SSi Micro and KIA are on the air
Pilot project to focus on revitalizing Inuit language in communities
Stewart Burnett
Northern News Services
Monday, June 29, 2015
IKALUKTUTIAK/CAMBRIDGE BAY
A new pilot project between SSi Micro and the Kitikmeot Inuit Association has been designed to bring Inuit-focused radio to Kugluktuk and Cambridge Bay.
SSi Micro is teaming up with the Kitikmeot Inuit Association to bring radio to Cambridge Bay and Kugluktuk. The company's goal is to promote and revitalize the use of Inuit language in the area. - photo courtesy of SSi Micro |
"From a pure technical level, this is a very natural extension from what we're doing now," said Dean Proctor, chief development officer of SSi Micro.
"From a more profound level, this is attractive to us because of the focus it has on preserving and expanding traditional language, culture and oral history."
The pilot project is scheduled to operate for an initial two years with an anticipated start date in spring 2016.
SSi Micro will construct and commission a satellite-supported FM radio network in the region.
Once in operation, the radio network will provide a platform for KIA to broadcast daily Inuit-language radio service, mostly focused on revitalizing the Inuinnaqtun dialect in the two communities.
"We have the wherewithal and we have the resources to do this technically," said Proctor.
"But more importantly, culturally we also have a real passion to work with KIA and others in the community to advance the Inuit culture and tradition."
He said SSi has a deep history in the North, having been founded in Fort Providence in the NWT.
All communities should have a communication system, said Proctor, adding he hopes to expand the system across Nunavut eventually.
The radio is also being made available to serve as a source for immediate emergency broadcasts.
The company anticipates the FM broadcasting transmitters could be erected on SSi's communication towers this summer. Those transmitters provide a reception range of approximately 10 kilometres from the source, possibly reaching cabins located on the outskirts of Kugluktuk and Cambridge Bay.
The pilot project represents an important milestone in his organization's efforts to help revitalize the use of Inuit language in the Kitikmeot, according to KIA president Stanley Anablak.
"KIA is fortunate to have a technical partner in SSi Micro that has a very capable team and years of experience delivering telecommunication services in the North," stated Anablak in a recent news release.
"This partnership allows KIA to focus our efforts on developing content for the proposed language service."
KIA intends to work with Inuit language speakers in the area to generate material that will form the backbone of the radio service.
Volunteers from the Kitikmeot and beyond are being invited to host programs, which may include spoken word and music.
It is expected programming will generally feature Inuit performers from the region and Canadian aboriginal music. That content would be rotated in a mix that would also include country, rock, hip-hop and other music genres popular in the region.
