North island residents will hear the Haida language on their radios when Haida radio begins broadcasting again.
For a couple of years in the mid-nineties, the Haida community in Old Massett area had its own radio, broadcast with cooperation with CFNR in Terrace, says Old Massett Youth Worker Harmony Williams, who is overseeing the project.
The Old Massett Youth Council rekindled the idea of a north island radio station that would serve the Haida community, and the Gwaii Trust agreed to fund the project, says Ms Williams.
The main goal is to broadcast community news and issues to the north island, but the radio station can also be used during emergencies. For instance, in the 90's rescuers used the station to create a search party for some lost children, says Ms Williams.
The second main goal of the project is to provide access to spoken Haida help preserve the language.
The radio station's mother station-CFNR-allocates a few hours each week for local radio stations. The service began in the 90's. CFNR supports community radio on small reserves all over the region.
Applications for the radio stations coordinator position are closed, but volunteers are still needed. Ms Williams says she hopes to have a coordinator hired by the first week of November. The coordinator's first job will be to organize a steering committee to decide program content and broadcast times.
"We would like to see the whole community contributing to it," says Ms Williams. Volunteers that want to help with the committee or with running the radio station, can contact Ms Williams at 626-3911.