Grant helps kick-start Paqtnkek's 'First Nation super station' on the FM dial - Action News
Home WebMail Monday, November 11, 2024, 07:46 AM | Calgary | -1.6°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
Nova Scotia

Grant helps kick-start Paqtnkek's 'First Nation super station' on the FM dial

A Mi'kmaw community radio station on thePaqtnkek Mi'kmawNation, N.S., will soon be broadcasting 126 hours of local programming every week, including at least five hours in Mikmaq.

Radio station on Paqtnkek Mi'kmawNation will soon be broadcasting 126 hours of local programming every week

About 450 people live on the reserve in Paqtknkek, N.S. (Photo illustration/CBC)

People onthePaqtnkek Mi'kmawNation, N.S., will soon be able to tune into Rez-FM,their very own community radio station, thanks to a $56,000 grantfromCanadian Heritage and Multiculturalism.

Rez-FM will be broadcasting 126 hours of local programming every week, including at least fivehours in Mi'kmaq. News and spoken word programming will also be included.

"This lets them tell their stories, their way, in their language. Using their history and culture as background," said station manager Richard Perry."We can't wait to get on the air."

Ben Lafford, Rez-FM's producer and first paid employee, saidelders in the community have shown interest in being on air.

Ben Lafford, middle, recording an interview with Seamus O'Regan, minister of aboriginal services, at the Paqtnkek Mi'kmaw Nation. (Submitted by Richard Perry )

"There's a crazy amount of great reception for putting language on the air," he said.

Lafford has some background in music production, but he never thought of radio as a possibility until he met Perry.

Ben Lafford at the radio station, located in central Paqtnkek. (Submitted by Richard Perry)

There are sevencommunity members overseeing the station. Perry is the only non-Mi'kmaw member.

Perry, who lives in nearby Antigonish, has experience in radio and hosts his own podcast. When he began workingin Paqtnkek's communications department,he realized the community wanted a radio station, butthey were hesitant to go through the application process.

Now that the station has a Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) licence and the grant, they're almost ready for the air. Perrysaid they're just waiting on their signal to be tested by Industry Canada.

Perry said he hopes the station helps the communitycommunicate and engage with one another.

Richard Perry, Rez-FM's station manager, stands with the station's antenna when it first arrived. (Submitted by Richard Perry)

"It's an opportunity to promote the Mi'kmaq language," he said.

For the past few weeks, Lafford has been recording promos of people in the community saying thestation's tagline, "Your First Nation super station."

'Lean into that fear'

Lafford is excited to try out his hosting skills,but it wasn't always that way

When Perry first encouraged Lafford to give radio a try, Lafford wasn't sure he was up to the task.

The Rez-FM logo. (Submitted by Richard Perry)

"Those conversations that I had with Richard were enough to freak me out a little bit, but just enough to help me realize that I should lean into that fear,"said Lafford.

Rez-FM will be streaming online in the next few weeks and will be available at 104.5 on the FM dial before the fall.