Research Brief
Indigenous Municipal Relations: Beyond Consultation
How to build and nurture meaningful Indigenous-municipal relations on the path to reconciliation: a guide for planners and city builders.
May 24, 2018
Toolkit
December 2, 2019
Course: Colonialism and the e-Community
The First Mile
This course explores the relationships between colonialism, the growth of digital networks and applications, and community development. It re-frames problems like the digital divide by illustrating how people and communities are taking ownership and control of solving them.
Across Canada, First Nations are building broadband systems and using them to deliver services in their communities. Outside of major centres, many remote and rural First Nations remain underserved. The experiences of the early adopters of these tools and systems help create new opportunities for those starting their first mile broadband connectivity journey. The First Mile website is a place to share best practices and lessons learned. Together we are conducting research and publishing the stories of how First Nations are putting First Mile concepts into action so that we may learn and grow together.
Historic and ongoing inequalities restrict the abilities of individuals and communities to effectively use digital technologies. However, people are also undertaking many projects of self-determination, including in the area of technology development. This course explores these initiatives, focusing on how they represent expressions of Indigenous resurgence and innovation in the emerging network society.
The different units of this course include a variety of digital resources to explore content in more detail. These include links to videos, readings and websites and this course is designed as a living document. That means it will change over time, as learning continues. At the end of each unit, there is a Wiki page with a space to comment or add suggestions to improve this course.