ARMEL (EABI) mode provide better performance than the ARM (ABI) mode. The factory supplied kernel supports both modes.
The Emdebian Squeeze may need to be installed on the native machine or use a emulator such as QEMU. The installation guide here may help,
http://www.emdebian.org/release/squeeze/grip/,
http://wiki.debian.org/ArmEabiHowto