnel, and thereby maximize potential course offerings.
• K-Net Services - develop and maintain the K-Net Network which is a regional broadband network linking First Nations and their service organizations using a variety of Information Communication Technologies including video conferencing, IP telephony, on-line forums, e-mail, and other web-based communication tools.
• Kuh-ke-nah Network of SMART First Nations (http://smart.knet.ca) - three-year initiative begun by Keewaytinook Okimakanak and their partners in 2001. KO was one of twelve projects chosen in Canada by Industry Canada to demonstrate community development in an Aboriginal context utilizing a variety of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) and applications. Other partners include FedNor
  FedNor
  The Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario is a program of Industry Canada whose mission is to address the economic development, diversification and job creation in Northern Ontario. FedNor especially aids women, Franco-ontarians, youth, and Aboriginal peoples in Ontario...
  
  , SLAAMB, HRDC, the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund
  Northern Ontario Heritage Fund
  The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund is a division of the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry in the Canadian province of Ontario, whose purpose is to provide funding and program support to foster economic development in the economically disadvantaged Northern Ontario region.The NOHF...
  
  , Bell Canada
  Bell Canada
  Bell Canada is a major Canadian telecommunications company. Including its subsidiaries such as Bell Aliant, Northwestel, Télébec, and NorthernTel, it is the incumbent local exchange carrier for telephone and DSL Internet services in most of Canada east of Manitoba and in the northern territories,...
  
   and NAN First Nations and Tribal Councils.
  • SMART services are being deployed to overcome barriers of distance and isolation, to improve community well-being, enhance learning opportunities, and support skills and knowledge acquisition.
• Keewaytinook Okimakanak Research Institute
• Legal Aid

Contact information

Head Office:

Keewaytinook Okimakanak

c/o Fort Severn First Nation

Fort Severn, Ontario P0J 1W0

Telephone: 1-807-478-1114

Fax: 1-807-478-1136

Sub-Office:

Keewaytinook Okimakanak

P.O. Box 340 127 Mine Road

Balmertown, Ontario POV 1C0

Telephone: 1-807-735-1381

General Office Fax: 1-807-735-1383

Public Works Fax: 1-807-735-1385

Sub-Office:

K-Net Services

115 King Street, Box 1439

Sioux Lookout, Ontario P8T 1B9

Toll Free: 1-800-387-3740

Telephone: 1-807-737-1135

Fax: 1-807-737-1720

website

Member First Nations

• Deer Lake First Nation
  Deer Lake First Nation
  Deer Lake First Nation is an Oji-Cree First Nation in Northern Ontario, located north of Red Lake, Ontario. It is one of the few First Nations in Ontario to have signed Treaty 5. It is part of the Keewaytinook Okimakanak Council and the Nishnawbe Aski Nation...
  
  
• Fort Severn First Nation
• Keewaywin First Nation
  Keewaywin First Nation
  Keewaywin is a small Oji-Cree community in Northern Ontario, located north of Red Lake, Ontario. It is connected to Sandy Lake First Nation by Sandy Lake. It is part of the Keewaytinook Okimakanak Council and the Nishnawbe Aski Nation...
  
  
• McDowell Lake First Nation
  McDowell Lake First Nation
  McDowell Lake First Nation is a small Oji-Cree First Nation located in Northern Ontario, located approximately 155 km northeast of Red Lake, Ontario, Canada, on the central western shore of McDowell Lake. As of December, 2007, their total registered population was 52...
  
  
• North Spirit Lake First Nation
  North Spirit Lake First Nation
  North Spirit Lake First Nation is a small Oji-Cree community in Northern Ontario, located north of Red Lake, Ontario. It is connected to Sandy Lake First Nation, and Deer Lake First Nation by winter/ice roads...
  
  
• Poplar Hill First Nation
  Poplar Hill First Nation
  Poplar Hill First Nation is an Anishinaabe First Nation located in Northern Ontario, approximately 120 km north of Red Lake, Ontario near the Ontario-Manitoba border. The First Nation is accessible by air and winter road...
  
  

External links

• 10th Anniversary information