The big mantra with the Internet has always been think local, act global. Sometimes I think this works; sometimes it doesn’t. Well I just ran across an example of it working really well.

KANU-TV, Channel 99 on the Tulalip Reservation (located in the Pugent-Sound area), is now video-streaming television programs from throughout Indian country at www.kanutv.com. This makes the programs available to tribal members who are not located in the area.

Of particular interest to those of us in Minnesota, Tulalip streams NorthWest Indian News, an award-winning program covering Native events, news and people in the Pacific Northwest; Native Report, a production of WDSE-TV in Duluth, Minn., funded in part by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community; and Native Nation Building, a production of the Native Nations Institute for Leadership, Management and Policy.

I think this is a great use of broadband to keep a geographically disperse group in communication – and it offers people outside of the community an opportunity to get to know more about tribal communities. (Learn more)