SADDLE LAKE CREE NATION – As a response not only to Covid-19, but to the ongoing trend of digital communications from official organizations, Saddle Lake Cree Nation has created their own mobile application for iOS and Android.
Sending notifications and alerts directly to their members’ phones means fewer points of failure in the communications process – emails can be marked as spam, spam callers have rendered phone calls unreliable, and visiting a website for updates puts the onus on the members to stay informed themselves instead of being notified.
The app was developed by Edmonton-based company Aivia Design & Technology Engineering to be capable of sending push notifications directly to app users about community news, health policy announcements, upcoming events, registration forms, surveys, and education directives.
Saddle Lake Cree Nation’s leadership elaborated on the need for verified communications with their members, “The pandemic highlighted places in our communications strategy that could be improved and streamlined – specifically being able to verify that messages were received, having an easily accessible resource library for our members, and being able to send out important messages at a moment’s notice in a way that is reliable and easy for our staff and our members.”
The Saddle Lake Cree Nation mobile app is available in both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
About Saddle Lake Cree Nation
Onihcikiskowapowin (Saddle Lake Cree Nation) translates to ‘Mirage on the Lake’ in Cree. Approximately 180km northeast of Edmonton and west of St. Paul, Saddle Lake Cree Nation is the second largest First Nation in Alberta by population with nearly 6,000 members living on reserve.
