KITIKMEOT
A music festival comes and goes but when the Kitikmeot Inuit Association (KIA) staged its 40th anniversary bash, it released something far more lasting - a pilot regional radio project and the inclusion of all Kitikmeot communities in its television network.

Kitikmeot Inuit Association president Stanley Anablak, Nunavut Tunngavik president Cathy Towtongie and Premier Peter Taptuna had a lot to celebrate when they attended Nunavut Day and the Kitikmeot Inuit Association's 40th anniversary in Cambridge Bay July 9 and 10.

"The event itself was amazingly successful. We never expected the magnitude of the project to escalate to what it actually unfolded into," said Jason Tologanak, whose social and cultural development department was tasked with organizing the event.

"During the planning process it became very apparent to us that there was an opportunity for us to highlight some of the other cool initiatives that KIA is working on."

One initiative is the Kitikmeot Radio Network RN 100.1 FM, which began broadcasts in Cambridge Bay and Kugluktuk on July 9. Programming also streams all over the world at www.KRN.fm, a collaboration between the Inuit organization and communications services company SSi Micro, based in Yellowknife

"We've been working on that project for two years. It's part of KIA's language framework. We want to bring Inuit languages to the home. It's a very targeted approach to what we can do outside of government and focus on activities we can support that develop language at home," said Tologanak.

"What better way than radio and TV?"

The other initiative is the Channel 51 expansion, a collaboration with Isuma Productions which also began as a pilot project in Cambridge Bay and Tologanak and has proven successful.

Tologanak hopes the radio network will follow in the wake of the television channel, and spread soon to Gjoa Haven, Taloyoak and Kugaaruk.

"We're hoping to expand (the radio) project to all five communities with a regional radio service," he said.

"I never would have believed we would get into the radio business but radio is such a key component in communication in small communities, in small Nunavut communities particularly. People rely very, very heavily on radio to connect about current events, weather. It's definitely a safety thing for hunters out on the land. And language is at the forefront of KIA's vision. It's important to have radio in our languages."

CBC pulled out of Cambridge Bay and Tologanak said that after years of lobbying for the public broadcaster's return, the Inuit association had to face reality.

"It started 15 years ago when CBC pulled out their Kitikmeot bureau due to budget cuts. KIA lobbied the CBC to reinstate the Kitikmeot bureau because of the importance of having radio programming in the aboriginal languages, particularly for Innuinaktun and Inuktitut."

The KIA's work was really advocacy at the beginning, but eventually the organization had to realize it was "burning our tires."

"I was important for us to shift that focus. So we started looking at developing our own radio service, find a suitable partner. And, my lord, we found the best project partner in SSi Micro, who is really changing the game in communications in the North and really breaking the boundaries."

For his part, SSi Micro founder and chief executive officer Jeff Philipp notes his company's longstanding relationship with KIA.

"SSi has a long and successful working relationship with KIA, dating back to 1998 when we broke new ground together and built a satellite network to deliver Internet to the region's five communities," he stated in an e-mail.

"We are once again joining forces to deliver what we believe is another critical service. Combining two platforms to deliver content, traditional radio and broadband streaming, will provide great support to preserve and enhance the region's language and culture initiatives."

Tologanak says KIA hopes to use programming from community radio stations throughout the network.

"They are the heart of the community. What we want to do is connect the communities and break those boundaries of distance," he said.

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