The NCRA is proud to welcome aboard Kiera-Dawn Kolson, a young musician and student in Yellowknife, who is working for six weeks as our summer student researcher.

Directed primarily by the Native caucus, the project follows one of the priorities defined by the caucus at previous national conferences. This is the first funded project to do so, and so it represents a new advance for native programmers in the NCRA. Teaching and preserving of indigenous languages using community radio is a big opportunity; many projects are already successful in their communities, and the NCRA wants to help programmers and elders use the NCRA to network, share success stories, find more resources to increase the effectiveness of their work, and learn from each other.

Kiera is Gwich’in-Tso’Tine Dene-Metis and will use her existing connections along with those of to learn about what's already being done, build bridges, and organize for further study and to help us pursue more resources for those doing the work. Community radio is a great way to teach and protect local heritage, and we're proud to be taking the first step in making it a national effort.