What are the roadblocks to greater indigenous online participation in the North? How are Inuit leveraging the Internet to represent their interest? This presentation will focus on these questions, utilizing Nunavut, Canada as a case study. The topic, which arises about of my year-long project focusing on indigenous use, will be presented at the Arctic Frontiers Conference in Tromso, Norway January 23, 2013.

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• M enous pe
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Indig logy
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• C ital dissona
tline
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• “Dig t i nte r ne
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• Curr o ns i dera
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• Clos

4. Thomas J. Watson Foundation
Fellowship

5. Thomas J. Watson Foundation
Fellowship

6. Thomas J. Watson Foundation
Fellowship

7. Thomas J. Watson Foundation
Fellowship

8. Thomas J. Watson Foundation
Fellowship

9. Thomas J. Watson Foundation
Fellowship

10. Thomas J. Watson Foundation
Fellowship

14. “The cultural survival of marginalized peoples
may soon depend (if it does not already) on an
ability and willingness among the otherwise
defenseless to plug into – literally and figuratively
– transnational lobby networks…”
- Niezen, 2005

15. Internet doesn't
threaten Inuit culture

16. Internet doesn't
threaten Inuit culture
... bu
t une
qual
acce
s s do
es .

17. How and to what
extent are
indigenous
peoples of the
North leveraging
online networks
to strengthen
their identity and
rights?

18. Case study: Nunavut
• Newest Canadian territory
• Young, Inuit population
• Small consumer base
spread across large area
• Isolation, limited
accessibility
• Digital infrastructure critical for
service provision and commerce
• Primary internet providers:
• Northwestel (Iqaluit)
• Ssi Micro – “Qiniq”

19. Roadblock 1: Geography

20. Roadblock 1: Geography

21. Roadblock 2: Comparative Costs
• Large Inuit
movement --
“Feeding my
Family”-- gained
footing on
Facebook
• Did not emphasize
cost of online
networks

22. North versus South: Comparative Costs

23. Roadblock 2: Comparative Costs
MB/s
Service Cost per MB Monthly fee Start up MB/s upload Monthly cap (G) Extra 1 G
download
Qiniq (Nunavut)
Attigiallak (new) $53.00 $80.00 $125.00 1.5 0.38 10 $20.00
Qanniq $156.00 $60.00 $200.00 0.384 ? 3 $30.00
Pisiq $267.00 $400.00 $400.00 0.768 ? 20 $20.00
Northwestel
(Nunavut)
Business 2.0 $125.00 $250.00 $500.00 2 0.500 .11/hour down
Websurfer $137.00 $70.00 $500.00 0.512 0.128 .24/hour down
Videotron
(Montreal)
Ultimate 200 $1.00 $200.00 $60.00 200 30 250 $1.50
Ultimate 60 $1.40 $83.00 $60.00 60 3 150 $1.50
Rogers (Toronto)
Extreme Ultimate $.82 $123.00 $115.00 150 10 250 $0.50
Extreme Plus $1.60 $72.00 $115.00 45 4 150 $1.50
Chart compiled by Norman Cohn and Rachael Petersen

24. Roadblock 3: Comparative Speeds
Data source: Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, “Communications Monitoring Report 2012”

25. www.gov.nu.ca/ik
1
2
3
5
7
46
8

26. Aaron Watson @Teirersias
Every single service in NU is affected by slow internet. Blaming
computers/connections is a daily operation in customer service.
Aaron Watson @Teirersias
In my experience(s) we do a lot of IT works ourselves (diy) to solve issues quickly.
Aaron Watson @Teirersias
Wherever I've worked in NU I've strived to deliver the best customer service,
connection issues inhibit that ability.
Mike West @mwest_
lack of IT expertise of the local ISP and gov compounds the issue. NU systems
aren't built for satellite networked communities.
Mike West @mwest_
And despite a high demand for IT training (verified by numerous surveys), the
government run colleges do not deliver.
Madeleine Redfern @madinuk
…Few Nunavut/Inuit cultural producers seem to be on twitter

27. ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑑᓲᖑᕖᑦ?
www.indigenoustweets.com

28. Roadblock 4: oral cultures, textual web

29. What happens
when spoken
languages
meet textual
internet
conditions?

30. Digital dissonance

31. Audio-visual ways of communicating, Inuit tradition of
story-telling translate into…

32. a “high-bandwidth”
culture.

34. “Any reasonably audiovisualized internet – that
is, at least 5 Mb/s download speeds with 30G
monthly caps for not more than $60 a month –
allows Inuit to adapt online audio-video to the
ancient art of Inuit storytelling, the information
spinal column of 4000 years of Inuit identity and
knowledge. That level of ORAL media
interactivity – speaking and filming in oral
Inuktitut instead of email/Facebook in written
English – would also support traditional Inuit
values of consensus decision-making and
working together to solve common problems.”
-Norman Cohn

35. Cu r r
ent I
inter nuit
net u
A few
exam
ses
ples
…

36. IsumaTV
www.isuma.tv - online indigenous video portal
High-speed media players in low-speed communities

37. Social networks as social spaces

43.  As an Inuk you made me proud who I am and see
other Inuit all around the world.
 Makes Facebook a lot more interesting.
 Work together, talk together, help together
 The best, I get so close to my culture and learning
about other aboriginal hunting and camping
styles so awesome!
 No wonder it’s popular, it’s our way of life as Inuit
 So far the best, interesting page! Proud to be an
Inuk!

44. Inuk Memes Facebook Page

45. Inuk Memes Facebook Page

46. Inuk Memes Facebook Page

47. Inuk Memes Facebook Page

48. Inuk Memes Facebook Page

49. Why
does
matt it
er?

50. Considerations for indigenous
connectivity
• Arctic connectivity literature
focuses on government
services, military and
emergency response
• Extractive industries,
technology, and free, prior
and informed consent
• Budget cuts to internet access
programs
• Nunavut internet subsidies
expire in 2016
• Arctic Fibre, Inc.?
• Technology doesn’t work,
people do!

51. u!
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